By: Rami Mansi
In the Avairy room of the Student Center, the Brooklyn College (BC) Fiber Arts and Design Club hosted an event centered on having attendees crochet their own friendship bracelets.
Fiber arts is a type of art that uses tactile materials such as fabric and yarn to create designs and artworks.
The long table, which had just enough seats for all the attendees, was filled with beads of various colors, rolls of yarn and strings, and a tray of sweets in the middle. With materials galore and assistance from E-Board members, club President Aaliyah Martin says creating a safe space to cool off during testing season is the most crucial aspect of this event.
“[Club members and attendees] are here to hang out, even if you don’t want to improve your skills crocheting every day and stuff like that. You’re just sitting in that moment, and around midterm season, around final season, you come [to club events], and you decompress, and you just want to have a good time.”
More than just a space for relaxation, the club offers students the opportunity to bond with one another over the arts. “We’re all on the same footing. All students here, so [our event] is really about building community and having a space just to do one thing. That’s what [our EBoard] wants,” said Martin.
Participants could be seen braiding yarn with assistive devices, with boxes of beads passed around to decorate their newly assembled bands.
BC student Carina Alessandro attested to the beginner-friendly guidance given out at the event.
“The event feels very welcoming. I like how [the event’s space] is not a humongous event where you don’t feel like you’re gonna get help at all.” Alessandro stated.
“[This event] really caters to people who are beginners who don’t really know how to crochet, as well as people who are more advanced, so that’s really helpful.”
The BC Fiber Arts and Design Club has been around since the original E-board founded it earlier last year. After a handful of semesters, an ad from the club’s official Instagram account was looking for members to find a completely brand new E-Board.
Vice President Saazia Khan, who was excited to take on this new responsibility, but nerves almost steered her away from applying for the position.
“I attended one of [the club’s] events as a transfer student. I saw that I really liked [the event], and then [the club] was doing the elections. At first, I didn’t want to do it. I was kind of nervous. […] I was like ‘You know what, let me try. Let me see what happens. If I lose, I lose; if I win, I win.’ ’’
The tactile-materials-based club hopes to return next semester, reaffirming its role as one of the few art-based clubs on campus.
“It feels like a full-circle moment of being able to teach people how to crochet, because [our club] is the only space [at BC] that does that.”
For more information about the BC Fiber Arts and Design club, visit their official Instagram: @bcwc.crochet.