Euphrat Museum of Art: De Anza’s Own Hidden Treasure

In the front of campus, tucked beside the bookstore, is De Anza’s own hidden treasure of art. The Euphrat Museum of Art is a beautiful art museum full of pieces with cultural and political qualities. Its art displays issues going on in the world today as well as the diversity of the college’s students. Once in the doors, the artistic atmosphere is a one-of-a-kind experience. “This museum is an educational museum,” says Diana Argabrite, the director of Arts and School. Each piece is shows a different view point and the staff of volunteers are very knowledgeable of the pieces and any questions one may have. There is no trouble getting any help you may need and they have a lot of resources for one to check out.
The Euphrat Museum also offers many different services, and not just for students. The Museum is open to all the public and has tours for children, seniors, and the disabled. If you call ahead, I bilingual tour can also be arranged. Anyone can also volunteer to be on the staff and be a part of the museum. “The responsibilities are shared evenly among the staff,” says Martha Carry, a volunteer formally from Washington State. She speaks very highly of her volunteer work with the museum, including the conversation. “The conversation is always about art, teachers, students, visitors, staff, that’s the conversation everyone’s having,” she says. This is ideal for the artists out there and also enhances the experience of the art. Meeting lots of students and connecting in art is just some of the benefits of volunteering for the museum or the Arts and Schools program. One can also display your own art work as a student in the annual spring student show. There are also many student pieces in the Come On Down section. The last showing was of the altars for the Day of the Dead.
The Exhibit featured right now is In Between: The Tension and Attraction of Difference. This exhibit is of artists a combination of tradition with new style in a language-oriented way. There are pieces with traditional medians, like Lucy Sargeant’s large portraits, and there are also pieces that use unique medians, like Sam Hernandez’s Homage and Dichos Y Bichos and Imin Yeh’s Good imports which use wood and everyday idea (includes a vacuum and a pain of sunglasses). There is also some photography with Abraham Minor’s pieces.
The museum is quit a great space to combine the community with the De Anza students on the common grounds of art. The programs they offer are incredible and the resources there are very helpful. Stop by in-between classes or on a day off. It will be worth the time. The Museum is open Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For any questions of the latest exhibit information, go to http://www.deanza.edu/euphrat/ or call (408)864-8836.