The Vortex transformed a studio into a vibrant Valentine’s Day-themed center for creativity during its open mic night. 

The open mic was hosted by The Vortex, and the event took place at the black box studio in Snow Fine Arts on Feb. 14.

The Vortex is UCA’s literary magazine. Besides hosting events like the open mic, it publishes a magazine every semester that showcases works of art from UCA students.

Since the event took place on Valentine’s Day, the studio was decorated to reflect themes of love, creativity and heartbreak. 

Students sat in the dark room, facing a blue backdrop where students would come up one at a time to perform.

The work that was showcased was diverse, ranging from poetry, music and even a visual poem.

After each performance, the audience showed their appreciation with an encore of snapping fingers, a gesture of gratitude in creative spaces like this.

With a guitar in hand, sophomore Moriah Mitchell, a film and creative writing double major, took to the stage and performed her song “Upheld.”

For students like Mitchell, events like these “create a safe space for people who want to share art… it’s really inspiring to go hear other people perform, because you can learn a lot about other people, and you can learn a lot about yourselves,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell is part of a local folk band named Wild Onions. They’re performing at Full Moon Records in downtown Conway on Feb. 28 as part of a pop icon cover night. Wild Onions will perform music by Taylor Swift. Other local bands will be cover artists such as Chappell Roan, Harry Styles and Maroon Five.

Much of the staff for The Vortex was in attendance. The social media manager, junior Skylar Nelsen, a film and creative writing double major, highlights the importance of open mic nights, “It helps us form a creative writing community on campus…We can share our works and be celebrated for that,” Nelsen said.

Nelsen designs all the graphics for The Vortex’s social media and posters for events and deadlines.

The editor-in-chief for the Vortex, senior Kathleen Armstrong, a creative writing and English double major, appreciates how the Vortex’s events build a community. 

“Open mics like this, which are open to anything being performed, are super awesome because they let people push the boundaries of what a conventional open mic features…events like these allow people to let loose and be as creative as they possibly can,” they said.

As editor-in-chief, Armstrong oversees the production of the magazine and organizes events. 

The Vortex recently closed Spring submissions for their magazine. According to Armstrong, there were over 260 submissions, with poetry and art taking the majority. 

“We got a huge influx of submissions, so the magazine is going to be amazing, and we’ve definitely got our work cut out for us,” Armstrong said.

The spring edition of the magazine is in print, whereas the fall edition is digital only.

The Vortex will hold a launch party in April to promote their spring print magazine.