Daniel Parker, director of the Office of the Arts, said the exhibit marks a new chapter for the Ferst Center. 

“We wanted to engage with the community in a way that would reactivate our space and bring in people more regularly,” he said. “This was perfect timing because kickoff aligned with Homecoming week.” 

The event highlights the artistic talents of the Tech community with pieces from staff, faculty, and alumni. As Parker noted, “The arts are very vibrant here, and our faculty and staff have quite a few hidden talents.” He also emphasized the importance of celebrating these vast creative talents, especially at a technology and engineering-centric institution like Georgia Tech. 

“The artistic talent and interest at Georgia Tech are, in some ways, an untapped resource,” he said. “There are so many artistic avenues at Tech, and we’re all beginning to come together and find each other. Especially in the realm of research, the arts are becoming a powerful tool for communicating findings. It helps make the research more relatable without oversimplifying it.” 

When asked about what he hopes attendees take away from the exhibit, Parker discussed his aspirations to facilitate connection.  

“When people come to the ARTumn Showcase, they’ll find more art here than they realized. To see a colleague participate in something like this and discover a new dimension about them is really cool,” he said.  

The ARTumn Showcase runs until Nov. 21 in the Ferst Center lobby. For more event details, visit https://arts.gatech.edu/event/artumn-visual-arts-showcase.