Democracy and the Arts
Exploring the intersections of artistic practice and arts policyWhat roles do the arts play in shaping and reflecting democracy? In January, 2020, a group of St. Olaf College students and two course leaders spent a month in Washington, D.C. finding out; and in January, 2022, another group of students convened virtually to answer this question. But we didn’t just come to learn: we also set out to make a difference. By the end of the course, each student generated an arts-centered policy proposal that they delivered to those with the power to make change through and in the arts, from school board members and city councillors to college administrators and congresspeople. Scroll down to read students’ reflections on their experiences, or click the following links to learn more about the course’s structure and assignments, see a map of site visits in DC, and meet our community partners.
Verbal Gymnastics: Performance and Talk Back
On Wednesday, Democracy and the Arts students, as well as community members, gathered via Zoom for a playback theater performance. When preparing for today's class, I had not realized that we would be getting to see Verbal Gymnastics in action. It was a delightful surprise as all other performances this semester had to be canceled due to COVID-19 and our transition to online classes. After the main event, a few words that were tossed out include "inspiring," "engaging," and a feeling of being...
Sarah Witmer- Wrapping it All Up (More or Less)
Although our four weeks of interim are drawing to an end, Democracy and the Arts is not the kind of class one can simply tie a neat little bow on and back away, not to be seen again for years. The work done in this class with hopefully ripple out into the world for weeks, months, or even years into the future. It was admittedly disappointing when our adventures in Washington, D.C. had to be transitioned online, but I tried to not let my dampened excitement get in the way of a good opportunity....
Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Blog Post
Below, I have written a haiku, a form of short poetry originally from Japan that follows a 3 line pattern with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third. It is reflective of my discussion with 5 of my peers at St. Olaf and is a call to action for creative placemaking - the strengthening of our campus community through the arts. Please enjoy. A Haiku for Creative Placemaking For every new face, St. Olaf has a place to Engage with the arts. The dance department Is a...
National Museum of African American History Reflection
On January 13th, we conversed with Dr. Dwandalyn Reece, Curator of Music and Performing Arts at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Dr. Reece, whose list of accomplishments stretches far beyond my initial research, is extremely well versed in the field of musicology. After obtaining her master’s degree, Dr. Reece worked at Henry Ford Museum, Motown Museum, Louis Armstrong House and Archive, New Jersey State Museum, and additional community projects in New York. She...
Introduction to the National Museum of African American History and Culture
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a member of the Smithsonian Institution and is located in the National Mall in downtown Washington, D.C. What was established by Congress in 2003, and opened to the public in September of 2016, the NMAAHC has since become the world's largest museum dedicated to African American culture and history. The building, itself, was designed by the tag team of David Adjaye (lead designer) and Philip Freelon (lead architect) whose...
Pre-flection – Marcus Hauck
Hello everyone! My name is Marcus Hauck and I am a sophomore studio art and math major from the very town we all go to school in. At St.Olaf, I am a member of the swim team as well as a few volunteer groups. I am the middle child of five, sharing that position with my two triplet sisters. I have an older brother and younger sister to complete the clan. My dad grew up in Northfield and is an alum of St.Olaf College as well, giving him the ultimate townie status. He is the men’s and women’s swim...
A Final Reflection
When reflecting on my interim experience, I am reminded of my travels to Washington, D.C. some six years ago. In what was a rather generic tour of the city - with visits to the White House, monuments, and Smithsonian institutions - was an overwhelming introduction to the incredible access we have to the fullness of cultural history in the U.S. Fast forward to a month ago, I was a naive studio art major with a committed interest in the arts, but still completely unaware of the complexity and...
Final Reflection!
This interim, while remote, was still a wild ride. Democracy and the Arts turned out to be so much more than I expected; in coursework, museum visits, information, learning, and in all of the knowledge that I gained. Although we were unable to physically travel to DC or meet each other in person, I still feel as though I improved a lot as a liberal arts student and writer in this course. Learning about how the arts affected specific communities, how democracy affected the arts, & vice...
Final Reflection!
I was not planning on taking this class for J-term, but when it was moved online I decided to take it because I have taken studio art courses before but had never reflected on topics related to policy making and democracy in connection to the arts, especially in the United States. I can imagine that it was kind of a bummer for some of my classmates that were planning on going to D.C. but I appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm and professor Epsteins’ amazing and successful effort to adapt the...
Join me for a Blog Post, One Last Time
The Final Reflection: “No! One last timeThe people will hear from meOne last time” - George Washington, in the song One Last Time, from the musical Hamilton written by Lin Manuel Miranda Thoughts of how is this class almost overrun through my mind as I write this final blog post. I recall the mention of the musical Hamilton in the first couple weeks of the month; Randy Cohen exclaimed how it’s a good feeling knowing you can see your favorite broadway show and know it’s helping to benefit the...
Interim Final Reflection
At the beginning of the semester, we reflected on the relationship between democracy and the arts. While my initial reaction, informed by my experiences and my gut, was to think that democracy needs the arts way more than what the arts need democracy. In reality, I was not sure how to understand this relationship. I tried to first answer to myself what even is democracy, and found a tangled world that I would rather skip than confront. Democracy has always seemed like an abstract concept to...
Verbal Gymnastics with John A Johnson
On Wednesday, January 26th, we will be meeting with John A. Johnson, founder of Verbal Gymnastics Theater Company. As described on the organization's Facebook page, "Verbal Gymnastics is an interactive theater company where storytelling and art meet the community." This description fits perfectly with our class's own objectives of connecting arts and democracy. We have spoken with numerous members of organizations, agencies, and museums to hear their perspectives on the place of the arts in...
A Reflection on Democracy and the Arts (Covid edition)
In the weeks leading up to St.Olaf’s Interim term, we discovered that our campus would be shut down and all students would be participating in an online class remotely. Covid had yet again dismantled our lives in a way no one saw coming. For many of the students in Democracy and the Arts that meant no study abroad program, no traveling, and no D.C. On the other hand, this allowed students like me, who are not able to study abroad due to other circumstances, to get a chance to participate in...
Final Reflection
I intend to major in studio art, and took ID 242 largely in concession to the importance of entrepreneurship and communication skills. This course’s ACE requirement forced me to think more of administrative policies and outreach. I will describe my proposal in more detail at the end of this post. I’m naturally an insular person, so it was personally fulfilling to talk with so many people over a developing white paper proposal. I find myself seriously wanting to see my proposal become...
Final Reflection
I had no idea where to start while writing this reflection. Logically, I went back and read reflections from the last time this course was offered in January of 2020. Illogically, I assumed I’d be able to gather some inspiration about how and what I could reflect on by reading the experiences of a class offering pre-pandemic. How can one compare marveling at the sights of the National Mall in person to seeing a pixelated version of it through the Google Maps Street View feature? The short...
Zig-zagging: A Final Reflection
Like many Oles, the Zoom room is not where I thought I’d be in January of 2022. Dreams of off-campus Interim study opportunities were crushed by a deadly virus variant whose name sounds like a Transformer action figure. So this month, we traded Washington DC and all of its in-person glory for virtual meetings and discussion forum notifications filling our inboxes to the brink. Louis’s enthusiastic parody of “Into the Unknown” from Frozen 2, called “Interim Online”, is a testament to how wild...
Final Reflection
Now that we are nearing the end of our tenure as students in Democracy and the Arts, I’d like to take it back to the beginning of the course to reflect on what my expectations were against reality. My introductory blog post focuses on the fact that I am not well versed in politics, and that this lack of knowledge was the biggest challenge ahead of me for the course, as well as what I thought I would learn the most about. Talking retrospectively, politics hasn’t been my biggest thinking point...
Final Reflection on Democracy and the Arts
The ending of this class is mildly frightening. That might seem at first to be a misleading statement. To clarify, the material of this class isn’t frightening; I’ve had an overall interesting and enjoyable experience. But this class ending means that I’m one step closer to my impending graduation from St. Olaf in a little over four months. The end of my time at St. Olaf means that I’m going into life for the first time without being dictated by any form of an educational system, which feels...
Reflection-National Museum of American History
While doing research for the introduction to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, I was feeling skeptical about the institution. Other members of our class mentioned that they felt a similar way. I attribute this sentiment to ways in which American History has been communicated before, ways that I believe promote American imperialism by leaving unattended the controversies of the history of the United States. I entered the consultation with caution and, I must acknowledge, a...
St Olaf’s Fine Arts Engaged Department Interviews
Hi all! Welcome to my choose your own adventure blog post, where I decided to go down the department interview route and talk to some of St Olaf's fine arts majors! Before interviewing these students, I had heard both positive and negative comments about St Olaf's fine arts department, particularly the music department. While some of St Olaf's choirs are well-known throughout the country, the Olaf studio art department has made some progress towards helping Minnesota's efforts to stop Line 3,...
Choose Your Own Adventure
CONTENT WARNING: The following video includes graphic description of death and bodily decomposition In the Fall of 2019, in my Bible class, a student presented on the Migrant Caravan that was at the time walking from Central America to the United States. It was exactly what it should have been for a 10-minute presentation. But coming...
Introduction to the National Museum of American History
Recounting history can be one of the most challenging tasks to take on. One must consider from whose point of view to tell it, what research to include, what makes an event historically relevant, among many other difficult questions. The National Museum of American History takes on some of that responsibility as it follows its mission to empower people to create a just and compassionate future by exploring, preserving, and sharing the complexity of our past and to using the infinite richness...
A new start for a Music Program in Woodbury MN (choose your own adventure post)
For my choose your own adventure post, I've decided to take a walk down memory lane and talk about the program that changed my life growing up in Woodbury, MN. Now there's kind of a complicated backstory to our music and theater community program- but long story short, the community center that used to house all the community shows and camps was taken over by new authority who kicked out all original creators (which created a lot of turmoil and hurt within our community). But out of all this...
Northfield Arts and Culture Commission Reflection
On Monday we talked to three different representatives from the Northfield Art and Culture Commission: -Teresa Jensen, who is the Library director in Northfield, acts as the official liaison for the Arts and Culture Commission, and is the IT director. -Karna Hauck, who is a voting member of the Arts and Culture Commission and is on her third term, meaning that she has been working with the commission for almost nine years. She clarified that this is her last term but she will be able to...
“To Make Beautiful” – A Personal Exploration of the Artistic Legacy of Park Ridge, Illinois
The Metra Station in Park Ridge, IL. I was born in a town called Park Ridge, Illinois, in 1999, and I've lived here my whole life. It’s a suburb that borders the city of Chicago, Illinois. The town of Park Ridge is a nice place to live but has never been an inspiring place to live. Its nickname is “Action Ridge”, always said sarcastically. While there are some interesting things to do, for most of my life I thought of it as a boring, suburban town that I just happened to live in. It's...
Art’s in the Farmington Public Schools
For my "choose your own adventure" I've chosen to discuss my experiences learning fine arts in the public school district of Farmington Minnesota. Later this week I hope to upload a link to a podcast episode I'm creating with a friend but for now I will briefly introduce the topic. For some background context, I grew up attending the public schools' in Farmington. My Mom also grew up in Farmington and attended the schools' her entire k-12 education too. Although, a lot of things have changed...
How to Participate in the Arts in Oak Creek, WI
For my choose-your-own-adventure post, I was inspired by a conversation I had on the phone with my mom and sister. After our talk with the Northfield Arts and Culture Commission, I began thinking about how much the access to arts and culture differs between Northfield and my hometown of Oak Creek, WI. While talking to my mom and sister, I noticed that much of the differences in access to arts and culture depended on the age of the person being asked. For example, my mom talked about the...
Des Moines Art- A Theater Set Design
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Des Moines Art Festival, an annual street party celebrating local art of all kinds. During the festivities, Western Gateway Park is bustling with live music, dancing, and street vendors. The event is a crucial time for local art workers to gain exposure and rub elbows with the community. In 2019, I found a summer job as a stage manager for a dance studio by mingling among tents. A lot is to be gained in those few days. Although the outdoor stages and...
Sonia Wessen’s Wild Art Walk
My mom and I drove to downtown (and midtown, on the way there and back) Sacramento on January 15th to survey the bustling area for public art. We knew we’d have to plan around road work and the crazy traffic, including detours and a parking shortage. Therefore, I did some research beforehand to guarantee that I could take decently angled and focused photos of at least one site. I will indicate which photos I myself managed to take; all the other photos are sourced from *...
Choose your own adventure- Creative Placemaking Photomontage
This photomontage I made is a reflection of the creativity in ways of protesting and creating community in recent years in Nicaragua compared to previous social uprisings in the country before the 2000s. It’s not creative placemaking as we’ve learned it in the sense that these artistic expressions are not concentrated in a single place, but they have worked to create an abstract space for Nicaraguans living under a dictatorship, serving as ways of protesting and creating a feeling of...
Choose your own adventure- podcast edition!
Hi class! I have been in a bit of a podcast phase recently, so I decided that for my blog post about creative placemaking, I would ditch the reading and writing and head for the audio route instead. My podcast focuses on a story of creative placemaking from my high school in State College, PA. You can find my podcast here, let me know if you have any trouble viewing the podcast, or have any general questions or comments. Thanks! -Will Fecko
“Engaged Department” video podcast
Hello and welcome to the “Engaged Department” video podcast, where we sit down with students from the different departments across St. Olaf’s Campus and ask them questions about their department’s community engagement work or lack thereof. In today’s episode, we will talk with students from the fine arts departments (including Studio Art and Art History, Music, Theater, and Dance). Here are the really cool Oles you will hear on this episode: – Lily (Dance and Economics) – Sydney (Biology and...
Intro to the Northfield Arts and Culture Commission
Hi everyone, in this post I will provide you with some basic information about the Northfield Arts and Culture Commission before our presentation tomorrow. The Arts and Culture Commission advises the City Council about the development of arts and cultural activities, organizations, and facilities in Northfield. It was created by the City Council in January 2007 following a recommendation from ArtsPlan06 which identified its mission. ArtsPlan06 is a community arts and cultural planning process...
Reflecting Back on our Conversations with the Folklife Staff
The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage plays a large role in providing the connection between communities and learners. In other words there a kay facilitator for the processes of providing exposure for many underserved communities within in our nation and outside of our nation. There relationship with others is quite substantial since they serve more then just one community and are constantly striving to engage with a variety of communities and audiences. Although they are...
Reflection on SAAM Visit
Reflecting on this past Wednesday's virtual visit with Phoebe Hillemann and Elizabeth Dale-Deines, while our discussion was cut a bit short due to time/some of our questions had to be answered via email, this introduction to SAAM plus the mini "exhibit curation" activity we did was educational and fun regardless. At the beginning of the virtual meeting, we all introduced ourselves via zoom chat. Hillemann then proceeded to jump right into a presentation she had created, giving us additional...
Reflection on Meeting Dr. Meghelli
We consulted Dr. Meghelli and talked about the Anacostia Community Museum on January 11th. As he emphasized while introducing himself, he's personally very invested in community-based work- for example, collaborating with the DC public library on "pop-up" exhibits (perfect for reaching wider audiences in an educational setting!) and working in Food For the People, a food justice organization fighting food access and food worker labor/rights issues. Dr. Meghelli's somehow...
Introduction of the Anacostia Community Museum
Hello there, ID 242 and other prospective readers. I will present some introductory information on the Anacostia Community Museum. Here is the video link: IMG_2878 First, Anacostia is one of Washington, D.C.’s oldest neighborhoods, originally called Uniontown. It brims with African American history and culture, especially in the Anacostia Historic District. For example, Frederick Douglass’s house, Cedar Hills, is run by the National Park Service. Other popular venues include...
Reflection on Meeting with Randy Cohen
Hi guys, I know it's been a couple days since our meeting with Randy Cohen from Americans for the Arts but I wanted to take some time to go back and reflect a little bit on all the information he provided us with in his presentation as well as his description of his work within the organization. So in comparison to the other “special guests” we've gotten to have on the Arts and Democracy show who have been administrative members and curators, Randy Cohen is a lobbyist- meaning his job is to...
Reflection on Trisha Taylor Visit!
Hi class- I wanted to reflect on our talk with Trisha, the Assistant Director of Education at Washington Performing Arts. Our talk with Trisha on Monday was great! These interviews really are a different experience when you do all of the research beforehand, and you know about the ins and outs of the non profit before our guests explain them. On that note, hearing Trisha explain her job definitely revealed some things that were not so evident on her website. The first example of this is the...
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Center
A performance at the festival the date wasn't clarified. Hello! January 13th we will be meeting with a variety of employees from the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Center. First, let me start by introducing what the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Center is; it’s a large organization with many parts that help to further educate society about culture through the common goal of reinforcing shared humanity. Their mission statement includes a variety of...
Intro to Americans for the Arts (but a day after we already were introduced)
Hi Guys! Sorry this post is making it up a day late, but better late than never right? On Tuesday we met with Randy Cohen from the Americans for the Arts Organization who was absolutely full of information! I'll touch more on the meeting itself in the next reflection blog post. For this blog post, I hope to just refresh the basic information (similar to my introduction video which is linked at the bottom of the post) about the history of the Americans for the Arts as well as some info about...
Post-Arts Access Panel Reflection (Kennedy Center)
In my pre-interview research on the institution (using https://www.kennedy-center.org/), I focused on the many venues, performances, social impact initiatives, and educational outreach programs that the Kennedy Center has to offer. In speaking directly with Betty Siegel from the Office of Accessibility and VSA, I was able to see the Center through an entirely new lens. One that works tirelessly to make these world-class programs and experiences accessible for people with disabilities. Betty...
Introduction to the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Hi everyone! Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will be meeting virtually with the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Arguably, I believe that the Smithsonian and all of its sections are some of the most well-known institutions that we will examine in our class this month– not only due to its almost 200-year history & its large and diverse collections but also due to the educational aspect of the overall Smithsonian. In a quote directly from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s website that captures...
Kennedy Center Post-Consultation Wrap-Up!
Despite our guests only being with us for an hour, I feel like I learned so much, and am intimidated to think about how much more information I would have had to digest had they had more time. When thinking about my own personal connections to education and art and disability and access, I was thrilled to see such dedicated, innovative, and enthusiastic advocates for accessibility in the arts and culture. I appreciated the basic facts and figures that Betty Siegel shared with us about the...
Kennedy Center: Office of Accessibility and VSA
Hi everyone! Today I am introducing the Office of Accessibility and VSA at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. along with our guests that we will be speaking with on Monday. The purpose of the Office of Accessibility and VSA is to “provide people of all ages living with disabilities the opportunity to learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts.” At the Kennedy Center, “the arts” includes but is not limited to music performance, dance, theater, visual...
The National Endowment for the Arts: Post-Interview Reflection
I’m writing this reflection from home in my bedroom in Illinois, trying to stay focused and trying to come up with some sort of response to tie up everything that I’ve learned about the National Endowment for the Arts into some neat little package. It’s hard to tie the different perceptions that I have together in my mind. Part of the difficulty of doing this is that this is our first meeting with arts policy professionals for the class. There is no prescient to this experience, but it feels...
Washington Performing Arts, an Introduction! (Yay)
Hi all! Tomorrow at 1:00 we will be meeting with representatives from Washington Performing Arts. Here is some introductory info on the organization before we start our discussion. You can also check out this introductory video. Washington Performing Arts is a non profit organization based in Washington D.C. The organization was founded in 1947 and originally titled the 'Hayes Concert Bureau', after its founder, Patrick Hayes. Hayes Concert Bureau was founded with a goal of presenting the best...
The Kennedy Center is super cool!
Hello class! Today, I am blogging about our upcoming visit with representatives from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. I’m looking forward to this visit because for the past week, I have been researching the Center for a video introduction that you all may utilize to learn more about the institution and its relevance to our class. The Kennedy Center, as it’s commonly known, is located on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. (just a short walk northwest...
The National Endowment for the Arts: Pre-Interview Reflection
When I first decided to prepare the video presentation on the NEA, I have to be honest: I just wanted to get it over with. Worried about doing this presentation and the white paper at the same time, I knew that all of the organizations that were on the initial list would be interesting, and all of the interviewees would have thoughtful and insightful things to say. I'm used to hitting the ground running with many of my classes, so why not with this project? It'll be fine. What I didn't realize...
Pre-flection By: Liv (L) Elizabeth
Hello, nice to meet you! My is Liv Elizabeth, some people call me L, either is fine by me. I'm a current class of 2024 student with a double major in studio art and education. After graduation I plan on teaching in Seoul, South Korea for a few years, and maybe taking some ballet classes there too. When it comes to my work as an artist I primarily create 2D multimedia artwork and graphic design pieces. When I'm not creating artwork, I attend ballet classes at Ballet Royale in Lakeville, or...
Small Introduction – Esther Frantzich
Hello there everyone, my name is Esther Frantzich and I am a senior biology major this year at St. Olaf. I am from Stillwater, Minnesota, but I’ve moved around the state quite a few times for different forms of schooling, trying to accommodate the needs of my other siblings. I am one of four kids, with two older brothers, a little sister, and a 15 year age gap separating the oldest from the youngest. My mom is a midwife who's love language is making absurd amounts of wonderful food, and my dad...
Hi! Im Ileana!
Hi guys, My name is Ileana Sanchez (ih-lee-ah-nah) and I am a Junior spanish major with concentrations in women and gender studies as well as film and media studies. I am also a member of the St. Olaf Choir- which takes up most of my free time outside of class as we are getting ready to head out on an east coast tour in a few weeks! You will also find me working in the post office on campus every once and awhile, so feel free to come stop by and say hi if your on campus this month! I am taking...
Pre-flection Chris McDonald
Hello! I am Christopher McDonald, a sophomore vocal performance major from Jackson, Mississippi. Though I study voice at Olaf I have a multitude of interests: I am in the process of starting my own photography business, I am part of the Lyric Theatre’s opera, I have a role in the Northfield Arts Guild’s production of Bright Star, and I recently applied to accompany at St. Dominic’s. My multitude of interests is the precise reason I want to take this class. Participating in an array of Arts has...
Hello from Sarah Witmer
Hello everyone! My name is Sarah Witmer (she/her). I am a sophomore Theater major with a concentration in Management Studies. I am thrilled to be a part of Democracy and the Arts this January, despite the program shifting remote due to COVID-19. I will be Zooming in from Minneapolis, but I am originally from Des Moines, IA, where I grew up in the world of a non-profit history museum. Both my parents work(ed) at Living History Farms, an immersive agricultural 'living' museum that educates...
Sonia’s Pre-Flection Introduction
Greetings from Sonia Wessen. I’ll introduce myself with some flavorful fun facts. The smell of diesel fuel invariably makes me envision ice cream trucks. I am adopted from China, but also a fourth-generation Ole. I love walking on beaches, but hate swimming. I will groove out both to classical and metal music (and a lot in between). I’m left-handed and my handwriting is subsequently terrible. As I have just demonstrated, I am always spouting tangential details. Now let us move on to...
Introduction: Arden Sasak
Hello everyone, My name is Arden Sasak. I'm currently a senior studying Studio Art and Environmental Studies (natural science emphasis). I'm from Park Ridge, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago. Some cool things I've done at St. Olaf include taking an art course in metal casting, planning multiple Pause Dances, helping with maintaining the meditation labyrinth on-campus and doing research in the field of paleoclimatology (studying the climate of the past). I'm currently the Communications...
Introduction Post Alicia
Hi everyone! My name is Alicia Henriquez. I’m a junior, double majoring in Latin American Studies and Film and Media Studies. I’m an international student from Nicaragua, which is where I grew up and then I went to school in China for two years before coming to St Olaf. I have four older siblings who now live in different countries, so I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like to. I also have two bulldogs, their names are Luna (Moon) and Gea (Earth) and they are the cutest dogs on the...
Will Fecko- an Introduction
Hi all! I'm Will Fecko, a sophomore vocal music education major here at St Olaf. I sing in the choir, am the student manager of the handbell choirs, and play trumpet in jazz band. I am taking this course because, for one thing it is a WRI general education credit which I am most in need of, but second, and more importantly, the topic of discussion is out of my immediate breadth of knowledge. I am very uninvolved in politics. I don't read the news, I'm not on social media very much at all, and...
Introduction Post (Alexa H)!
Hello all, my name is Alexa Hwang! I'm super excited to be in this course for Interim 2022– my second ever interim, and the first interim that I'll be on campus for. I'm a sophomore studio art & Asian studies double major here at Olaf, so my experience here with student life, classes, and remote learning has been interesting these past few years with Covid-19. I'm from Wenatchee, WA, which is about a 2.5-hour drive east of Seattle. I have 3 siblings and 4 dogs at home, which I miss a lot...
Hello, I am Jimena!
Hello! My name is Jimena Maida Colindres and I am a Junior majoring in Sociology/Anthropology and Art History with a concentration in Management Studies. I am from El Salvador and I also lived in The Netherlands for two years. A big part of my life has been centered around my very large family of eight siblings, out of which I am number seven. Some of my favorite things to do are cooking, watching movies, doing puzzles, and anything that has to do with animals, especially dogs. My past years...
Hi, hello! (Abby Johnson)
Hello class, and welcome to my first blog post! My name is Abby Johnson and I am a sophomore BA music major with a concentration in management studies. I study vocal performance! Within the Music Department, I sing in Chapel Choir and I am on the Music Department Student Committee. Outside of the Music Dept., I am a member of the Music Entertainment Committee and the executive board of KSTO Radio Station. In addition, I enjoy working in the Admissions Office. I was born and raised in Santa...
Introducing Me! (Landry Forrest)
Hello everyone! My name is Landry and I’m a senior BA music major with concentrations in management studies, gender & sexuality studies, and race & ethnic studies. I play oboe in a few chamber ensembles as well as the baroque recorder in Collegium Musicum, the early music ensemble on campus. I’m originally from Oak Creek, WI which is just south of the city of Milwaukee. I am the oldest out of the three of my siblings (and yes, I fit right in with the stereotype of an oldest sibling)....
A Month To Remember
At our orientation meeting, one of the first activities we did was a K-W-L (Know, Want to know, Learn) chart. Of course, at that point, we could not complete the L (Learn) row in the chart because we had not left for DC yet, but these were some of my answers to the K (Know) and the W (Want to know) rows: I know the definition of democracy based on a political science major perspective I know there is widespread abuse of power in world politics I want to know to what extent does the US...
The Power of the Arts: A Final Reflection
The arts are powerful. Of course, I knew this before coming to Washington DC. I, myself, am an artist and musician. The arts have been a driving force in my own personal growth and development prior to this course. So, I was beyond excited to come to DC to study the relationship between the arts and democracy this interim and am so glad that I went. The opportunity to be a first-hand witness to the exchanges and government inner-workings that establish the relationships between the arts and...
“I want to lead.”
I would call myself an incredibly reflective person. While the majority of this personal reflection exists internally, I am dedicated to recording as many of these scattered thoughts as possible. I am constantly writing, whether it be in whatever random journal, notebook, or piece of scrap paper I have on hand or in my trusty Notes app that holds an odd mixture of miscellaneous poems, shopping lists, and personal epiphanies. Whenever I have a thought that seems especially significant,...
(D)emocra-(C) and the Arts – A Reflection
This past month has opened my eyes to so many new ideas and perspectives, helped me grow in self confidence and understanding, and allowed me to catch a glimpse of the impact art can have when used democratically and when supported by our democratic government. In the beginning, this course was hard to pin down. Democracy and the arts? What’s that supposed to mean? Is it arts management or a branch of political science or art history? One of the really cool things about studying at a liberal...
A summary reflection
There are more than seven billion people in the world and one person's view can be very similar to others but I believe that no one's view will be identical to the other. I consider learning to be the gaining and application of a new perspective. This gives me a wide range of perspective that I could gain from being in the company of people. It also provides an unlimited variety of ways I could perceive my own identity. As a result of living in two countries, I never considered myself as a...
Reflections on D.C.
After these 23 days in D.C. that went so fast yet lasted a lifetime, I have come to realize how entangled the government is in the arts and just how important it is to engage in art scenes. I experienced first hand the ways arts can engage in and detract from communities they are sourced from. Dance Place, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Washington National Opera are just a few places we went that all represented different parts of the intersectionality of art and democracy. The...
So long, DC
I’m sure this is a widely felt sentiment but truly, the older I get the quicker time passes. Perhaps it was the breadth of our experiences and our rich itinerary. Perhaps it was the walking or the hours of dialogue or maybe the 191 hours of sleep I got (wow). I’m sure many of us are having a hard time finding a place to start and how to synthesize a month of varying experiences down into an accessible blog post. Without further ado, here is my reflection on my final J-Term of undergrad. Some...
Artistic Citizenship at the Core of Democracy
When people in the United States think of democracy, they often think of a governmental system with equal representation under the law. Previous to my visit to Washington D.C., my understanding of society's notion of democracy seemed unattainable. Initially, I understood democracy as a lofty white man’s ideal; unachievable for many marginalized groups, including a high number of the residents native to the Washington area. As a class that is striving to understand the relationship between...
Some post-museum musings
My high school psychology teacher Mr. Woodard used to tell us to question anything that claimed to be a “magic bullet” solution to a complex problem. It made sense at the time — how could any easy fix possibly consider and account for all the possible side effects within a changing and unpredictable world? However, I don’t think I truly grasped the full implications of his warning until this trip. News of some sort is almost always on the TV as white noise when I’m home in Spokane. It’s easy...
Defining Democracy and the Arts (Spoiler: it’s impossible)
Democracy (/de mäkresē/): noun; a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Art (/ärt/): noun; the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. Democracy and the Arts: experience; a month-long course in which 24 students and 2 program leaders closely...
So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye
Spending the past month with Professor Epstein, Alyssa, and my fellow students in Democracy and the Arts here in Washington DC has been extremely valuable to me because it has shown me how easily accessible much of our government is. Beginning after our meeting with Tina Smith, a group of students decided to explore the Senate office buildings. We entered six different offices and were welcomed each time by staffers of the Senators. We were showered with offers of food, gallery passes to...
Reflections On One Heckuva’ Month…
As I sit down to reflect upon my time here in Washington DC, I’m overwhelmed by all that there is to think about. Our class had a multitude of experiences, all of which contributed to my deeper knowledge of the course topics. Democracy and the Arts has demonstrated the variety of ways I am able to apply knowledge from my academic and artistic studies at St. Olaf to my current community. In fact, I was already able to directly apply my knowledge on a local level through writing my policy...
Holy moly, Oles: a reflection on our time in DC
I often joke that I’m majoring in “don’t hire me”; with my degree being in a combination of studies with no semblance of a clear career path going forward, I don’t really know how far off I am a lot of the time. Throw in the fact that I was far from on top of my game during our alumni mixer this month, and I had all but decided that I would be camping out in my parent’s house until the end of time. Thinking about our time in Washington, DC a little more though, I am happy to report that I now...
A Post-flection from Elijah
Prior to my interim experience, I spent two straight weeks with my extended family. The fortnight was lovely, but as a result, I also spent a considerable amount of time explaining to various relatives what I would be doing during the month of January. I started following a tight script: “So I’ll be taking a class called Democracy and the Arts, and we’re going to be looking at how the federal government decides what art programs get funding and how that funding ultimately affects what art is...
Reflections (literally)
*Note from the author: Because I'm cheesy and love a pun, this post is illustrated in six pictures I have taken of reflections, for fun and symbolic reasons.* I. Does Art Matter? I ended my first blog post wondering if the arts matter in the grand scheme of things. This is a question I have continued to ask myself everyday of this program, and I still don't have a clear answer on. I don't think that I could stand up and argue that the arts are more important at this point in time than climate...
Reflecting on Our Time in DC
I signed up for Democracy and the Arts in DC expecting the “arts” part of the course to be pretty challenging and for the “democracy” part to be a little easier for me. I enjoy art but have never personally been very involved so my overall knowledge about arts and arts advocacy grew a lot over the course, and I expected that. I did not expect my understanding of democracy and civic engagement to change very much because I consider myself a pretty politically active person and I thought I had a...
Close Calls V. Dem Arts DC
January 22 was an early morning with the alarm blaring at 4:30, but that was of little importance given the excitement I felt at the prospect of listening to oral arguments at the US Supreme Court. After a quick shower, Mary Crawford and I met at our hotel to proceed to catch the 5 am metro at Farragut West metro station. As we arrived, it became clear that the eerily empty metro station wasn't due for a train for 20 minutes because the first train left the station at 5 am! We were...
A Month Long Conversation
Washington DC is a stunningly confusing and incredible city to me. Though I have lived close to a major city for my whole life, Washington DC threw me for a loop, and much more than I was expecting it to. First, I adapted to a non-grid structure, making me miss and love Chicago even more. Next, I reconciled that midwestern kindness/passivity was nowhere to be found, though in many instances that isn’t bad. What I continued to grapple with throughout the month, was just unbelievable energy of...
Reflecting on the Power of the Audience
It was a whirlwind of a month in DC. We visited sites all over the city and attended a truly astonishing amount of performances. Along the way we discussed funding, censorship, accessibility, citizenship, engagement, and countless other ideas. All of these issues speak to the connections between arts and democracy and are important to discuss as artists, consumers of art, and citizens of this country. But through it all, one topic specifically has been on my mind since our very first night in...
For the People, By the People.
Twelve years - give or take a year - was the last time I went to see live theatre. We went as a family to see Wicked and I finally got to see the other side of the story that we watched annually at my house. I’ve been thinking back to why we saw that specific play and why I have not been back to watch live theatre since. I’m still trying to unpack that, so bear with me as I try. There was something immediately relatable. A family tale being unpacked and further explored on the big stage hence...
Oh D.C., How I’ll Miss You…
Washington D.C. has been an experience beyond description. It is hard to explain how this course has and will continue to impact me as I process all the amazing opportunities we had here. Not only am I far more informed on the connections between democracy and the arts, but I’ve made friends with people whose company I never thought I’d love as I do now. I hope that I’ll continue to reflect on this experience and grow from the many concepts I have learned about. I have been delighted to...
Art makes change.
Before I arrived in D.C. to take the Democracy and the Arts class, the only connection between democracy and the arts that I thought about was the government supporting the arts. I expected the whole trip to be meeting government officials with the power to make big changes to arts policies. While we did do this, there was so much more. We began with a topic that I didn’t know much about in general: curation. We learned how curators not only take care of the museum’s artifacts but how they...
Teriyaki Everywhere… A Reflection on My Time in D.C.
262,274 steps, 28 sight visits, 11 performances, 4 meals at Bibibop (with my final meal culminating in a lot of teriyaki sauce on my shirt), and 5 visits to Wawa later, our time in D.C. has come to a close. After countless hours of sitting in a myriad of coffee shops throughout the city, I’ve written four blog posts and drafted my very own policy proposal. In one of our final class periods, we had the opportunity to pick our top and bottom three sight visits and performances. My “top 3” list...
Finding Power in the Arts, a Reflection
This course has, among many other things, re-affirmed to me that the arts are both valuable overall and viable as career fields. I’ve known a lot of professional artists (mainly parents from my elementary school that remain family friends today) who have left their fields after a number of years, and can think of very few people I know personally who have actually been able to stay in the arts as a career. So, however unfair that judgement is, I entered this course thinking that while there...
Reflection on our time in DC
It is crazy to think that somehow our month in DC has come to an end. We’ve done and seen so many things in our time here and according to my IPhone’s activity tracker, I’ve walked 87.9 miles in my time here. I think it’s safe to say that we are all thoroughly exhausted and ready for our small campus where everything is only a short 5-minute walk away. I personally am not only physically exhausted but also mentally. This was a class unlike any class I have ever taken where I felt pushed...
And Justice for All
How do you write about an act of service when it’s a one-time act? It’s a little uncomfortable to call yourself a volunteer when it isn’t something you do regularly, yet, dipping your toes in and serving for a day or a few hours is still more than nothing…right? First, some personal context if I may. Before our time with George Washington University here in DC, I understood that MLK Day was to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King, however, his teachings around service were not part of my...
War, oppression, and violence
During the Cold War, Afghanistan was occupied by the Soviet Union. In 1988, the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan which began a period of instability. During this time, the Afghan group, the Mujahideen, were fighting to overthrow the communist government of the time. Once the communist government was overthrown by the Mujahideen and other militia groups, things got even worse because the different militia groups started fighting each other for power. Rockets and bombs were used to fight this...
Looking Back and Forward at the Same Time… the climate of Anacostia
On Saturday Jan. 27, our class visited the Anacostia Arts Center and enjoyed a moving performance by the District Community Playback, where we had the privilege of listening to the stories of folk who have lived in the city for more than 30 years. From the D.C. Sniper in 2003 to the Million Man March in 1996, we were able to disconnect from being tourists and actively engage with members of the D.C. community through shared storytelling. The Anacostia Arts Center, along with the District...
We Shall Overcome… Someday.
Washington Performing Arts Men, Women, and Children of the Gospel Choirs (read this blog post I previously wrote to learn more about this incredible organization) and The Choral Arts Society of Washington joined hands and voices for the annual choral tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Kennedy Center (read Sam's blog post about another of the Kennedy Center performances we attended). Tears came to my eyes as the choir sang "Give Me Jesus," and the ASL interpreters contributed to the...
Pilgrims Musa & Sheri & The Pilgrimage of our class.
Pilgrimage. Before we visited Atlas Theatre to watch Pilgrims, Musa & Sheri, I hadn’t heard the word "pilgrimage" in some years. My last memory of the word being used was during elementary school during historically inaccurate lessons surrounding Thanksgiving. Let’s just say I needed to refresh my memory. By definition, a pilgrimage is “any long journey, especially one undertaken as a quest or for a votive purpose, as to pay homage.'' As I type this blog, this one being the third in my...
Not What I Expected at the Pentagon
*There aren't pictures of the things I describe because that is frowned upon* On one of our "Choose Your Own Adventure" days I had the opportunity to visit the Pentagon as one of my relatives works there. I was able to see the Pentagon in a way that is not usually accessible to the general public, as normally with the heavy security features it is only possible to see the Pentagon on a group tour that has to be booked at least two weeks in advance. Because I was there with someone who works...
Last but not least
Our final site visit of the month took us to the Arts Museum of the Americas (AMA). Before I dive into the specifics of our trip, let’s get a little background. The AMA was founded in 1976 as the first collection of Latin American and Caribbean modern and contemporary art in the United States. The AMA was founded as a part of the visual arts wing of the Organization of American States (OAS). The OAS brings together the 35 countries of the Americas as well as 69 states who have permanent...
Oles meet Amy
Every Thursday, Amy Khlobuchar’s Senate office hosts “Minnesota Mornings” which are a chance for her constituents to come into the office and talk to her staffers and possibly meet her. We all know that Amy is super busy campaigning so we did not originally plan on going because we didn’t think she would be there. However, a St. Olaf alum who works in her office let us know that she would be there, so even though we had a pretty busy schedule, we made it work. When we arrived at her office we...
It’s Gogh time.
Throughout our stay, DC has often graced us with what Blake Ormond likes to call a “Florida morning.” As I understand from her explanation, a “Florida morning” is when there is enough chill in the air that you need a coat when you first step outside, but the sun is shining in a certain way that lets you know it’ll warm up to be a balmy afternoon. Bonus points if the sky is a clear, bright blue. It was a true Florida morning when I set off on my own to explore the Phillips Collection. I say...
Once there was…
“Once there was a performance on January 25th, where an audience from all corners of the country came together to share their stories.” That quote was the closing line of the District Community Playback performance at the Anacostia Arts Center show we attended and participated in last Saturday (or something similar to that, I was a little teary eyed and couldn’t write it down fast enough). I think I speak for a lot of us when I say we left the performance with a drastically changed view of how...
What’s in a name?
The National Museum of African American History and Culture, or NMAAHC, is the newest Smithsonian institution. Authorized by Congress in 2003 and finished in 2016, the museum does not have a mission statement. Instead, they have four pillars that uphold their goals for the institution: explore African American history through interactive exhibitions, show Americans how their lives are shaped by global influences, explore what it means to be an American and share how those values are shown in...
Why Do We Need Accessibility?: A Choose Your Own Adventure
Dealing with multiple chronic illnesses is demanding in the calmest of times. But, in a course where we are “on” and active at almost all times, it can make things nearly impossible. One of the things we’ve repeatedly talked about during this course is how to make arts accessible in ways that encourage active community engagement. One of the underappreciated aspects of this is allowing time and space for rest, as well as understanding and assuming that people will be disabled in any group....
From a movie theater, to an abandoned building, to a performing arts center
In 2006 The Atlas Performing Arts Center reopened after being abandoned for approximately 33 years. Before this, the Atlas used to be one of four movie theaters in H Street. People from all throughout H Street came to the Atlas to see their movies. Sadly, in 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. the theater was destroyed by the riots happening in the area. The riots were caused by the discontent in the African American community because of the discrimination against them. The...