Standing in a line wrapped around the Meadows Museum entrance, SMU students anxiously waited over an hour for the museum’s doors to open for ARTafterDARK this past Thursday, Sept. 19.

The event, hosted annually, celebrates the beginning of the academic year for SMU students. The museum invited students to interact with art, activities, and food inspired by the theme of the event after the museum’s regular hours.

The theme, “The Floor is Lava!” went with the opening of the museum’s newest fall exhibit, “The Legacy of Vesuvius: Bourbon Discoveries on the Bay of Naples.”

Anne Kindseth, the director of education at the Meadows Museum, emphasized her enthusiasm for the event’s theme.

“Every year, when we do this event, we try to have a fun, playful tagline, and because our exhibition upstairs looks at Mount Vesuvius, everyone wanted to have a piece of the classical past,” Kindseth said. “We really wanted to lean into that volcano theme, and the Floor is Lava just felt like a really fun kind of nod to that.”

As a way to attract student attention, the museum partnered with Sharmeen Uqaili, an SMU graduate student, to design a limited-edition t-shirt that the first 100 students in line received.

Like many other students, Kernell Slack, a sophomore, was intrigued by the t-shirt.

“I will say that the shirt was like really what caught my attention. But also the museum since I’ve never been in here before,” Slack said.

This year, the Meadows Museum was proud to partner with six student organizations and over 25 SMU students to highlight the talents of the SMU student body. The six student organizations were the SMU Craft Club, the Student Organized Art Collective (SOAC), the SMU Classical Studies Club, the SMU Poetry Club, and S.M.U.R.F. (Student Managed University Radio Frequency).

After enjoying a dessert bar inspired by volcanoes, Italy, and Southern Spain, many students explored the different levels of the museum.

Located on the second floor of the museum, the SMU Classical Studies Club was nestled into the Vesuvius Room. Their activity titled “Marvelous Mosaics” allowed students to create Roman-inspired mosaic coasters with members of the club.
The activity, which echoed the ancient mosaics of Pompeii, was intended for students to relax and understand more about Italy’s ancient past.

“I’m hoping that they have fun. I feel like it’s a really relaxing creative outlet for people,” Lily O’Bannon, president of the SMU Classical Studies Club, said.

Just like the mosaics activity, the SMU Crafts Club envisioned their bracelet-making activity titled “Lava Stone Bracelets” as a way to help students relax amidst the stress of the beginning weeks of school.

Victoria Valdez, co-founder and current president of the SMU Crafts Club, described her hopes for other students to de-stress.
“I always find bracelet making to be really relaxing. So when we were thinking of craft ideas, we just wanted something that would give everybody a chance to slow down,” Valdez said.

After seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter that emanated throughout the museum, any student who attended the event was sure to have experienced a night full of relaxation surrounded by timeless art.