The sound of acoustic guitars and the smell of coffee filled the First Amendment Forum Wednesday evening as ASU students and members of the downtown community gathered for the inaugural Cronkite Coffee House performance and art show.
About 100 people attended the event hosted by ASU’s chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Three singers and musicians performed and three artists displayed their work as the attendees talked, played games and drank coffee.
The club tried to create the atmosphere of a coffee shop in the First Amendment Forum by arranging the chairs and tables to encourage casual conversation as the students sipped coffee and played chess and checkers.
Journalism senior and NLGJA President Robert Soares said the event was intended to bring the culture of downtown Phoenix to the Downtown campus. Once students are exposed to the community around them, they’re more likely to go participate in it, Soares said.
“Hopefully they’ll go out and see art galleries on First Friday, or go over to Jobot for coffee,” Soares said. “Hopefully this sparks an interest in doing other things downtown.”
NLGJA received funding from the Walter Cronkite College Council to provide coffee and cookies from Jobot Coffee and Dining at the event. They also gave away several gift cards for other local coffee shops to students who posted pictures on Instagram with the hashtag #CronkiteCoffeeHouse.
Soares said two of the artists who displayed their art are Cronkite School students and one is a local artist who has had his work featured in various galleries downtown. The musical performers were people Soares knew, and one of them he actually met at a coffee shop.
Singer and guitarist Luna Aura, who knew Soares from high school, performed several acoustic songs at the Cronkite Coffee House event. She said she’s been singing since she was 3 years old, writing songs since she was 11 and recording since she was 16. Aura has an EP releasing this summer that she described as pop electronic with hip hop and trap influences.
“I think it’s so awesome when a woman can get on stage and just command,” Aura said during her performance. She cited strong female singers Gwen Stefani, Karen O and Beyonce as some of her influences.
Aura said students, especially on the Downtown campus, are able to be involved in the arts community surrounding them. She said Phoenix has a lot of “really great urban art” in particular.
Both Aura and Soares noted that the event happened the same night as Gov. Jan Brewer’s decision to veto the controversial Senate Bill 1062, which would have allowed businesses to refuse service based on religious principles. Many community members felt the bill would be used to discriminate against the LGBT community.
“It was really inspirational,” Aura said, “with a bunch of people coming together to support (the community).”
Rafael Fontes, who graduated from the Cronkite School in 2012, said he heard about the Cronkite Coffee House event from a friend. He decided to stop by because he thought it would be a “nice place to relax for a bit.”
He said it can be difficult for Downtown campus students to be exposed to the arts because much of the Herberger Institute is based on the Tempe campus. Events such as the Cronkite Coffee House can help bring art to students and encourage them to get more involved in the community around them.
Soares said it was great that Cronkite students could show their art at the event.
“So many students who go here have another passion, another outlet,” Soares said. “This is a way of showing that.”
He added that it made sense for NLGJA to host the event, because “arts and culture plays such a role in the LGBT community in terms of empowering and encouraging that creativity.”
Editor’s Note: Downtown Devil Education Editor Danika Worthington is vice president of the ASU chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. She did not contribute to the reporting or writing of this story.
Contact the reporter at kkoerth@asu.edu
