ECU students connect with state officials through art
After spending an afternoon learning and creating in East Carolina University art studios and facilities, N.C. Rep. Gloristine Brown said she needs to bring her 169 colleagues to the School of Art and Design at Jenkins Fine Arts Center for the experience.
“I’ve had a blast,” Brown said at the end of her April visit. “I’ve had so much fun. I have learned so much. We need art, period.”
Aydan Lawler ’26 watches N.C. Rep. Gloristine Brown ink a plate after Lawler demonstrated the process in the School of Art and Design. (Photo by Rhett Butler)
Brown, who represents District 8 in Pitt County, is one of several Pitt County representatives and ECU alumni in state office offering School of Art and Design (SOAD) students a new exhibition opportunity in the North Carolina General Assembly.
The relationship between the state legislature and the College of Fine Arts and Communication (CFAC) began during the 2025-26 academic year. N.C. Rep. Matthew Winslow (District 7, Franklin/Vance counties), a 2000 urban and regional planning graduate, contacted the chancellor’s office asking how he could display ECU art. The chancellor’s office connected him with CFAC Dean Linda Kean, and associate dean Seo Eo developed the idea of a rotating exhibition in Raleigh each semester.
“I went to all the senior shows and compiled a digital album of work to share with the chancellor’s office and legislature,” Eo said. “I wanted to represent a broad range of student work.”
Eo continues to curate student work options and rotate between undergraduate and graduate student work. For the upcoming summer and fall rotation, Master of Fine Arts student pieces will be on display from:
- Heather Fraccalvieri (Brown)
- Morgan Hesse (Winslow)
- Rachael Lowman ’26 (Winslow)
- Autumn Standbridge (Rep. Dr. Timothy Reeder)
Winslow chose pieces from the first semester-end portfolio, and CFAC staff and the student artists delivered it to the General Assembly. Alumni, Kas Eastwood ’25 and Bianca Gutierrez ’25 and Afyana Daniel ’24, made the first trip in September. They met with Winslow and Pitt County officials Brown, Reeder (District 9, Pitt), and Sen. Kandie Smith (District 5, Edgecombe/Pitt).
Students, staff and officials discussed art, student goals, state legislative processes, and the potential to display more art in the General Assembly. The group was also present for, and recognized during, the short floor session scheduled that day (starting at 20:50).
That semester, Winslow’s office displayed “Alligator Shoes” by Eastwood, “Florida Scrub Jay” by Gutierrez, and “Land-Ho” by Jesi Franklin ’25.
With encouragement from last year’s conversations, CFAC and officials expanded the relationship with a new round of art to display in February. During the spring semester, art hung again in Winslow’s office, as well as in those of Brown and Reeder. Again, students traveled to Raleigh with CFAC staff to meet lawmakers, discuss issues of art and government, and see the students’ art on display.
Coming off rotation from the spring are pieces by:
- Aydan Lawler ’26 (Winslow)
- Jamie Antinore ’26 (Winslow)
- (Cullen) Austin Irby, MFA student (Winslow and Reeder)
- Lenni Baldwin ’26 (Brown)
Bianca Gutierrez ’25, left, and Kas Eastwood ’25 stand in front of their artwork with N.C. Rep. Matthew Winslow in his Raleigh office in September. (Contributed photo)
Reeder expressed thanks for the students and staff.
“It was great to meet them and hear about their work,” he said. “I really look forward to displaying their art.”
Baldwin graduated in May with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in art with concentrations in photography and animation. He said he uses his art as “a narrative tool to tell the story of fictional worlds I personally create for enjoyment.” His multimedia piece in Brown’s office follows the life cycle of a star, as part of a series that tells the story of a deity creating the universe through stars.
“I am inspired by the billion-year life cycle that stars go through and how diverse their trajectories can be,” Baldwin said. “After their long cycle, stars can collapse and turn into black holes which, to me, is a symbol of a harsh, finite end. This theme resonates with me because, in a way, it’s an homage to how I see artists create work, and how sometimes they can transform in unimaginable ways.”
Baldwin visited state officials with the CFAC group in February and, with Irby, demonstrated photography techniques for Brown during her April ECU visit. Baldwin said he is “thrilled” to showcase an art piece in Brown’s office and that doing so, and visiting the legislature, had an impact he didn’t realize he needed.
He said it gives him hope to hear from elected officials that art is important, especially as an LGBTQIA+ artist trying to navigate the world.
“Seeing art in (Brown’s) office was like a warm hug that said, ‘I hear you, I see you and your work, and your presence is worth being in this building,’” he said. “It also demonstrates that art always has a purpose in every environment, as it is truly meant for all people to enjoy and appreciate.”
When Brown joined SOAD students and faculty on campus, she toured facilities including the Shape Lap (digital fabrications), woodshop, graduate studios, metal studios, photography and printmaking areas. In the latter two, Brown and Kean had the chance to create art with students.
Baldwin and Irby taught them lumen prints, placing plants, fruits and salt on special paper that exposes quickly in the sun and makes different colors based on the items used. They also demonstrated mordançage, a technique that reacts with silver gelatin in the photo paper to create new reactions and elements.
“And you’ve just got to accept whatever happens,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin and Irby — and Lawler, who taught and demonstrated relief and etching with Brown and Kean in the printmaking studios — shared their artwork inspiration, their appreciation for faculty, and the many technical processes they follow.
Creating a flower etching under Lawler’s tutelage, Brown acknowledged how difficult it was, that her colleagues should experience it and that art takes patience.
“That’s all art is,” Lawler said. “Patience and problem-solving. I think it’ll come out better than you think; it’s a magical process.”