University of Arizona Logo
  • Programs
  • Apply
  • Give
  • College of Fine Arts Home
  • Prospective Students
    • Why UofA School of Art
    • Tour the School!
    • Areas of Study
    • Degrees
    • Admissions
    • Online Programs
    • Scholarships & Financial Aid
    • Careers in Art
  • Current Students
    • Advising
    • Student Resources
    • Opportunities
  • People
    • Directory
    • Graduate Directory
    • Advisory Board
    • Faculty Portfolio
    • Faculty Catalogs
    • Student Portfolio
    • MFA Catalogs
    • Faculty Stories
    • Student Stories
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
  • Resources & Facilities
    • Facilities Overview
    • Galleries
    • Visiting Lecture Series
    • Visual Resource Center
    • Digital Print Studio
    • Book Art & Letterpress Lab
    • Studios & Classrooms
    • Graduate Studios
  • Visit
    • About The School
    • Tour the University!
    • Outreach Activities
    • Art Days
    • Contact Us
  • Donate
    • Support the School of Art
    • Projects
  • Facebook
  • Join Our E-Club
  • College of Fine Arts Home
Home › News & Events › News › Alum’s postcard projects connect artists

Alum’s postcard projects connect artists

April 24, 2023
Robert Warner, The Postcard Collective, Spring 2014

By Michael Chesnick
School of Art

Postcards make Camden Hardy happy.

Designing and mailing them — and, of course, receiving them — helps him connect with other artists and stretch the limits of creativity, a process he says that “simply cannot exist in cyberspace.”

It’s why he started the Postcard Collective 13 years ago as a Master of Fine Arts student at the University of Arizona School of Art, and why he’s now leading a storytelling project in which his fellow Ph.D. students are making postcards for a class co-taught by Professor Ellen McMahon.

Camden Hardy (MFA ’12)

“Postcards promote an ethics of care that is often at odds with our culture of fast-paced, transactional consumption,” Hardy said.

“To create and send a postcard to another human being is to deliberately forge a personal connection without any guarantee of reciprocation,” he added. “To receive a postcard is to be reminded that someone cared enough to reach out. The relational dynamic between sender and recipient is a poignant reminder that our wellbeing is directly tied to that of others.”

McMahon is co-teaching the course, “Art Research in the Unruly World: Questions, Forms & Methods” (SCCT 510),  through the SCCT Graduate Interdisciplinary Program — a class that brings together faculty and Ph.D. students like Hardy from different units across campus.

Hardy, a doctoral candidate in Applied Intercultural Arts Research (AIAR), gave each student in the class three stamped and addressed postcards with the prompts “space / place,” “time” and “identity” printed on the back. Students responded to the prompts on the front of the postcards in whatever form they desired — words, images, collages — and then dropped them in the mail.

Hardy will collect the postcards to compose a visual narrative, which will be on display in early May in the School of Art’s Visual Arts Graduate Research Lab, 1231 N. Fremont Ave. An opening reception is Tuesday, May 2, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the lab’s Palo Verde graduate gallery.

Andrea Hempstead, The Postcard Collective, Spring 2019 theme, “The Sound that I Saw”

McMahon is ecstatic about the collaboration with Hardy and other students from units such as the School of Art, Agriculture, Anthropology, Educational Psychology, East Asian Studies and AIAR. Most are minoring in Social Critical and Cultural Theory through the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program (GIDP).

She also worked with Hardy on her 2013 co-edited book “Ground/Water: The Art, Design and Science of a Dry River.” Beyond his personal project for the book, he provided beautiful images for the inside covers and the section dividers, McMahon said.

“Camden is soft-spoken and humble about his work,” she said. “He’s generous, persistent and dedicated to cultivating a creative community around him wherever he is.”

Hardy received his BA in Media & Theater Arts Photography from Montana State University before getting his MFA in 2012 at UArizona, where he started the Postcard Collective as an effort to maintain relationships with artists in different cities and regions.

“We hold seasonal postcard exchanges — about four per year — in which approximately 30 artists create and send postcards to each other; each participant receives a postcard from all other participants,” said Hardy about the exchanges, which are themed with prompts such as “The Sound that I Saw.”

For Hardy, the May exhibit at the School of Art brings back memories of the Postcard Collective’s first exchange in the graduate gallery toward the end of the Spring 2010 semester. It was busy time.

Grace Wong, The Postcard Collective, Fall 2019 theme, “That One Time”

“Graduate school is a pressure cooker,” Hardy said. “A group of young artists suddenly find themselves surrounded by like-minded individuals, all with the shared goal of learning about themselves and how to make their work in the most authentic way possible, faculty and peers challenging them at every turn.

“Looking back, it is truly remarkable to consider what graduate school inspired us to make of ourselves.”

After getting his MFA, Hardy worked and taught at Southwest University of Visual Arts for the next eight years while the Postcard Collective gathered momentum. Hardy said postcards from the collection have been exhibited inside and outside the United States in a variety of contexts.

Hardy decided to return to UArizona as a doctoral student to “explore the ways in which communities of practice can facilitate and support unifying discourse among artists,” he said — and he’s using the “evolution of the Postcard Collective as a space for artists to conduct their own research and connect with each other.”

“Let’s be honest: we’re going through some dark times,” Hardy said. “Our culture has been flooded with divisive, toxic rhetoric that has pitted us all against each other.

“Art, on the other hand, can be the cure. It has the power to remind us of what it means to be human, and that we are all in this together.”

  • The Postcard Collective
  • Camden Hardy website
  • Instagram: @camdenhardy

 

News & Events

  • News
  • Events

Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
University of Arizona School of Art
15 hours ago
University of Arizona School of Art

Congrats to new Assistant Professor Jenn Liv, who was awarded the Silver Medal in the advertising category for this year's Society Of Illustrators 66th Annual Competition. She was honored for a three-color risograph illustration series commissioned by the Japanese airline All Nippon Airways and art directed by VIRTUE NY. She'll receive the award this spring at a ceremony in New York. Go to www.jennliv.com/ and Jenn Liv Illustration to see more of Jenn's work. Arizona Arts The University of Arizona University of Arizona Museum of Art All Nippon Airways ... See MoreSee Less

Congrats to new Assistant Professor Jenn Liv, who was awarded the Silver Medal in the advertising category for this years Society Of Illustrators 66th Annual Competition. She was honored for a three-color risograph illustration series commissioned by the Japanese airline All Nippon Airways and art directed by VIRTUE NY. Shell receive the award this spring at a ceremony in New York. Go to https://www.jennliv.com/ and Jenn Liv Illustration to see more of Jenns work. Arizona Arts The University of Arizona University of Arizona Museum of Art All Nippon AirwaysImage attachmentImage attachment+5Image attachment
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 8
  • Shares: 2
  • Comments: 0

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

University of Arizona School of Art
2 days ago
University of Arizona School of Art

Come work with us! The School of Art is conducting searches for FOUR faculty positions. Click on the links below to apply.

2D Printmaking: arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/18304?c=Arizona

First Year Experience (FYE): arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/18306?c=arizona

Art & Visual Culture Education (AVCE): arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/18305?c=arizona

Illustration, Design & Animation (IDA): arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/18307?c=arizona

Arizona Arts University of Arizona Museum of Art The University of Arizona
... See MoreSee Less

Come work with us! The School of Art is conducting searches for FOUR faculty positions. Click on the links below to apply. 

2D Printmaking: https://arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/18304?c=Arizona

First Year Experience (FYE): https://arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/18306?c=arizona

Art & Visual Culture Education (AVCE): https://arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/18305?c=arizona

Illustration, Design & Animation (IDA): https://arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/18307?c=arizona

Arizona Arts University of Arizona Museum of Art The University of Arizona
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 6
  • Shares: 18
  • Comments: 0

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

University of Arizona School of Art
2 days ago
University of Arizona School of Art

KVOA-TV, the local NBC affiliate, profiled our "Clients in the Community" class yesterday! www.kvoa.com/video/ua-students-paints-mural-at-bnai-brith-covenant-house/video_45d8b73e-c3c9-55bf...

Arizona Arts The University of Arizona B'nai B'rith Covenant House of Tucson News 4 Tucson - KVOA
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

UA students paints mural at B'nai B'rith Covenant House

www.kvoa.com

Click here to view this video from kvoa.com.
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 4
  • Shares: 2
  • Comments: 0

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

University of Arizona School of Art
3 days ago
University of Arizona School of Art

Associate Professor Kelly Leslie and students in her "Clients in the Community" class continued to paint a desert mural this afternoon at the B'nai B'rith Covenant House of Tucson. KGUN9-TV, KVOA-TV, the Arizona Daily Star, the Jewish Post and El Inde Arizona interviewed Leslie, students, residents and Abbie Stone with the HUD-funded affordable housing community for older adults, so look out for their stories! Read more at tinyurl.com/SOAmural

The University of Arizona Arizona Arts Kgun9 Arizona Daily Star
... See MoreSee Less

Associate Professor Kelly Leslie and students in her Clients in the Community class continued to paint a desert mural this afternoon at the Bnai Brith Covenant House of Tucson. KGUN9-TV, KVOA-TV, the Arizona Daily Star, the Jewish Post and El Inde Arizona interviewed Leslie, students, residents and Abbie Stone with the HUD-funded affordable housing community for older adults, so look out for their stories! Read more at https://tinyurl.com/SOAmural

The University of Arizona Arizona Arts Kgun9 Arizona Daily StarImage attachmentImage attachment+1Image attachment
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 8
  • Shares: 2
  • Comments: 0

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

University of Arizona School of Art
3 days ago
University of Arizona School of Art

For one show only, 17 undergraduate students studying at the University of Arizona School of Art will present “Folding” – a compilation of short video artworks produced in the Fall of 2023. "Folding" explores visual and emotive reverberations in video, tracing the intricate contours of time, space and the human experience.

Under the mentorship of artist and Photography, Video and Imaging professor Sama Alshaibi, the students produced all the technical, aesthetic, and conceptual components in their final projects. “Folding” is a realization of a semester of storyboarding, performance, lighting, shooting, editing and scoring. The themes explored include motherhood, fatherhood, memory, abandonment, separation, displacement, boundaries, identity, discrimination, depression, trauma, discipline, limits and overcoming.

Join us at the Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway, Dec 13, 2023
12 pm -2 pm

Free and open to the public. (Dir. by Various, 2023, USA, approximately 100 mins, not rated)

All videos were produced in 2023.

Artists:
Jaime Abarca “A Heart and Wild Tongue”
Sara Apostolik “How Do You Recall the Past 5 Years?”
Mallory Barry “Drain”
Sylvia Bermudez “Set Myself Free”
Rew Charoensiri “Problem of Being a Minority in America”
Tyler Dunham “Approaching Discipline”
Braden Hale “Gifts from Dad”
Jesus Hernandez “Y La Novia?”
Ananya Kommu “In the Between”
Sofia Maldonado “Untitled”
Belen Muro “Displacement”
Nicholas Owen “Vacant”
Genevieve Schroeder “Holding Lightly”
Lexy Scott “Preserves”
Rose Singdee “White Noise”
Haejee Stolz “Touchable Music”
Brooks Thibault “Distant”

Photo credit: Belen Muro.

Arizona Arts The University of Arizona Center for Creative Photography The Loft Cinema
... See MoreSee Less

For one show only, 17 undergraduate students studying at the University of Arizona School of Art will present “Folding” – a compilation of short video artworks produced in the Fall of 2023. Folding explores visual and emotive reverberations in video, tracing the intricate contours of time, space and the human experience.

Under the mentorship of artist and Photography, Video and Imaging professor Sama Alshaibi, the students produced all the technical, aesthetic, and conceptual components in their final projects. “Folding” is a realization of a semester of storyboarding, performance, lighting, shooting, editing and scoring. The themes explored include motherhood, fatherhood, memory, abandonment, separation, displacement, boundaries, identity, discrimination, depression, trauma, discipline, limits and overcoming.

Join us at the Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway, Dec 13, 2023
12 pm -2 pm

Free and open to the public. (Dir. by Various, 2023, USA, approximately 100 mins, not rated)

All videos were produced in 2023.

Artists:
Jaime Abarca “A Heart and Wild Tongue”
Sara Apostolik “How Do You Recall the Past 5 Years?”
Mallory Barry “Drain”
Sylvia Bermudez “Set Myself Free”
Rew Charoensiri “Problem of Being a Minority in America”
Tyler Dunham “Approaching Discipline”
Braden Hale “Gifts from Dad”
Jesus Hernandez “Y La Novia?”
Ananya Kommu “In the Between”
Sofia Maldonado “Untitled”
Belen Muro “Displacement”
Nicholas Owen “Vacant”
Genevieve Schroeder “Holding Lightly”
Lexy Scott “Preserves”
Rose Singdee “White Noise”
Haejee Stolz “Touchable Music”
Brooks Thibault “Distant”

Photo credit: Belen Muro.

Arizona Arts The University of Arizona Center for Creative Photography The Loft Cinema
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 0
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

University of Arizona School of Art
1 week ago
University of Arizona School of Art

Congrats to School of Art senior Grayson Agrella, who has been named a Centennial Achievement Undergraduate Award recipient — one of the highest honors a student can achieve at the University of Arizona. Grayson, a triple major in Art History, Anthropology and French, will be recognized Tuesday by the Dean of Students Office at a luncheon.

“Grayson is one of those rare intellects … who has impressed the Art History faculty with the depth of his passion for the arts and his achievement in every class,” wrote School of Art History Professors Irene Bald Romano and Paul Ivey, who nominated Agrella for the award. “He has made a strong commitment to LGBTQ+ rights and issues — profoundly expressed in his research.” tinyurl.com/SOAgrayson

Arizona Arts Center for Creative Photography The University of Arizona
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Senior Agrella receives prestigious Centennial Achievement Award – School of Art

tinyurl.com

Senior Agrella receives prestigious Centennial Achievement Award November 30, 2023 By Michael Chesnick School of Art Senior Grayson Agrella, a triple major in Art History, Anthropology and French whos...
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 1

1 CommentComment on Facebook

Congratulations, Grayson!!

View more comments

Load more
  • Prospective Students
    • Why UofA School of Art
    • Tour the School!
    • Areas of Study
    • Degrees
    • Admissions
    • Online Programs
    • Scholarships & Financial Aid
    • Careers in Art
  • Current Students
    • Advising
    • Student Resources
    • Opportunities
  • People
    • Directory
    • Graduate Directory
    • Advisory Board
    • Faculty Portfolio
    • Faculty Catalogs
    • Student Portfolio
    • MFA Catalogs
    • Faculty Stories
    • Student Stories
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
  • Resources & Facilities
    • Facilities Overview
    • Galleries
    • Visiting Lecture Series
    • Visual Resource Center
    • Digital Print Studio
    • Book Art & Letterpress Lab
    • Studios & Classrooms
    • Graduate Studios
  • Visit
    • About The School
    • Tour the University!
    • Outreach Activities
    • Art Days
    • Contact Us
  • Donate
    • Support the School of Art
    • Projects

School Of Art

P.O. BOX 210002
1031 N. Olive Rd.
Room 247
Tucson, AZ 85721-0002

Email: artinfo@cfa.arizona.edu

Phone: 520.621.7570

Fax: 520.621.2955


Console

Copyright © 2023 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona

University Privacy Statement

College of Fine Arts

P.O. BOX 210004
1017 N Olive Rd.
Music Bldg, Rm 111
Tucson, AZ 85721-0004

Email: finearts@cfa.arizona.edu

Phone: 520.621.1302

Subscribe for news and announcements from The University of Arizona School of Art!