Penn’s Signal organization held its fall semester art fair on Nov. 15 for creatives in the Penn community to showcase and sell artwork.
The event, hosted in the lobby of the Arts, Research, and Culture House, showcased both individual student-artists and creative groups on Penn’s campus. The Signal is a student-run organization dedicated to enhancing the Penn experience through creative projects, meaningful connections, and honest conversations.
The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with College junior Andrew Lu, the co-leader of the project, about how the event impacts the Penn community.
“A large part of it is having the opportunity to platform student art, showing students that [they] can make money off of [their] art … and that non-traditional careers are viable for students at Penn,” Lu told the DP.
College junior Gina Joo co-led the event with Lu. They reached out to student-led creative organizations across campus and promoted the event online via email and social media. A post on the organization’s Instagram page encouraged artists on campus to use this event as “a platform to promote, share, and sell their artwork with the Penn community.”
Joo explained that the most challenging part of organizing the event was securing a location that matched their vision because they “wanted to find a pretty open space.”
Signal held its first art fair in December 2023 and has continued to promote student work in the semesters since.
At this year’s art fair, artists offered a wide range of pieces for purchase — including posters, watercolor paintings, digital paintings, fan art, jewelry, bookmarks, and stickers.
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College first-year Will Tighe, who designs music-themed posters, had a table at the convention. Attendees were able to view Tighe’s collection and purchase his posters, directly supporting his business.
“I am super passionate about music, so [I sold] posters of some of my favorite artists, which I think other people may like as well,” Tighe told the DP. “I saw [Signal’s] email, and I’m also super passionate about art … so I wanted to participate.”
College Junior Sherry Kong, who is co-president of Penn’s Chinese Calligraphy Club, sold Chinese watercolor paintings on the club’s behalf. Kong spoke to the DP about her experience as a viewer and art enthusiast at the fair.
“Penn is such a pre-professional and forward-looking community … and we’re so focused on our pre-professional lives that sometimes we forget to just sit back and relax a bit,” Kong said. “[Signal Art Fair] is the perfect way to not only see what other students are doing in their free time … but to also find inspiration for yourself and what you want to do during your free time.”
