You Can’t Pour from an Empty Cup Installation
Artistic Collaboration
Exhibited June to July 2023
Project Information:
Description:
You Can't Pour From an Empty Cup is a community art project created by five undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Washington School of Public Health (UWSPH) — Harsha Amaravadi, Jess Gonzaga, Erika Lee, Dielle Lundberg, and Tania Vallejo — as part of a project exploring how art in the campus environment can facilitate connection and community-building to improve health and wellness within the school. The interactive exhibit challenged community members to reflect on a time their figurative cup felt empty (like they were overwhelmed, at capacity, or lacking hope) and express that on a physical cup, which was then added to the exhibit. The community then viewed those cups and moved affirmations located throughout the exhibit into the empty cups, serving as a visual gesture of the potential for the community to support one another during challenging times. The project was on display on the second floor of the Hans Rosling Center at the University of Washington School of Public Health from June to July 2023.
Acknowledgments:
The project was developed as part of the team's work on the UWSPH Dean's Advisory Council for Students (DACS) and would not have been possible without the generous support received from Hilary Godwin, rukie hartman, Juanita Ricks, Stephanie Farquhar, the other members of DACS, and UWSPH Student and Academic Services. The team also acknowledged and credited Nisha Patel (who published the list of affirmations adapted and used throughout this project) and Gwyneth Leech (whose captivating 800+ unit sculpture made from upcycled cups was an inspiration and point of reference) within the exhibit.
Role:
My creative role in this project was as a collaborator and co-creator. It included contributing as an artist to the conception, design, construction, coordination, and execution of the installation.
Project Photos:
Image Description: A head-on photograph of You Can’t Pour from an Empty Cup: a Multi-Media Installation comprised of painted cups in blue, purple, white, and black colors hanging in a wave-shaped pattern beneath colorful signs describing the exhibit and how to interact with it.
Image Description: Dielle Lundberg standing with her walking stick alongside her collaborators — both University of Washington School of Public Health students also serving on the Dean’s Advisory Council for Students— in front of their interactive, multi-media sculpture entitled You Can’t Pour from an Empty Cup.
Image Description: Collaborators on the installation work together to paint the cups to be used in the sculpture using a drip-paint method.
Image Description: A photograph from across the room of the You Can’t Pour from an Empty Cup multi-media installation comprised of painted cups in blue, purple, white, and black colors hanging in a wave-shaped pattern beneath colorful sizes describing the exhibit and how to interact with it. A student is seen in front of the sculpture interacting with it.
Image Description: Dielle Lundberg standing on the left with her four collaborators on the You Can’t Pour from an Empty Cup installation while they paint the cups and otherwise construct their sculpture. The team included undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Washington School of Public Health who were from left to right: Harsha Amaravadi, Tania Vallejo, Jess Gonzaga, and Erika Lee.