Studio arts and French studies freshman Malarie Zaunbrecher and mass communication sophomore Ashley Monaghan had a photographer, a concept, a hair and makeup artist, models and a wardrobe. Everything they needed for a December photo shoot.
But they were missing perhaps the most essential element — a studio.
That’s when Zaunbrecher suggested the Communication across the Curriculum, or CxC, Art & Design Studio.
Located in the Design Building, the studio is a resource for art and design students to help build their required portfolios. It’s an area equipped with professional photography, videography and lighting equipment, tutors for various software or writing assignments such as research papers, PC workstations and 3-D printing and scanning.
The studio gives driven students an opportunity to develop their ideas into real projects with the help of staff and faculty advisers.
“We’re very goal-oriented and project-oriented, so we try to help people really define that and accomplish things that will benefit them for their career,” said studio manager Vincent Cellucci. “We have fun along the way.”
Zaunbrecher and Monaghan wanted to build their portfolios and express their creativity with the help of the studio.
Zaunbrecher photographed many families, weddings and high school seniors in Lafayette but had no studio space when she moved to Baton Rouge. She and Monaghan met through a mutual friend, and soon the idea for the shoot was born.
After seeing a Prada ad of a red-haired girl wearing a coat backward, Monaghan, the creative director, looked for help to carry out her vision. Zaunbrecher volunteered as photographer. Three University students offered to model, and another offered to do hair and makeup. Time Warp Boutique loaned the clothes for the shoot.
“Within 12 hours we were in CxC shooting,” Zaunbrecher said.
The studio is available to students Monday through Friday for no charge.
The pair spent six hours in the studio watching their concept come to life and said they plan to use the studio for future projects to continue adding to their portfolios.
“It was a really great set-up,” Zaunbrecher said. “It was really conducive to being able to shoot and review and set things up. It was an all-in-one space that we wouldn’t have been able to find anywhere else.”
The Art & Design Studio is part of Communication across the Curriculum, a one-of-a-kind program available to all majors that aims to improve the written, spoken, visual and technological communication skills of undergraduates. Launched in 2005, CxC offers communication-intensive courses and a Distinguished Communicator certification.
CxC houses two other studios on campus, Studio 151 and the Engineering Studio.
Cellucci and Sarah Liggett, CxC director and University professor, both expressed the need for developed communication skills in graduates entering the workforce.
“If you look at the statistics or the surveys, what they tell you … is the No. 1 thing they [employers] look for in students is communication skills,” Liggett said.
She said students can find help with any project through CxC, from designing a web page to practicing a presentation in Studio 151’s presentation room.
Cellucci said the power of CxC is its ability to cater to every student’s original ideas, like the recent fashion shoot, while reaching campus-wide to all disciplines.
“It’s very much catered to the individual student and their professional goals and desires. We’re not interested in creating cookie-cutter students or anything like that,” Cellucci said. “We’re here to say, ‘who are you, what do you want to do the most in the world and let me help you do it.’”