Student artist co-hosts exhibition event, Triad Myraid

Senior Amy Sinclair is an artist. And there comes a time in every artist’s life when he or she has the opportunity to share that passion. Sinclair’s time is now.

Sinclair and two other students are hosting Triad Myriad, an exhibition event at North Branch Projects. Opening night was March 24, and the exhibition will run until May 5.

North Branch is a community bookbinding studio in Albany Park, where Sinclair has interned since last June. Formerly an education student, Sinclair recently changed her major to studio art. She said it is where her true interests lie.

The three students, one from the Art Institute, one from North Park University and Sinclair, discovered similarities in their work and wanted to make it into something larger. Sinclair described it as a “visual language.”

“We kind of use our sketchbooks to kind of talk to ourselves,” she said.

“We’re thinking of a way that we can project this,” she added.

That’s where Triad Myriad comes in. The students learned ways to market and organize exhibitions, including writing press releases for events like this.

“We’re all learning about the process of actually exhibiting work,” Sinclair said.

Sinclair said the event will incorporate three different aspects. They want to use the front part of the studio to show their sketchbooks, while the second area will host a ping-pong tournament. Finally, they will display the culmination of their work in the back.

“We’re going to have a more sophisticated resolution of the work we’ve been individually doing,” she said.

They’re also going to put out books they’ve bound for visitors to draw in as a way to “extend the dialogue and ask people about their own visual language.”

Sinclair said the students also planned to host a workshop after the opening night. The artists led discussion and taught participants about bookbinding and working on a sketchbook.

“Hopefully people are continuing to add to these books,” she said.

Director Regin Igloria said these exhibitions are important to artists who want to share their work.

“That’s one very expansive way of reaching out to people,” he said.

Igloria has worked extensively with the students and said they have brought growth to North Branch, which has only been open for one and a half years.

“I couldn’t run this space without them,” he said.

He also said that the students showed willingness to display their work and learn about this process.

“They’re genuinely interested in sharing their work, so I’m not going to hold them back,” he said. “That goes for anybody who walks through these doors.”

Above all, Igloria said North Branch is about community. Not only will the students be able to share with the neighborhood, he said, but they’re also getting the chance to work together outside their universities’ bubbles.

“You’re binding books, but you’re also binding people together,” he said.