By Nicholas Steinhauser
Staff Writer
Here at the College, students are able to connect and share their experiences relating to various social issues. One way they can do this is through the Artivism Project, which connects social justice and environmental issues with the fields of art and artmaking and serves as a collaboration between students, faculty and student organizations.
The Artivism Project was first created in 2014 and is currently led by Dr. Colleen Sears, department chair and professor of music, and Dr. Eric Laprade, the director of bands at the College. The Artivism Project has previously done three major projects, the first involving the Katrina Ballads, which were created by composer Ted Hearne. This theme explored the connection between this album and the issues of race and class around the time of Hurricane Katrina.
The second project was concerned with environmental justice, with the driver being an art gallery at the College called Springs Eternal. This piece was mainly about water-related issues.
The third project was about Weather, a poem by Claudia Rankine that served as a critique of racial injustice during the pandemic.
The current project being covered is Life After Loss, which is quite different from the previous ones. “For this iteration of the project, we are kind of going for a broad theme instead of a specific issue,” said Sears.
She added, “The purpose of this particular iteration is to connect people over what is essentially a universal human experience.” Everyone has experienced loss at some point in their lives, whether it be losing a loved one or drifting apart from old friends after moving to college.
The theme of Life After Loss was partly inspired by the fact that the music department has lost four students and one faculty member, Dr. Gary Fienberg, in the past five years. “To lose any student is just a tragic experience, and losing four from the same department, on top of a faculty member, has really left an impact on us. We needed a space for us to process these losses that just would not let up,” said Sears.
In this iteration, the Artivism Project plans to focus on how students can overcome their differences and connect as a society over the shared experience of loss. “We want to do something showing what happens to the people who are still here and how we show up each day despite all the things that have happened,” said Sears.
The project is accepting submissions on this theme from anyone, including students, faculty, and their friends and families. The submissions will essentially represent the things or methods that students have turned to as a way to continue on after a devastating loss. Since life after loss can be expressed in different forms, the Artivism Project is taking submissions through multiple types of media.
The available art submissions include songs that will be made into a playlist, inspiring quotes, photos, short stories or poems, and soundscapes. Sears and Laprade plan to create a website or platform to serve as a digital exhibition where people can see the various submissions for each topic.
“Our hope for these submissions is for students and faculty alike to express themselves and their feelings as they navigate loss, which is usually an isolating experience, and to connect people who have never even met before on the topic of loss,” said Sears. “We also hope that anyone involved in this project will find a sense of catharsis in submitting their form of creative expression.”
Sears and Laprade also have many international collaborators from Australia, the Netherlands and Germany who are interested in the Artivism Project’s work. “We are also using these submissions as a structure by which other people who are interested in doing this type of work can pin their own projects to and then create their own programs on the theme of life after loss,” said Sears.
On April 27, Laprade will conduct a wind ensemble concert in Kendall Hall about the theme of Life After Loss. Viet Cuong, a composer, is writing an original piece for this theme, and its world premiere will be given at the concert. There will also be a visual display of the Artivism Project submissions.
“The work that goes into bringing a new piece of art into the world is really personal and rewarding,” said Sears. “My goal with these projects is to create experiences that will last in our memories.
Anyone interested in participating in the Artivism Project can find more information here.
