You have probably seen links to Squinch on Facebook, or maybe you’ve heard about them by word of mouth. But today, I sat down with one of the four founders to talk about the debut of their website and to gain some insight into who they are. The creativity and aesthetically pleasing layout of the online magazine is due to the hard work of four Boston University sophomores: Olivia Williams, Rachel Kubrick, Sofija Chroneos, and Kabita Das.
Who are you, what do you study, and what is your role in the magazine?
I am Kabita Das and I’m studying graphic design. In terms of the website, we all kind of share the roles; we don’t have official positions within the team. I, along with Olivia, was responsible for setting up the website and setting up the graphics for that. That was my main responsibility, but we all contribute to organizing meetings and recruiting members and official planning.
Who do you work with?
I work alongside sophomores, Olivia Williams, Rachel Kubrick, and Sofija Chroneos.
What does “Squinch” mean and why did you decide on that name?
Squinch is an architectural term that refers to the structures that support a dome. When we chose the name — actually, Olivia chose the name — she wanted it to symbolize the magazine as “squinches” that are supporting the whole art world. It’s super metaphorical and a really good idea on her part. But we also think it sounds really cute and memorable so it works.
In your words, what is the purpose of your magazine?
There are a lot of publications on campus. We have a lot of newsletters and online publications with general articles, but there was nothing specially catered to students who are interested in art. We also noticed on campus, students that are pursuing art majors are kind of isolated and no one really knows what they’re doing in their studios. On the other end, students who are studying things that are not art related still have an interest in art, so we thought that Squinch would be a way to bridge the gap between different artists on campus. And that applies to any campus. Originally we wanted to be a club at BU, but we thought that this was something that applies to other schools as well. So, we are expanding to other schools too.
Why is creating art and talking about art so important?
I think that behind every piece of artwork there is a concrete idea; there’s a concept that relates to anybody, whether they’re an artist or not. I think that there’s something about making it visual that makes the message so much more appealing. A lot of times, people underestimate how impactful it is to have a message be accompanied by a piece of artwork. So that’s why I think that Squinch is going to be really great because it’s going to encourage students who are in their budding years of being artists and visual communicators to tackle big ideas and messages and make them visual to communicate in whatever way feels most comfortable. There’s always so much emphasis on writing being an important form of communication, and it is, but there’s something about visual art that writing can’t communicate and there’s something about writing that visual art can’t communicate. It’s just a matter of combining the two. Also, given the current presidency and all of the stuff that’s going on, it’s important for us to empower people to approach all these messages in different ways. I think that everyone has something to contribute and it’s important to encourage people to contribute in their own way. For example, I could never write articles, but the way I can personally contribute to a movement is by contributing my art.
What role does art play in your life?
This is something that I’ve been thinking about since I came to college because I think that before college, art didn’t mean the same thing that it means to me now. Arriving at college and having art as my main focus helped me to realize that I communicate best with my art and that I communicate best with visuals. Everything in my life just makes more sense when it revolves around art and visual communication. For example, in high school and in some of the writing classes I had to take in college, it would take me hours to just figure out how to write an essay and to write it decently. But with artwork, I just get it. And for some people, it works the other way.
What kind of art does the magazine want?
So we have a submissions page and that is for student artists only. They can be from any school, we just want to encourage people to submit anything they’ve been working on in their own time. It doesn’t really matter what medium it is or what ideas are behind it, we just want to encourage people to submit their own work and keep creating art. The submissions page is for visual artwork, which the whole website is based on. There’s also a part of the website that is article based and that does combine visual artwork with writing. Students who are interested in combining the two can write about what’s going on in the art world. That’s also a good place for art historians to jump in because they do a lot combining visual artwork with writing and words.
Are you looking for artists/staff members?
We are looking for pretty much anything. We want a lot of writers. We want people who are enthusiastic about art because if you’re enthusiastic about art, whether it’s your major or not, I’m sure there’s a place on Squinch for you — whether that’s writing or helping put together a page or submitting artwork. There’s a wide range of things you can do.
If you are interested in joining the Squinch team or you know someone that is, please shoot them an email at Squinchmagazine@gmail.com. You can also find them on Facebook and Instagram! Go check out Squinch online at squinchmag.com and if you’re interested in becoming part of Squinch, fill out the application here!