The arts are roaring back at PNW as students find new ways to express their artistic sides on campus.

The new Fine Arts Club was formed last summer to explore music and art. The club offers a safe environment for students to explore a variety of arts and crafts.

 The group plans events like pet rock painting, mug art and puppet, slime, and jewelry making. It also plans to give students opportunities to learn to play musical instruments and perform at campus events.

“Depending on what each student likes, will [determine] what type of activities and events we participate in,” said Savana Benitez, a sophomore Marketing major who is also a club member.

Other art and entertainment areas are also gearing up for the school year.

Debra Dado, a Communication professor who is in charge of PNW’s Theater Club, is working on what she wants the theater to do this school year.

“The tentative plan is for a play to be underway and performing by the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of November 17, 18, and 19,” she said. “We are currently working with the Provost to secure a performance space.”

The theater and other clubs are still trying to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic that has put a damper on student activities in the last couple years. Precautions are still being taken.

“We are still remaining safe by having everyone, except the actors in a scene, being masked while we work on a play,” Dado said. “We don’t want to have a play be shut down after hard work was put into it at the last minute because of multiple [COVID] cases occurring within our team.

“We try to be as careful as we can,” she said. “Even though it was rough, we still managed to put a play out last semester that was written and directed by a student here at the university: ‘The Unsolved Mystery Club.’ We were careful and it was performed well with surprisingly good attendance.”