UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — “Postcards from Japan,” a multimedia exhibition featuring works created by six visual arts students during and just after an educational trip to Japan in the fall semester, is on display through Jan. 30 in the College of Arts and Architecture’s Borland Project Space (BPS) located in 125 Borland Building.
Funded by the Drew Stewart Popjoy Fund for Travel and Experiential Learning in the College of Arts and Architecture, the trip was organized and led by Doah Lee, assistant professor of art, as part of her special topics course Art 497 Visual Diaries: Art and Documentation.
For just more than one week in the fall, Lee led visual arts students Frederick Kissinger, Sarah Gallow, Emi Rocha, California Bailey, Kayla Dembrak and Carly Miller across various art-based experiences that Lee said offered transformative learning opportunities.
“The trip functioned as an immersive extension of the course’s core inquiry of how everyday life can be documented and transformed into meaningful visual narratives,” Lee said. “Throughout the semester and during the trip, students were asked to critically observe their surroundings, reflect on cultural difference and document daily experiences.”
On display in the BPS will be a collection of photographs, drawings, writings, collected objects, prints and mixed-media installations.
“Together, the works function as visual diaries documenting students’ experiences, observations, and reflections, emphasizing personal perspective and narrative documentation,” Lee said.
Created in 2025, the Drew Stewart Popjoy Fund for Travel and Experiential Learning provides financial support for College of Arts and Architecture students to travel abroad. Without the fund, Lee said the trip would not have been possible.
“Through this support, students were able to experience artworks discussed in class, participate in hands-on workshops, enjoy direct engagement with global art communities and curate group exhibitions both in Japan and at Penn State,” Lee said.
During the trip, the students visited Tokyo University of the Arts, where they engaged with a class taught by Professor Michael Schneider, toured studios, attended a doctoral exhibition at the Tokyo University of the Arts Museum and learned about traditional Japanese woodblock printmaking techniques and materials.
Each Penn State student presented their artistic practice and participated in an exchange with Japanese students, creating a meaningful peer-to-peer dialogue, Lee said.
“The success of this trip demonstrated the value of faculty-led international programs that are closely integrated with coursework,” Lee said. “I hope students gained a deeper understanding of visual documentation not only as an artistic practice, but also as a tool for self-awareness, cultural literacy, and critical thinking.”
A closing reception for the exhibition will take place on Jan. 30 from 10 to 11 a.m.
The Borland Project Space is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. throughout the academic year.