Fall semester's Art Cafe infused Brandeis campus with a colorful dose of creativity. Sponsored by the new club Art Attack, the event aimed to bring students together for a celebration of community and culture through the literary, performing and visual arts.Originally scheduled to be a grand, two-day affair, the Art Cafe was shortened to a single action-packed event with workshops taking place all day Thursday. Organized by Art Attack members Lee Tusman '04, Nicole Karlebach '04, Warren Grace '04 and Corey Leaffer '05, the club hoped the day-long event would inspire activism through art.
The first Art Cafe was organized two years ago in conjunction with "The Grid," a class taught by former Brandeis professor Robin Dash (FA). Art Attack was finally able to resurrect Dash's Cafe with a grant from the Hewitt Pluralism Alliance. With the rebirth of the Art Cafe, the club hoped to show the student body that art is not just an intellectual pursuit, but an activity that anyone can enjoy.

The Art Cafe began in upper Usdan at noon when Art Attack provided materials for students to create large-scale paintings throughout the afternoon. In addition, participants had the opportunity to create paintings in the styles of modern artists Jackson Pollack and Willem De Kooning. Later, Art Cafe offered African drum lessons, instrument making, origami workshops and also gave students the chance try printmaking or stencil drawing.

The afternoon session of Art Cafe concluded with False Advertising offering improv comedy lessons. These workshops and performances lasted until 6 p.m.

Art Cafe created a welcoming atmosphere for students of all creative abilities. Students passing by for lunch stopped by to leave their mark on one of the community murals, create a stencil work of their own, or play on the African drums. The afternoon's activities truly fulfilled the club's goal of uniting the Brandeis community through art. Massell Quad Community Advisor, Julie Frisch '06, even took advantage of the Art Cafe by having her residents come together to create a floor mural.

Following the 6 p.m. workshops, Art Cafe moved to Chum's Coffeehouse until midnight for an evening of non-stop musical and poetic entertainment. Students also took to Chum's stage to recite poetry and spoken-word pieces. Brandeis bands First Friday and Honkyphonic also performed as the floor of Chum's was covered so students could continue to paint throughout the night. Although Chum's was a little too crowded for painting with all the students who turned out for Art Cafe, everyone who attended the night's creative festivities still had a really fantastic time. Art Attack is already in the process of planning an even more extravagant Art Cafe for next semester, which should be just as big of a success for the club and as enjoyable for the entire Brandeis community.