UA students express creativity using free resources provided by Adohi Creative Community

The Adohi Creative Community, located on the first floor of Adohi Hall B, houses a multitude of creative opportunities, artistic resources and student-led workshops, all free for UA students.

The creative community opened four years ago and evolved into a technologically advanced and well-supplied space for all students to make art, work on school projects or simply engage with their fellow peers in an easy-going environment.

Mary Peacock has been the creative community coordinator since 2019. Some of her favorite aspects of the creative community are the artistic freedom it offers and the number of resources offered free for students. The space contains areas for musicians, dancers, artists, graphic designers, photographers or anyone who needs to blow off a little steam and create, she said.

“I want this to be amazing, and for people to realize that this is a community and everyone is welcome,” Peacock said, “no matter who you are or what you are, we don't care, so please come and play.”

The recording studio, dance studio and private practice rooms are ideal spaces for practices and rehearsals. The recording studio contains microphones, all necessary cables and a state-of-the-art sound board, ideal for recording albums, podcasts, or even voice acting samples, Peacock said. The only thing required to record is a student ID card.

For students in dorms who require privacy to prepare for a performance or presentation, the private practice rooms available are soundproofed and equipped with the necessary equipment to create the ideal quiet environment, Peacock said. 

The largest space in the creative community is the maker space. Students have access to sewing machines, laser cutters, soldering irons, 3D printers and Cricut printing machines. 

“It's such a great opportunity to learn new skills that you wouldn't have had the opportunity to before having this space,” freshman creative community assistant Helena Alexander said. “I had never really used a sewing machine or had access to a laser cutter or a 3D printer, and now I can do all of those things.”

Students working at the creative community take on a large chunk of responsibility and are given creative freedom to take charge and lead unique workshops for other students. Current workshops include “Fan Art Frenzy” led by Alexander, “Delicate Desserts” led by freshman Lilly Crawford and “Shall We Play a Game?” led by sophomore Alex Prosser.

Prosser, a computer science major from Clinton, began his workshop because he wanted to discuss video games and game design with fellow students. He believes immersion and conversation are the best ways to learn, he said. Peacock asked him to join the creative community student staff after she saw his potential to teach and communicate with peers about art and computer science.

“I come from a small town that does not necessarily delve into technology,” Prosser said. “The closest thing we had was a high school program and it was not the most advanced. This definitely has opened up a lot of opportunities.”

While the creative community only provides a few workshops each week, the space is regularly used by other on- and off-campus organizations to host large events for UA students, Peacock said. One upcoming event is titled Pushing Poetry, which will take place March 30.

“We are having a poetry slam type of event, where students come in and perform poetry pieces,” said Reagan Morris, a freshman creative community student staff member. “We will have food and games and giveaways for people to do. It is a place for people to express themselves and have fun.”

Peacock said she believes college is the perfect time to embrace your creativity and learn how to express yourself through art and movement, and the creative community is a free, safe space for students to come and do just that.

“A lot of people think that they are not artists, and it's not the idea of being an artist,” said Peacock, “it's the idea of just creating something new and how great it makes you feel.”