ArtEx students across RIT build lasting connections by embracing creativity and hands-on collaboration beyond their academic majors

Rochester. New York – For many students at Rochester Institute of Technology, academic life is tightly structured by majors, requirements, and deadlines. But for a growing group of students involved in ArtEx, creativity has become a space where structure loosens, curiosity leads the way, and community forms naturally through shared making.

Sébastien Guillotin first joined ArtEx hoping to explore artistic processes he had never touched before. As a second-year new media interactive development student from Cary, N.C., he was eager to work with hands-on media like glassblowing, printmaking, and welding—disciplines far outside his usual coursework. What surprised him most, however, was not the tools or techniques, but the people.

“There hasn’t been a workshop I’ve left where I didn’t go out to lunch with the other people after we finished. I really do feel like it’s been one of the fastest communities that I’ve made friends in,” said Guillotin, a second-year new media interactive development student from Cary, N.C.

ArtEx was created to offer students outside RIT’s College of Art and Design a way to engage directly with creative spaces across campus. Through the program, students gain special access to studios, equipment, and instruction housed within the School for American Crafts and the School of Art. The goal is not to train artists in a traditional sense, but to open doors—giving students the chance to explore creativity without pressure or expectations.

Today, ArtEx includes students from more than 50 academic programs and draws roughly 250 participants from every undergraduate college at RIT. That diversity is one of the program’s defining features. In workshops, students who may never cross paths in a lecture hall find themselves working side by side, sharing materials, ideas, and conversation.

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For Guillotin, that access proved transformative. Without ArtEx, he said, he might never have stepped into the Glass Hot Shop, let alone discovered glass as one of his favorite creative outlets. The program gave him freedom to experiment without worrying about performance or outcomes.

“ArtEx has really opened the art world to me and exposed me to opportunities on campus that I just didn’t know were there before,” he said. “To me, ArtEx is total freedom. There’s never a requirement to participate, and there are never any grades. I think that’s invaluable.”

That sense of freedom is intentional. Since its launch in 2023, ArtEx has continued to evolve, adapting to student interest and feedback. This academic year, the program has undergone several changes under the leadership of Visiting Lecturer Annalisa Barron, who oversees its direction and growth.

One of the most noticeable updates has been the restructuring of workshop schedules. Instead of spreading sessions across long periods of time, workshops are now typically held during a concentrated week each month. According to Barron, this approach encourages repeated interaction among participants, making it easier for relationships to form and deepen.

Another shift has focused on mentorship. Many ArtEx workshops are taught by graduate students from the College of Art and Design, and this year, select instructors were invited to design sessions rooted in their own areas of expertise. These workshops, offered during the spring semester, allow graduate instructors to share specialized skills while gaining valuable teaching experience.

Barron has observed a clear pattern in student engagement, one that reflects broader trends across higher education.

“Something I’ve observed is there is this extreme increase in interest of people wanting to work with their hands. People are hungry for ways to channel their experiences into some kind of expressive form,” said Barron. “ArtEx allows students to have some time where they’re able to really do something that’s embodied—something that isn’t on a screen and gives them face-to-face contact with other people who have a shared interest.”

That hunger for hands-on work resonates strongly with students like Dylan Lowe Keffer, a second-year student pursuing a dual degree in biomedical sciences and health and wellbeing management. For them, choosing RIT meant finding a balance between rigorous scientific study and creative release.

Ceramics and printmaking quickly became favorite mediums—spaces where Lowe Keffer could slow down, reset, and work without the pressure of grades. In a demanding academic schedule filled with labs, exams, and technical material, ArtEx offered something rare: room to breathe.

“I really enjoy mixing the sciences that I’m learning with the art I’m creating,” said Lowe Keffer, from Lenexa, Kan. “A lot of the science work I do has visual aspects to it. Working with the different art media allows me to visualize things in new ways.”

Over time, the benefits extended beyond skill-building. Like Guillotin, Lowe Keffer found that the strongest impact of ArtEx was social. Working alongside students from different majors and class years created a sense of grounding that was hard to find elsewhere on campus.

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“I really like that the program exposes me to people that aren’t from the same major or year level as I am. It’s really grounding for me,” they said. “With ArtEx, I’m not constantly just thinking about my assignments or classes. I have school, and then I have this other thing that connects me to the campus beyond academics. It’s making me more balanced in every aspect of my life.”

That balance—between structure and freedom, academics and expression—sits at the heart of ArtEx’s mission. By removing grades, requirements, and competition, the program creates a space where students can explore creativity for its own sake, while forming connections that stretch across disciplines.

As ArtEx continues to grow, its role on campus is becoming clearer. It is not just a collection of workshops, but a shared environment where students can step outside their majors, work with their hands, and build community through making.

Students interested in learning more about ArtEx, its workshops, and how to participate can visit the ArtEx program website or email Annalisa Barron at [email protected] for additional information.