Students surprise film professor with trip to Criterion Closet
At the end of last semester, film students at Grand Valley State University thanked their professor with a trip to the Criterion Closet.
Students surprised Associate Professor Joel Potrykus with a trip to the Closet, located in New York. The Criterion Closet is a physical collection of films, contained in the main office of the Criterion Collection, a company focused on film preservation and appreciation. The company, through its web series, invites filmmakers and celebrities to explore the vast collection, share their favorites and showcase what inspires their own work.
“This is it,” Potrykus said. “This is where every filmmaker wants to get, into the Closet.”
To read more about Potrykus’s trip to the Criterion Closet, click here.
Breakaway Music Festival returns to GR for eighth year
The weekend of Aug. 15-16, Grand Rapids kicked off summer’s end by hosting electric dance music (EDM) artists Zedd, Gryffin, REZZ and ISOxo at the Breakaway Music Festival.
Currently the largest national touring festival, Breakaway has supported local artists and communities across the country since its 2013 founding. This year, the festival, which has been returning to Belknap Park since 2017, enacted an 18+ rule in hopes of keeping the gathering a safe place for all attendees.
Adam Lynn, CEO and co-founder of Breakaway, said the festival began as a college-focused event, but is growing to embrace EDM fans of all ages and experience levels.
To read more about Breakaway Music Festival’s visit to Grand Rapids, click here.
Fashion trends GV students are falling for this autumn
In early September, Grand Valley State University got a taste of autumn with temperatures in the mid-to-low sixties, giving students a chance to prepare their closets for the colder weather. Excited to explore their wardrobes, 494 Magazine club members shared which trends they expect to see around campus this semester.
494 Magazine President Faith Matheson feels fashion choices can become lazier in the fall, with a common cute and practical option being a simple hoodie over jeans or leggings. Matheson added that rather than putting aside fashionable styles for cozy comfort, with some small alterations and time, outfits can become much trendier and allow individuals to remain expressive.
“I love a fall outfit,” Matheson said. “I hope to see people get more into layers, and definitely play around with colors and style.”
To read more about this year’s fall fashion trends, click here.
Espresso yourself: The science behind latte art
With the right tools and skills, a simple cup of coffee can be transformed into a frothy canvas. In today’s Instagrammable world, latte art can turn a boring cup of espresso into floating artwork, captured by baristas and coffee drinkers alike.
Latte art, although widely recognized as a social media trend from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, first became popularized in the 1980s by baristas on the West Coast. Now, the savored artwork can be found at almost any local coffee shop, including those near Grand Valley State University.
PaLatte Coffee & Art in Grand Rapids is known for out-of-the-box drink artistry, with latte art spanning traditional tulips and rosetta on hot latte to flavored swirls in cold foam.
To read more about the frothy science behind latte art, click here.
Local singer-songwriter takes stage at Arboretum concert
On Sept. 26, Grand Valley State University’s Arboretum was filled with students spread across the lawn for the fall concert. Izzy Joy, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter from Mount Pleasant, performed as the Fall Fest headliner.
The event was hosted by the University’s Campus Activities Board (CAB), with Joy’s performance marking the second annual fall concert. CAB provided iced apple cider and donuts, and new extra ambience, such as lighting up the stage and trees surrounding the venue.
While CAB members’ main goal was to give students a chance to relax as the semester’s ramping up, they also wanted to take the chance to highlight local talent.
“This year, we were excited to feature Izzy Joy, a rising artist who first caught our attention as a winner in a local talent show in Grand Haven,” said Katie Garrett, CAB’s assistant director of programming. “After listening to her music, we knew she’d be the perfect fit for an outdoor fall concert.”
To read more about this year’s fall concert, click here.
ArtPrize exhibits behind locked doors amid government shutdown
ArtPrize wrapped up in October, with Mark Lewanski taking home the $100,000 prize for his glass sculpture Arras: a 10-by-4-foot woven glass tapestry. Despite the win, since the government shutdown impacted many federal organizations, festivalgoers who wanted to see the work were only able to see a small sample of the winning piece. In fact, nobody, including Lewanski himself, was able to view the sculpture in its entirety for a period of time, where it was displayed inside the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
The Ford Museum is one of many businesses and organizations that ceased operations during the government shutdown, directly affecting artists and creative enthusiasts of ArtPrize. 38 artists were forced to move or leave their artwork inside the museum. On average, ArtPrize welcomes over 800,000 visitors a year across all weekends. With the Ford Museum and other venues being closed, it is unclear how the shutdown affected numbers this year. Lewanski’s winning piece was only one of multiple locked inside, dampening the final days of the event for many artists.
To read more about the 2025 government shutdown’s impact on local artists, click here.
Getting a taste of dorm-style cooking
Sometimes you don’t want to walk to Kleiner or Blue Connection for food, especially with colder temperatures and snowy weather looming.
However, with limited appliances and kitchen space, it can be difficult for students living on campus to prepare affordable and healthy meals.
There are certain tried-and-true meals that Grand Valley State University students stand by, including pasta and rice bowls. For some, cooking serves as a relaxing and creative outlet, allowing them to take a break from their busy schedules to prepare meals. Whether grabbing products from Aldi, Meijer or Replenish Basic Needs Center, students value dishes that can be saved, packed to-go and microwaved.
To read more about and view recipes for dorm-cooked meals, click here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source lanthorn.com ’
