KSU’s Art Club is kicking off its second semester with a day-trip to the Andy Warhol Museum and The Mattress Factory Art Museum in Pittsburgh Feb. 23.

Kerie Johannes, junior crafts major and vice president of the club, said the club officers plan to take advantage of opportunities that will expose club members to popular art.

“The point of the trip is to get art and non-art majors interested in learning and experiencing art,” Johannes said. “It is such a great resource we have fairly close to us.”

Kalie Raith, sophomore fashion merchandising major, said she is excited to visit the Andy Warhol Museum and The Mattress Factory.

“The Mattress Factory is a museum of contemporary art that houses current sculptures created for the space,” Raith said. “The artists actually live in the building for a year while they create their works.”

Shelby Solomon, freshman art education major, said she influenced the club’s decision to attend both museums.

“I grew up in Pittsburgh and took many trips to both places while I was growing up,” Solomon said. “Both museums are so fun to look around because they are modern and constantly changing. The Mattress Factory is a personal favorite. The art they focus on there are installation pieces, filling rooms with extraordinarily cool pieces that are oftentimes interactive.”

Although the club consists of regular members and various plans for the semester, it hasn’t been around as long as other campus organizations. Lindsey James, sophomore crafts major and the club president, said Art Club originally began during fall 2012.

“We had 80 people show up to our very first meeting, and the majority of them were non-art majors, so that was really interesting,” James said. “But it’s died down from there. We have a nice little set majors group who are always involved, and we’re always going to shows together.”

With assistant art professor Mark Schatz as the club’s faculty advisor, James said the club shaped into a successful environment for students with a shared passion for art to explore their abilities together.

“We started it because we wanted a way for students, both art and non-art majors, to come together and do anything from view art—by going to museums and galleries, to create art and collaborative works, and just hang out and make art happen,” James said.

James said all majors are welcome to join Art Club, and said the club hosts meetings every Monday at 8:30 p.m. in room 202 of the Art Building.

Contact Joanna Kamvouris at [email protected].