The ArtOn! organising process requires meticulous planning and communicating for months. It begins at the end of every ArtOn!, meaning every ArtOn! we’ve ever enjoyed has been an entire year’s worth of work. It has been no different for Rohan, Katherine and Katia, main organisers of ArtOn! 2020. “We began organising in the summer of 2019, and ever since, there hasn’t been a day we haven’t done anything not related to ArtOn!. It’s a lot of work in a condensed amount of time,” said Katherine English, BCCB’20.
There is a specific election system in place for the ArtOn! organising committee – one that ensures continuity and improvement with each passing year. This recruiting process is a long one but ultimately fruitful. “The organisers from previous years are potential candidates as main organisers for the following year,” said Rohan Latif, ECE’20. Rohan has been involved in ArtOn! as an organisers for the entire time he has been here and every year “it’s a new experience.”
So, what does it take to pull off an event as large and grandiose as ArtOn!? Immense amounts of hard work and time management of course. But there’s this element of trust that weaves a very important role for itself. “It’s based on a lot of trust!,” said Katia Gregorek, PSY’22. “We have to trust the community coordinators, we have to trust the smaller committees and most importantly, we have to trust each other.”
ArtOn! is put together by more than just the main organisers, however. It’s a huge teamwork between numerous groups of people. “It’s this existing network of connections that we have to work with. It involves so many people, practice slots, external contacts…the list goes on. None of this is possible without understanding between one another,” said Katherine. “The whole process has also brought us so much closer; I feel like we’re such close friends,” added Katia. Some of the best memories of organising ArtOn! were the ideas and laughter shared over late night pizza and drinks. These evenings and brainstorm sessions were what led to ‘Duality’ being decided on as a theme for this year’s competition. “We were just throwing around ideas. We started talking about leap year, the four-leaved clover and taking the leap in life. We wanted people to express a side of themselves that we don’t usually see. We wanted them to understand that you don’t have to be the absolute best at artistic expression to be able to participate.”
ArtOn! is an event that allows people to work with the community and realise the community spirit, and that was pretty much what Rohan, Katherine and Katia wanted to achieve. “It’s entirely meant for the community and getting to know each other better,” said Katherine.
The three weren’t without second thoughts – the fear of miscommunication during the event hovered very close to their heads. “We were worried about things that are not directly under our control!”
Months of non-stop work culminated with the screening of the college movies. “In that moment we couldn’t have done anything more. It was over and it was successful,” said Katia, who nearly cried at the closing ceremony.
This experience has been all about learning and growing, according to Rohan, who along with Katherine is graduating in June. Although exhausting and gruelling, Rohan wouldn’t mind doing it all over again, perhaps even for the rest of his life.
BY USHASHI BASU (INDIA) | CLASS OF 2020
