Phi Delta Epsilon’s second annual Anatomy Fashion Show raised $5,200 for Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital. PhiDE aimed to provide the audience with new information about the human body.
The event gave artists the opportunity to showcase their creativity and paint on a unique surface: the human body while giving the audience of a view of anatomy off the page of a textbook.
Claire Aucoin, a fourth-year biology student and former vice president of finance for PhiDE, coordinated the event and has spent many hours planning for this day since April. She said the most difficult aspect of her job is communicating with the over 100 people involved. Those involved ranges from members of PhiDE to volunteers from other organizations.
“It’s a gigantic collaborative event,” Aucoin said. “So we just start asking for artists [and] what they felt like they were most comfortable painting.”
Seven student organizations helped bring the diagrams to life by painting nearly 60 volunteer models.
Some of the more simple designs were centralized on a certain part of the body and took around 20 minutes to paint like parts of the reproductive system. Other models were covered head to toe in paint, which took hours to complete. For example, Aucoin said, the intricate design of the muscular system was not a simple task.
The artists included both students familiar with anatomy and those more on the artistic side, allowing students with different majors and interests to collaborate.
“In academia, where you’re either arts related or science related and why can’t you be both?” Aucoin said. “We do have a lot of pre-med majors, science majors who are wonderful talented artists as well and I think that’s a good time to showcase that.”
Shivani Patel, a third-year psychology student and representative of Timmy Global Health was modeling the full circulatory system, which showcased the veins that control the blood in the body. After attending the show last year, she decided to volunteer as a model to support the hospital.
“It’s just a good cause to go up there and get out of your comfort zone and do something really fun and then help raise money,” Patel said.
The audience laughed and cheered as their friends strutted down the catwalk and struck their poses at the end of the runway.
Members of PhiDE also reminded the audience of the purpose of the event with an appearance by two child life specialists from the hospital, Amanda Stark and Mary Blackwelder. They gave a quick overview of their role at the hospital and explained the money raised at the event would go towards creating a comfortable environment for kids during their stay at the hospital.
Dance organizations Moksha, Project Dance and Swype performed throughout the fashion show to provide a variety of entertainment for the audience.