Most students are unaware of what Late Nite Art is. Many walk into the room expecting to have a casual craft night with friends. In fact, it is a facilitated experience that uses art to communicate and break through walls and express yourself. Thursday Oct. 11 was the first Late Nite Art of the year on Sonoma State campus.   

     Pablo Avendano, Junior Business major, explained how he wasn’t sure what he was walking into, “One of my friends was talking about attending and asked me to tag along with him. I wasn’t ready to sit next to students I didn’t know and talk to them for the entire hour and 50 minutes, but it was an eye opening experience”. 

     Jeff Shiau and Brady Gill were both in attendance from Late Nite Art. Shiau is the Director of Operations and Gill was the facilitator. Both were very excited about being at Sonoma State and bringing in as many students as possible.   

     Late Nite Art is a organization that has hosted 150 events since its creation in 2012 and in only 7 years has had a major impact worldwide. They have been to 9 different countries and reached around 6,000 people. Some of the clients they have worked with are major companies such as Kaiser Permanente, Ebay, Linkedin, Google, and GAP. 

     They work with all kinds of private business and schools. Many times they work with corporations when they need some imagination and team building help. 

     Shiau discussed the power of these events by describing how business savvy people come in suited up and stiff, usually not wanting to be there and just to get it over with. Often times they leave with their shirt untucked, laughing and with such a different attitude. Shiau has seen many clients leaving crying because their experience was so amazing and they hope to reach as many people as they can.

     On their website, Adam Rosendahl, the co-founder and CEO of  Late Nite Art, clarifies what the goal of every event is. “I use music and art supplies and provocative conversations to kind of trick people into being creative,”   said Rosendahl.

     Late Nite Art was created when Rosendahl was teaching an art class at an elementary school. He found that all the kids and everybody were going through hardships at home and this gave them the space to not think about it and have fun. Rosendahl wanted to give that opportunity to and space for everyone and Late Nite Art was born. 

     Late Nite Art is a great way to find yourself and learn how creative you really are. The fun thing is they bring crafts that many haven’t used since childhood, like watercolor paints and crayons. It’s a calm setting that is open to everyone and you may even end up leaving making many new friends or grow deeper friendships with the friends you came with. 

At the end of the night, you’re able to reflect on the experience and your life aswell as look at the artwork you’ve created and what you’ve created with the people around you. This kind of hands on activity that forces you to connect with strangers may not be for everyone, but is an experience many won’t forget. 

This was the only event planned with Late Nite Art for the year but they plan to come back to Sonoma State soon.