Although hosting events in the Village may be beneficial to local businesses, The Cup owner Martin George said it’s the integration of art into the community that matters, not the extra sales.
As a frequent hub to the art group The Glue & Scissors Society’s first-Friday events, The Cup will once again open its doors to artists and their audiences on Friday. George’s personal interest in the arts motivates him to host the events and in turn, share his interest with the Muncie community.
“I’m doing everything I can to foster new artists and encourage events like that to happen in the Village and connect it to campus,” George said. “I’m glad it’s helping the businesses, but what’s important is that it’s good for the community, because in the long run, what’s good for the community is good for the business.”
Local businesses Be Here Now and Village Green Records have also acted as venues to Glue & Scissors events.
While past Glue & Scissors events featured mainly live music and visual art spanning from themes such as grayscale, print and mixed media, Friday’s event will also focus on poetry readings from six local writers.
Among the writers is senior creative writing major Elysia Smith, who will be reading a few pieces from her chapbook, a pocket-sized booklet, titled “Glaucoma.” Smith said “Glaucoma” was written as a perspective on divorce, but promises potential listeners that “it’s not as whiny as it sounds.”
As the group’s vice president, or as she calls it, “just a loud mouth who’s excited about her community,” Smith not only makes artistic contributions to the events, but also leads the group in planning and marketing.
“I personally feel that the shows that Glue & Scissors put on are a valiant and honest attempt to reintegrate art into our community,” Smith said. “With the downswing of art in public spaces like schools, it’s important to recognize and celebrate the opportunities that the sharing of self expression can be.”
The event begins at 4 p.m. at The Cup with a pre-show featuring jazz music and Happy Medusa, a local self-proclaimed “progressive pirate folk” band.
The readings begin at 7 p.m. at The Cup followed by an afterparty at Be Here Now showcasing four bands including the psychedelic five-piece from Fort Wayne Heaven’s Gateway Drugs and Indianapolis surf punk band No Coast. Ten to fifteen pieces of visual art will be debuted and decorate the walls of Be Here Now for the remainder of the month.
For Glue & Scissors President Phil Diaz said he hopes that Friday’s turnout is just as successful as past events. Diaz said the amount of people that attend always surmounts his expectations. With almost 100 people attending the event on Facebook, Diaz thinks this Friday’s event will attract the largest audience yet.
Since past events highlighted a specific theme, Diaz said he’s excited to see the audience’s reaction to the diverse pool of submitted art for this month’s event.
“This time we decided to take anything we can to show our community that there is all sorts of artwork out there,” Diaz said. “There will be a lot of different mediums and themes hung up in Be Here Now.”
Senior social work major Angelina Zulas is attending the event on Friday to support local art and music and see her friends for the first time since winter break began. As her second Glue & Scissors event, Zulas said these events act as creative stimulation for her and the community.
“Muncie is a city waiting for vibrant people to thrive within it,” Zulas said. “Hosting shows like Glue & Scissors motivates people to turn off their televisions and get out in the world. It inspires people to be creative and to mingle.”
