Lansing community members had the opportunity to create multimedia artwork alongside MSU art students and faculty at the annual Drawing Marathon hosted by the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum and the MSU Department of Art, Art History and Design on Sept. 28.

The event lasted from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the museum on MSU’s campus and then moved to the (SCENE) Metro-space gallery on Charles St. later that evening.

“It’s an exploration in creativity and art-making,” associate art professor at MSU Ben Duke said. “And we do it as a community. It’s open to not just art students, but to anyone who wants to come to the Broad Art Museum.”

Attendees were welcome to try figure drawing, multimedia mural-making, sketching, button-making and more. 

“It’s intimidating to draw, and especially to show that to other people,” Duke said. “It’s nice to see so many people right now who are unabashedly drawing without an eraser.”

MSU art student Gus Ayala worked alongside his colleagues, professors and community members to create a mural with different materials, like bubbles, ink and mushrooms from around campus.

“The ephemera has no real intention but certainly is being used to get together and practice drawing,” Ayala said.

Art Department students and faculty worked on the mural in shifts throughout the afternoon, MSU art professor Rebecca Cifaldi said. 

“We thought we were mostly going to be helping kids and then we got to become the kids ourselves,” Cifaldi said as she added strokes of ink to the mural.

The event allowed people of all backgrounds and experience to collaborate in creation, assistant art professor at MSU Laurén Gerig said.

“I love this because I think it unifies East Lansing and Lansing in a really beautiful way,” Gerig said. “We have elementary schools, high schools, LCC students and faculty that get to interact with one another and bridge the gaps that sometimes unintentionally exist between us.”