“What makes you feel at peace, alive, or grateful to be alive?” This question was posed to an international group of artists in a Discord server called “An Art Collective.” The group was started by Anoushka Dasgupta ’22 in January 2020 in the midst of the pandemic to provide a place for artists to connect and share their art and inspirations. It was also the perfect place to look for fellow artists to work with when she had the idea for an art magazine. “With the stress of school and the stress of the pandemic, this new, online community that I had been able to grow was a really nice breath of fresh air,” said Dasgupta. Hence, the title of the magazine: A Breath of Fresh Air. “When I wanted to make this magazine in the summer, I was inspired by how the community made me feel. And because of that, I wanted it to be a very positive thing. This magazine is about what makes life good, what makes us happy, what we can be grateful for… It’s about being positive and finding beauty in life,” she added.

The process of turning this idea into reality started in the spring of 2021. Along with a head team of editors handpicked from the Discord server, she and her co-editor in chief started brainstorming ideas for the prompt and concept of the magazine. Once they settled on one that satisfied everyone, they sent the prompt out to the Discord server and waited for submissions. The process of designing the magazine started in the summer after all submissions were received. The head team met weekly to create the magazine and this was when the bulk of the work was completed. Dasgupta also met with several of the artists to interview them about their art pieces and artistic journey. “I would say that was my favorite part of the process… All of these artists I talked to, they were all unique in their own way. I could learn something different about art from each of them… Every time I look at the art pieces, I don’t just think about what they’ve written, I can hear their voice,” remarked Dasgupta.

After all of their hard work, the website and online version of the magazine were finished by September 2021. Juggling both school and magazine work was challenging for the head team, who are all students, but by December, the physical versions of the magazine were published. The details featured on the website show how much thought was put into the project. Each artist’s contribution is paired with a handwritten note explaining their art. Also included with many of the submissions is a podcast-style interview with the artist conducted by Dasgupta and a transcription. Anyone curious about the artist can use these conversations to discover a more personal side of the creator behind the art piece. Lastly, visitors to the page can submit their own anonymous answer to the question, “What brings you joy?” Responses have ranged from “watching people fall in love” to “grilling”. Buyers of the hard copies of the magazine receive other special content not shown online as well.

“Our intention with this was that if you’re feeling upset or if you’re having a bad day, and you need a reminder of something positive, this can be your reminder. There have been days where I’ve had a really rough day, and I look through the magazine and it makes me feel better. That’s our main goal,” concluded Dasgupta.

Check out the magazine at their website: https://www.abfazine.com/