The Department of Art and Design at JSU is celebrating World Cyanotype Day this year. Celebrated on the last Saturday of September, the holiday stems from a Tibetan tradition, in which prayer flags are used to promote compassion, peace, strength, and wisdom. The theme this year is “Rejuvenate,” which is meant to represent the current global need for renewal and connection.

While the students in Professor Sarah Miles’ Alternative Processes class are making Cyanotype flags to take part in a collaborative exhibition, the Art and Design department are creating an installation for JSU.

According to the World Cyanotype Day article, “‘Cyanotype’ is a photographic process, discovered in 1842, involving two chemicals (ammonium iron (III) citrate + potassium ferricyanide) and UV light resulting in a beautiful Prussian Blue image.”

“I thought that this public installation this would create curiosity and give visibility to some of the work that art students are doing. In a time when everyone has been so separated, I thought it would create a feeling of cohesion and shared sense of satisfaction to make a work that included so many individuals,” Professor Miles explains. “Also, knowing that this is a worldwide movement connects our campus to others across the globe in this wish for rejuvenation.”