Each day, five artists shared a piece they created in correlation with the theme. WMI’s goal was “to inspire and be inspired.”
Filled predominantly with Union students, but also including those not affiliated with the school, WMI displayed a mixture of tones and moods for each theme, which were picked to represent different stages of life. The themes were: For The First Time (childhood), From The Woods (fantasy and dreams), Into The Storm (conflict and fear), Touch (hope and love) and Finally Together (unity and conclusions).
With those topics as the starting point, the desire was for the artists to interpret them in the way they wanted.
Julia Hembree, creator and co-curator of the project, graduated from Union in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in photography and graphics and moved to Nashville soon after. Between working at a local popsicle shop and making plans to relocate to New York, Hembree found herself neglecting her passion for photography.
After several phone calls and learning that her friends felt the same lack of artistic expression, the Union alumna organized WMI to showcase a collection of artists.
“Trey Weise was one of the first people I called to help me organize an event to encourage art making,” Hembree said. “He’s brilliant at cultivating artist community and encouragement, so I wanted his input.”
As curators, Weise, a 2014 graduate, did most of the editing while Hembree helped make suggestions to proposals. After the pieces were finished, they put them on their WordPress page and released them on the appropriate days.
Hembree said she felt like a teacher to her peers.
“It is weird having to bug your friends about deadlines and getting work rolling,” she said. “Plus, it was hard keeping up with all the emails and submissions. But, overall it was incredibly wonderful working with friends.
“I am incredibly sappy and would get teary every time I got an email with a final draft.”
Hembree said she was proud of everyone involved.
“People are so creative and different,” she said. “Every person can look at a theme like ‘Touch’ and not two people would come up with the same idea. Everyone has their own experiences and passions that drive their creativity and with each one, a new glimpse at life.”
You can check out We’re Making It at their website.
