Late Night Paint

Lara Murray-Sterzel, Staff Writer |

On Friday, April 21, at the HCUN International Lounge, the Activities Council held a Late-Night Paint event where students could come and paint as many pictures as they wanted. Having gotten here half an hour early, the Council covered each table in the lounge with a tablecloth and set up a table with cookies and drinks for students. Outside the HCUN International Lounge, A/C members waited to scan students’ Event Pass before directing them to their tables. The A/C set up canvases, paint brushes, pencils, and paint for the students.

I got to interview Marco Sancimino, a chair member of the Activities Council, about the event and the making behind it. “Once a month we do it and it’s just nice to unwind. This one’s toward the end of the month because we’ve got OH-Fest next weekend, so we did it a week earlier. It’s just a relaxing, fun night,” Marco Sancimino had shared. He also said that they’ve done the Late Night Paint event for as long as he’s been on the Council. Sancimino said it’s been a long-time favorite that people enjoy and keep going back to. “I feel like it gives people an opportunity, who don’t want to go out, so they have something to do on a Friday night. If you don’t want to go out if you’re not into that. It’s also nice to see a lot of familiar faces. You get to see a lot of the people here come to our general body meetings. It’s another way we can see them on Fridays. Our friends come and we just hang out and have fun.”

Sancimino finds that people see this event as a stress reliever, that on some level it relates to art therapy. He also spoke about painting being more fun than colored pencils and crayons because it brings back happy childhood memories. “It reminds me of when I was little when I painted with my siblings in art class. Just some of the things that get painted look like you could make them in elementary school,” said Marco Sancimino. Marco Sancimino and A/C members hope people leave their event feeling inspired to let go, explore their creative side, and show others what they’re capable of. “Sometimes people aren’t comfortable with expressing themselves and don’t want to see how other people would view them,” said Marco Sancimino, “I think everyone has their own creative ideas, just some people don’t always express them the way they should.” Marco Sancimino strongly encourages you to embrace your creativity, “There are no limits to what you can paint. You don’t have to be the best at art to have fun and do it. It’s fun to express yourself and express your creative ideas.”

The Activities Council’s next event will be a Bingo Night on Friday, April 28. Check the Corq app for more details.