At a glance
The project is the 41st edition of the Bricolage Literary and Visual Arts Journal, which showcases work from the UW community… Read full summary
- Funding received
- 2022-2023
- Small
- Awarded
- $1,000
- Funding partners
-
- Services and Activities Fee (SAF)
The project is the 41st edition of the Bricolage Literary and Visual Arts Journal, which showcases work from the UW community, including students, staff, faculty, and alumni. The student-run journal seeks CSF funding to print 100 copies through a third-party vendor and host a launch event to re-establish community connections lost during the pandemic. Proceeds from journal sales will fund future events and ensure the continuation of the journal’s outreach and fundraising efforts.
Our project is the forty-first edition of the Bricolage Literary and Visual Arts Journal: publishing prose, poetry, and visual art created by anyone associated with the UW, including undergraduate and graduate students, staff, faculty, and alumni of the Seattle, Bothell, and Tacoma campuses. Although supported and advised by the UW’s Department of English, we are a wholly student-run organization. Our staff is composed of seven undergraduate volunteers who oversee all publicity, fundraising, editing, production, and distribution of the Bricolage journal. We collected submissions during fall quarter and the beginning of winter quarter, and will publish during spring quarter.
All of the CSF funding would be used to create and publish the journal through a third party vendor: a self-publishing website called Lulu Press, Inc. Each journal costs us approximately $10 to make, so our goal would be to order 100 copies for distribution. Our hope is to sell each journal at $15 apiece, with the profits being used to host large scale, community events in the near future. In past years, Bricolage has hosted events both on and off campus. With the UW being marketed as first and foremost a research institution, these events were a space for University's literary and artistic community. But when the coronavirus pandemic became a prominent issue, our publication was unable to continue with our typical modes of community outreach, and by extension, our typical modes of fundraising. As a result, not only were less undergraduate students aware of our journal, but we did not have the funds to distribute the journals in the same way compared to preceding years.
With the CSF, we would be able to use our already allocated funds to host our first large-scale event since the pandemic. Our plan is to have a launch event for Bricolage Issue 41, where we would invite contributors, volunteers, and creatives alike to share and consume art. We want to continue reestablishing a community lost due to the pandemic. With the CSF and our efforts from this event, we are hoping to create a foundation for subsequent editions of the journal.
Annie Melnick
Project lead
- alm2002@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Student
- Years
- 1 year(s) remaining at UW
- Affiliated groups
- Department of English
Shea Formanes
Team member
- aforma@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Student
- Years
- 1 year(s) remaining at UW
- Affiliated groups
- Department of English
Request amount and budget
Plans for financial longevity
Once our funding from the CSF has concluded, we will use acquired funds to organize community events for our Bricolage affiliates and beyond; not only through our on-campus partnerships, but with local libraries, bookstores, and other literary arts organizations around the University District. We are implementing a written plan and comprehensive guide to maintain relationships with said businesses; not only are we creating a contact spreadsheet to make this information more accessible for subsequent years, but reevaluating our outreach practices to prioritize longevity. In years past, the majority of our staff have been upperclassmen. This has resulted in organization partnerships disappearing and staff members having to start from scratch, solely because they were unaware of previous efforts. By creating a comprehensive guide for future staff members to follow, our goal is for Bricolage to never run into this issue. After the CSF ends, our intention is to use the profits from selling our journal to expand Bricolage’s presence.
- March 27th through April 21st, 2023: Bricolage Issue 41 is compiled and designed on Adobe.
- April 24th, 2023: 100 copies of the journal are ordered online through Lulu Press, Inc.
- May 15th through May 26th, 2023: Bricolage Issue 41 copies are distributed on campus and in the Seattle area.
- May 26th through June 2nd: Somewhere within this time frame, Bricolage will host a large scale event, most likely an open mic, for Issue 41.
Plans for long-term project management
n/a
Problem statement
Although our annual journal has been at the University of Washington for over forty years, an ongoing issue is that knowledge of the publication rarely expands outside of a specific demographic: students associated with the Department of English. This, in turn, has historically restricted the diversity of our submission pool. For our upcoming edition, our staff sought to change that, restructuring our outreach strategies. We created a multi-pronged initiative where we not only expanded communication to 30 academic departments, to encourage students from all majors to submit their original works, but pushed to encourage historically underrepresented voices to submit to this year’s journal. This way, all students in our creative community are represented. Since 2020, Bricolage has been an ECC-affiliated RSO; and a goal of ours is to also work with the Q Center, the D Center, and other support organizations on campus. Through these efforts, we hope to ensure that the organization will retain its diversity and outreach initiatives long after our current staff leaves the University. At Bricolage, we believe in the power and authenticity of artistic expression, and want to create a journal that represents the diversity of our community.
Problem context
Our publication connects to the University’s Diversity Blueprint by cultivating a tri-campus artistic community rooted in accessibility, inclusivity, and equity. As an organization, Bricolage’s goal is to develop a publication that puts these values at the forefront. This year, we expanded our community outreach to reflect the diversity of the UW. Our efforts were executed with the goal of creating a foundation for our journal; in subsequent years, we hope Bricolage staff members will use this established framework to reach a diverse array of creative voices. A long term goal of ours is to work with the Q Center and the D Center, along with our affiliation with the Ethnic Cultural Center, to increase the diversity of our publication. We also hope to expand business to local libraries, bookstores, and other literary arts organizations throughout the University District. In particular, we would like to support minority-owned and women-owned businesses. By creating this foundation now, future staff members will be able to expand on it, attracting and retaining students, alumni, faculty and staff from all three campuses. Through these initiatives, our project is a reflection of the University’s Diversity Blueprint.
Measure the impacts
| Impact / goal | Metric(s) of success | UW stakeholders impacted |
|---|---|---|
| Journal distributed to the UW community. | 100 people engaged. | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff, Admin staff |
| Large-scale event, most likely an open mic, to create community through writing and art. | 1 event held, 50 attendees at event. | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff, Admin staff |
Communication tactics and tools
With over 2200 followers across our social media platforms, Bricolage utilizes digital marketing as a key communication tactic. Through social media, we have connected students, alumni, and staff alike who are interested in creative expression. During the 2022-23 academic year thus far, we have focused on building community primarily on Instagram and Discord: the platforms currently most popular among students.
Another tactic we use is hosting events. Bricolage is known across campus for hosting an open mic every fall, winter, and spring quarter. These events encourage students to share their work in a supportive environment of their peers, as well as giving our publication the platform to promote ourselves and involvement opportunities for students. A final primary tactic that we use for communication is email marketing. This year, we reached out to 30 departments, providing information about Bricolage to share with their students. Due to these communication efforts, our team saw significant growth from last year. Within one year, journal submissions increased by 89% and our volunteer cohort expanded by 128%. When distributing this year’s edition of Bricolage, we plan on using these same communication methods to promote the journal.
Outreach communication plan
This year, Bricolage created a multi-pronged outreach initiative, designed to not only encourage students from marginalized communities to submit creative work (specifically Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, LGBTQIA+ students, and disabled students), but to partner with academic departments and other RSOs not centered around the humanities. Our goal is to create a publication that represents our community; literary publishing tends to be a predominately white space, and at an academic institution that prioritizes diversity, we hope Bricolage can be a reflection of those values. First and foremost, our hope is that traditionally underrepresented voices in publishing are impacted by our project.
Student involvement
To create a publication that represents the UW community, and not just the opinions of our staff members, we rely on additional volunteers to review submissions. These reviewers view a subset of prose, poetry, or art, and give their honest feedback. We use their opinions when deciding which submissions get published. Another community involvement opportunity is submitting to the journal itself. Anyone affiliated with the UW
is encouraged to submit their work to be published. Both these opportunities introduce students to the publishing process, whether they are interested in learning more about an editorial perspective or a creator’s perspective.
Problem statement
Although our annual journal has been at the University of Washington for over forty years, an ongoing issue is that knowledge of the publication rarely expands outside of a specific demographic: students associated with the Department of English. This, in turn, has historically restricted the diversity of our submission pool. For our upcoming edition, our staff sought to change that, restructuring our outreach strategies. We created a multi-pronged initiative where we not only expanded communication to 30 academic departments, to encourage students from all majors to submit their original works, but pushed to encourage historically underrepresented voices to submit to this year’s journal. This way, all students in our creative community are represented. Since 2020, Bricolage has been an ECC-affiliated RSO; and a goal of ours is to also work with the Q Center, the D Center, and other support organizations on campus. Through these efforts, we hope to ensure that the organization will retain its diversity and outreach initiatives long after our current staff leaves the University. At Bricolage, we believe in the power and authenticity of artistic expression, and want to create a journal that represents the diversity of our community.
Problem context
Our publication connects to the University’s Diversity Blueprint by cultivating a tri-campus artistic community rooted in accessibility, inclusivity, and equity. As an organization, Bricolage’s goal is to develop a publication that puts these values at the forefront. This year, we expanded our community outreach to reflect the diversity of the UW. Our efforts were executed with the goal of creating a foundation for our journal; in subsequent years, we hope Bricolage staff members will use this established framework to reach a diverse array of creative voices. A long term goal of ours is to work with the Q Center and the D Center, along with our affiliation with the Ethnic Cultural Center, to increase the diversity of our publication. We also hope to expand business to local libraries, bookstores, and other literary arts organizations throughout the University District. In particular, we would like to support minority-owned and women-owned businesses. By creating this foundation now, future staff members will be able to expand on it, attracting and retaining students, alumni, faculty and staff from all three campuses. Through these initiatives, our project is a reflection of the University’s Diversity Blueprint.
Measure the impacts
| Impact / goal | Metric(s) of success | UW stakeholders impacted |
|---|---|---|
| Journal distributed to the UW community. | 100 people engaged. | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff, Admin staff |
| Large-scale event, most likely an open mic, to create community through writing and art. | 1 event held, 50 attendees at event. | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff, Admin staff |
Communication tactics and tools
With over 2200 followers across our social media platforms, Bricolage utilizes digital marketing as a key communication tactic. Through social media, we have connected students, alumni, and staff alike who are interested in creative expression. During the 2022-23 academic year thus far, we have focused on building community primarily on Instagram and Discord: the platforms currently most popular among students.
Another tactic we use is hosting events. Bricolage is known across campus for hosting an open mic every fall, winter, and spring quarter. These events encourage students to share their work in a supportive environment of their peers, as well as giving our publication the platform to promote ourselves and involvement opportunities for students. A final primary tactic that we use for communication is email marketing. This year, we reached out to 30 departments, providing information about Bricolage to share with their students. Due to these communication efforts, our team saw significant growth from last year. Within one year, journal submissions increased by 89% and our volunteer cohort expanded by 128%. When distributing this year’s edition of Bricolage, we plan on using these same communication methods to promote the journal.
Outreach communication plan
This year, Bricolage created a multi-pronged outreach initiative, designed to not only encourage students from marginalized communities to submit creative work (specifically Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, LGBTQIA+ students, and disabled students), but to partner with academic departments and other RSOs not centered around the humanities. Our goal is to create a publication that represents our community; literary publishing tends to be a predominately white space, and at an academic institution that prioritizes diversity, we hope Bricolage can be a reflection of those values. First and foremost, our hope is that traditionally underrepresented voices in publishing are impacted by our project.
Student involvement
To create a publication that represents the UW community, and not just the opinions of our staff members, we rely on additional volunteers to review submissions. These reviewers view a subset of prose, poetry, or art, and give their honest feedback. We use their opinions when deciding which submissions get published. Another community involvement opportunity is submitting to the journal itself. Anyone affiliated with the UW
is encouraged to submit their work to be published. Both these opportunities introduce students to the publishing process, whether they are interested in learning more about an editorial perspective or a creator’s perspective.