Arts hub
At 7 p.m. tonight, Terpmode will host its once-a-semester showcase in Stamp Student Union’s Baltimore Room.
The club, led by senior English and studio art major Hannah Methvin and junior journalism and marketing major Melody Sahar-Khiz, is dedicated to promoting university arts, music, fashion and community.
“[We] want to help talented music and arts students at UMD to find opportunities to show off their abilities, gain an audience and generally just get noticed,” Methvin said.
However, to other club members, Terpmode is more than a promotional club: It connects nonart and nonmusic majors to the creativity all around them on the campus.
“I like Terpmode because it showcases many forms of local arts that would otherwise be hidden,” said co-webmaster and sophomore physics major Raymond Smoley. “Before Terpmode, I knew virtually nothing about the College Park arts scene, but after a short while, I now know this school is filled with many talented individuals ranging from music to fashion to things I never knew people did.”
A relatively new group on the campus, Terpmode was the brainchild of alumna Deanna Wright, who graduated in the spring. Though the club has been on the campus for only a year, Terpmode members have worked hard to establish it, create a professional website and obtain funding. The upcoming showcase — their third — is sponsored by Pepsi.
However, even before Pepsi’s sponsorship, Terpmode’s past showcases have been highly successful, members said. Last fall, their first showcase attracted an audience of 100, Methvin said. The following showcase in the spring boasted an audience of 250. Methvin expects an even larger turnout for this year based on the number of scheduled acts.
“We have surpassed the number of artists we had last semester,” Methvin said. “We also had a larger number of bands and artists who contacted us saying that they were interested.”
Sahar-Khiz is also looking forward to the event.
“I can’t wait to actually see the decorations, performers, artist tables, audience come together and create something beautiful: a community of art-lovers and creative thinkers,” she said.
This year, the showcase will feature a plethora of participants, such as artists, musicians and fashionistas. Confirmed student artists include Maggie Lewis, Sarah Fitzsimmons, Michelle He, Sudipta Das and Alex Shemonski, according to the event website. Each of the artists will have a table where students can view pieces and talk to the artist. In addition, the on-campus consignment shop Unwritten will be hosting a fashion show.
Terpmode has also confirmed a lineup of musical acts comprising a variety of genres, from indie rock to hip-hop. Among these are local bands Funk Police, Whew, The Relics and Mockapella, a comedic a cappella group .
Pepsi’s funding has also allowed Terpmode to include interactive elements in the showcase.
“We spent a large majority of our money on giveaway items and food,” Methvin said. “So this event really is for the students.”
Yet at the end of the day, the club is not all about showcases. Irrelevant
“Our Showcase is important because students need an opportunity to show off what they’ve done in a relaxed setting,” Methvin said. “It’s always inspirational to be in a creative environment — it puts the creative wheels in motion.”.
Sahar-Khiz is thankful to have Terpmode in her life for similar reasons.
“[Clubs like Terpmode] promote an appreciation for the value of diversity [and] open up a door for the culturally curious to be more engaged with and exposed to the many forms of artistic expression,” she said. “This makes the campus a more interesting and eclectic place.”
More information on the showcase can be found on Terpmode’s Facebook page. Those interested in Terpmode’s other endeavors can also check out the club’s website at www.terpmode.com.
