Arts and Culture 6 Bringing Back Tradition: A Recap of Winterfest 2023

Upon writing this profile of this January’s Winterfest, I dove into some Davidsonian archives with a curiosity about the origins of this annual party in Union. According to a February 1, 2012 edition of the paper, the idea for Winterfest came out of SGA in 2010 as an effort to unite “up the hill” and “down the hill” cultures, referring to a divide on campus between those involved with Patterson Court and those uninvolved. At that time, Winterfest was planned by the Union Board and SGA in conjunction with the PCC, whereas this year it was spearheaded by Laura Bullock ‘23, chair of the Concert Committee. One of the founding ideas behind Winterfest was to provide a chance for students to gather, dance, and enjoy good music at an event independent of Patterson Court. In 2012, the attendance at Winterfest was between 1200 and 1400 students, which was 66% to 77% of the student body at the time. The attendance for this year’s Winterfest didn’t reach that threshold, but Union was definitely not empty. According to SGA, a little over 1000 students were in attendance.

Food, games, crafts, and bouncy apparatuses were scattered throughout Union. And in the words of Lars Oehler ‘26, “there were orbeez everywhere.” The stage occupied the central area on the ground floor to ensure that students could view the performances from the balconies. 2023’s Winterfest saw two New York City-based bands that have been rising in popularity in recent years: Quarters of Change and Laundry Day. Quarters of Change opened with a set of songs that set the tone for the night and gave the crowd some energy with which to welcome Laundry Day. Laundry Day, the headliner of the night, was advertised more than Quarters of Change leading up to Winterfest, and many students found the opener to be a striking surprise. Violet Calkin ‘26 shared, “I was quite literally listening to T-Love by Quarters of Change while getting ready for the concert, so hearing that they were the opener was so startling and so fantastic. I daresay they were the best part of the night!” The energy for Laundry Day was also present in the crowd with some students even sharing that the band was their favorite. Laundry Day’s most popular songs were a big hit, including “Jane,” which has over nine million listens on Spotify and “FRIENDS,” which has over 14 million listens. They also performed other songs from their albums, and they even shared a song from an upcoming album. Laundry Day said goodnight to the crowd and began to exit the stage before running back out to close out the night with a cover of “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus, a huge crowd pleaser. The band members, Sawyer Nunes, Jude Ciulla, Etai Abramovich, Henry Weingartner, and Henry Pearl, are all in their early 20s and were able to relate to the crowd well. They interacted with the audience throughout the show, and they were sure to shout out Steph Curry several times throughout the set. It’s safe to say this year’s Winterfest was a hit!

Katherine Marshall ‘26 (she/her) is an undecided major from Atlanta, GA. Katherine can be reached for comment at kamarshall@davidson.edu.

Davidson Art Club: An Escape to “Another World” for Creative Students

Now, why might someone be mysteriously heading to the VAC at 7:00 pm on a Thursday night? A group of students crosses main street, they call a number posted on the door to be let in (not all of us are lucky enough to have VAC Catcard access) and they disappear up the stairs. Well, it’s a mystery no longer! Davidson’s very own art club, “Ars Longa,” holds a weekly meeting for anyone interested in art and creativity. The latin name pays homage to the phrase “ars longa, vita brevitas: art is long, life is short.” With this motto at its foundation, Ars Longa provides a space to slow down from fast-paced college life.

Although it has existed for many years, Ars Longa reached a turning point in 2019. Laura Bullock ‘23 took on its responsibilities her freshman year and explained what prompted her.

“When I came in freshman year (2019), I wasn’t enrolled in any studio courses and wanted an opportunity to use the painting resources at the VAC,” Bullock said. “I started meeting with [Assistant Professor of Art] Katie [St. Clair] and we organized a watercolor and gouache painting session in the spring of 2020.”

The COVID-19 pandemic followed shortly after two meetings and, even when back on campus, the VAC remained closed to students not enrolled in art courses.

Now a senior, Bullock reorganized the club’s weekly sessions and planned with St. Clair “to find underclassmen for leadership positions so the club would have a future.” In a nod to Bullock’s own young start as leader of the club, Belle Staley ‘26 stepped up to be the president with a host of other students, mainly underclassmen, transitioning to its executive board.

Once again, Ars Longa exists in the midst of a revival– new leadership, new interest, and overall new enthusiasm for the resource. The fall meetings were mainly focused on figure drawing with an occasional watercolor session. A typical session would start with chatting in the classroom, music humming on the speaker in the background, and collecting one’s preferred materials: newsprint or mixed media paper, charcoal, graphite, pencils, pastels. The room takes the shape of a crescent, with students arranged on stools all viewing different angles of the model setup staged center. Drawing boards rest precariously on knees as a model walks in and settles into poses in full or partial nude. Ars Longa provides the rare and incomparable artist experience of figure drawing outside of the classroom. The club hires a variety of professional and student models who pose for an evening of sketching. Speaking from experience, the hour-long meeting passes by in a blur. We move through 3 minute poses all the way to a 15 minute detailed sketch. As the phone timer rings for the last time, I feel like I’m waking up out of a meditative experience. The night ends with musings over others’ work, washing off charcoaled covered hands, and walking out of the VAC, out of a separate world and back onto campus. is an English and Biology double major from McLean, VA. She can be reached for comment at cagoodin@davidson.edu.

Staley underscored the importance of immersion. Staley lives her role as president with the goal of “creating a space for people who want to be more than whatever major they are.” Ars Longa is here to build a community around art, and Staley aspires to keep “making it relevant.” In the coming weeks, the Ars Longa Executive Board hopes to encourage new members to create, continue sessions of drawing and watercolor, and expand into painting or sculpture in the following years. Timing could be changing soon for easier hours and an increased turnout, so follow along on Instagram (@davidsonartclub) or email Staley (bestaley@davidson.edu) for updates. Continuing Bullock’s mission of accessibility, this reinvigorated Ars Longa recognizes the club’s opportunity for students without an artistic outlet in their class schedule because, quite simply, it is not easy to get into a Davidson studio art class. Though Staley acknowledged that sometimes the “VAC is its own entire world,” that world doesn’t have to be intimidating; Ars Longa can transport you into it for one comforting hour of creativity.