As Marshall prepares for Homecoming, art students are adding their creative flare by designing an installation art exhibit.

“For the first project in my installation art class, we were assigned to design an exhibit based on the Super Marco Brother’s Homecoming theme,” said Melia Beckford, an arts and design major. “Everyone made something really interesting based on the game and the different motifs of ‘Super Mario.’”

The exhibit is being installed this week and will be ready for viewing starting on Sept. 19 until Oct. 1 in the Memorial Student Center and from Sept. 19 until Nov. 1 on the second and third floor in Drinko Library.

“Displaying the exhibit on campus allows my students to express who the art school is, and it’s a fun way for them to show off their hard work and talent,” said Miyuki Akai Cook, the associate professor of fibers.

“Installation art is different from sculpture art; installation art utilizes space and is sometimes side-specific,” Cook said. “Not many of my students have done this type of art, so it took time for them to figure out the method and manage time properly.”

The students had four weeks to complete their assignment and prepare it for showing. Beckford said she spent around six to nine hours over several days to get her exhibit ready.

“There were some guidelines for the assignment, but it was very open for creativity,” Beckford said. “Everyone has something interesting and different to offer this exhibit.”

The “Super Mario Bros.” game sparked Beckford’s creativity for her part of the exhibit. 

“My area is the trophy case on the second floor of Drinko, so I decided to create the different levels of the game to display on each shelf.”

Beckford is hopeful that the exhibit will inspire students and bring back memories of them playing their Nintendo DS as children.

The exhibit will showcase 14 different student projects, and the public is welcome to take pictures of the art and share it on social media platforms.