Del Mar College’s award-winning, student-led literary art magazine has now published volume 24, titled Neo.
Originating back to 1996, student editors organize each magazine with a theme that allows other Del Mar students to express themselves through submissions of art, photography, poetry, and writing.
“I think the theme transformed into something better than I originally envisioned,” Editor-in-Chief Arianna Rios said. “With having a bigger staff and not only relying on my own ideas and being lucky enough to bring so many brilliant minds and artistic visions together for this project was a beautiful creation and I love what we all created together as contributors and staff.”
Neo combines the aspects of the 1980s neoexpressionist movement and street art with aspects of the European vineyard/countryside.
The goal was to not only explore travel as movement but as concept and not just as a physical idea.
“This issue feels very personable, and I hope viewers are able to feel that” Rios said.
To celebrate the release, the Siren staff hosted a publishing party in Del Mar College’s Harvin Canter located on the Heritage Campus.
“From cover to cover, we wanted to include as many people as possible and give students a platform to share their stories and art,” Rios said.
Included at their tabling was the collaborative art installation first introduced back in March to get more people involved with the magazine. Creative director Brianne DuBose wanted students “to come and collaborate and be a part of something, whether they consider themselves creative or not.”
DuBose described her inspirations coming from New York City in the ‘80s.
“The reason I connected with Neo so much is because this is my first time in a long time coming back to Corpus Christi,” she said.
DuBose previously lived in New York and after a recent trip in March, she recalled leaving feeling very inspired by the city.
“I wanted to basically bring everything I had gone through — where I had been, and where I am now — and bring it back home,” DuBose said.
