Picture in your mind a series of ornately decorated ballrooms with each interior boxed in by tables and alluring display boards. The ballroom is filled with rows of empty seats awaiting a large audience. The room on the outskirt houses a woman dancing and shouting out words of empowerment.

The Creative UNIversity Conference and Celebration on Tuesday showcased the creative works of University of Northern Iowa students and faculty in exhibits displayed in Ballroom A and Ballroom B of Maucker Union.

Gary Gute, director of the Creative Life Research Center and event director, kicked off the event with a welcoming speech. He said he hopes the event returns in future fall terms.

“I have several, probably too many, creative passions. A central one right now is developing the CLRC into a vibrant, robust center that can do great things for our students, the community and the state of Iowa,” Gute said.

Steven Tepper, associate director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University, was the keynote speaker for the event. Gute said Tepper’s address was well attended by a great cross section of students, faculty, staff and administration.

One exhibit at the event was for Art for El Salvador, a student organization that strives to teach art in its numerous forms as a means to support and improve education in the impoverished communities in El Salvador.

“I am passionate about Art for El Salvador because I believe in the power of art to make a positive difference in the world,” said Maria Howard, president of Art for El Salvador. “I strongly believe that every single child is deserving of a high quality of education.”

In the summer of 2009, Niah Howard, a current UNI student, and her sister Maria visited El Salvador on a mission trip with the First Presbyterian Church of Dallas Center. The following year they and their younger sister Sarah began to sell their own artwork and pieces donated by friends and community members.

At the end of that year, the sisters were in a car accident and Sarah passed away. In 2011, Niah came up with the idea of building a school in El Salvador in Sarah’s name; that has since become the prime objective of Art for El Salvador.

“Because this school will be named in memory of my little sister, Sarah, this project is a deeply meaningful opportunity to continue the legacy of her amazing life,” Maria said.