Katie Rees
Arts Scholar
Semester 3
This past semester, I have come to understand how art can reshape our implicit biases and learned mindsets. In my eyes, the most powerful asset art can offer is empathy. This is something we have discussed in Arts Scholars, and something that is desperately needed in bulk in our society today. If we all learn how to see from each other’s point of view, we are able to learn from each other and break down some of the barriers that might have been built up by our biases and misunderstandings in the past. For example, I have learned in the wake of the racial justice movements this summer that we all have implicit racist biases which have implications. Art actively works against this so that we can pursue anti-racism and educate ourselves on its effects through hearing the voices of those affected by this issue.
I have also been able to implement some models for the creative process that I have learned through Arts Scholars, one being the process for artistic feedback. Whenever a peer review was needed, students practiced the method of providing constructive feedback as opposed to destructive feedback. We learned that for a most effective peer review, the reviewer must first ask neutral questions; those of clarification as well as probing questions to get the artist to think more deeply about their work. The reviewer also must make sure all qualifications and requirements are met. Then, the artist themself can ask the reviewer questions to answer. Lastly, the reviewer can ask the artist whether or not they would like to receive opinionated feedback, and provide that if they are given permission. This allows for an effective session of feedback that gives the artist the opportunity to refine their work with great clarity. We practiced this as peer reviewers in the process of creating our capstone project proposals, applying feedback into each step further we came to in the process.
Instagram has actually been quite the tool for amplifying artists’ platform this year. I especially noticed many memorial paintings for Breonna Taylor that had been shared widely across social media. I found this news-related item to be especially powerful because it communicated a heartfelt tribute to the beautiful person Ms. Taylor was and how such racial injustice took her life away. The Arts program allowed me to not only appreciate the artwork, but also to analyze the impact of the artwork, and how it actively evokes empathy and activism within its audience.
There has been much overlap between my theatre courses and what I have experienced as an Arts Scholar. Specifically, THET251 that I took in spring of 2020 made many connections to art and its societal impact. In THET251: “Remixing America Through Musical Theatre” we studied how Broadway and musical theatre works have reinforced certain biases as well as the idea of assimilation within the United States. As we have studied in Arts Scholars, there is a deep connection between arts and activism, and in this course I learned how art can also be an influence for going backwards in seeing the gift of a diverse America, since some musical theatre pieces reinforced stereotypes or biases through their work. Through both courses, I came to understand how the art can be used for good and for bad, both in very powerful ways.
I think that my learning was particularly enhanced by living in community with other Arts Scholars. My freshman year, I was surrounded by other creatives, allowing for an environment encouraging creativity and expression in any variety, and deeply appreciating the voice of others. I am thankful to have been introduced to such a community during my first year within a big school, because each voice felt valued and heard. I think these benefits would have continued to grow if all of the students were able to live on campus, but we were limited by the pandemic in this regard. However, this semester as an Arts Scholars peer mentor, I felt like I still benefitted from the program as it provided me an opportunity to connect with other Arts students of both first and second years outside of classes. In this context, we could all really listen to each other and our experiences within such an unusual context of living through this pandemic.
As mentioned above, I was given the great opportunity to connect with first year Arts Scholars and other Arts leaders as a peer mentor within the program. I was able to host multiple events providing opportunities for students to gain pentathlon class credit by studying various forms of art together. My favorite event was hosting a free ice cream social from the Maryland Dairy with other freshmen living together in Bel Air. This was a way to really spend some time getting to know the new members of our community and relate to each other and our shared experiences throughout this semester. They also could ask me questions as a second year Arts Scholar, so I was happy to provide some wisdom and advice that I have learned in hindsight from the program. I think I wish I was able to invest more into my Arts Scholars class this semester by going to office hours often, which would have provided me more insight into how to improve and prepare my capstone project. I plan to take advantage of this opportunity next semester.
I think being a student within the UMD Scholars program inevitably introduces you to people with different experiences and perspectives, which has been hugely beneficial to my learning, both as a person and a student. It is particularly important to note that these discussions were had within the context of a carefully introduced atmosphere that welcomed all backgrounds with compassion , appreciation, and empathy. Without this atmosphere, the benefits would not have been as fruitful. In particular, Ivelisse Diaz, an Afro-Puerto Rican dancer, musician and educator, was a guest speaker for our class colloquium. She introduced me and my class to the sect of music from her culture, Bomba. I learned much about her background and gained a deep appreciation of the joy she shared for it through this encounter. It is in encounters like these that I continue to enjoy being a part of the Arts Scholars community.
Semester 4
This past semester was a great end to my two years within the Arts Scholars program here at UMD. Looking back on my ePortfolio allows me to see much of the work that we did in Arts Scholars on one combined virtual platform, which has numerous benefits. Looking back on my ePortfolio, I see growth in many of the assignments in the program, but one of the best indicators of this is the pentathlon assignments. Pentathlons, which in all honesty seemed unnecessary at some times, seemed to be one of the best ways for me to connect with the arts community, especially throughout the pandemic. Looking at my first online pentathlon this year, the Cabaret musical performance, I was very much adjusting to the benefits of online art. However, I also knew that pieces like this with an original cast from years ago would not have been able to be appreciated in person today. As pentathlons continued throughout this past year, one of the greatest benefits was enjoying art along my Arts Scholars peers. As a peer mentor to the freshmen this year, I hosted many Arts Scholars pentathlon events with other mentors for the freshmen. Not only were these great ways to be introduced to more art, but it was a bonding experience within our community. I was able to practice articulating my experience with the art to my peers and then put it all down on my ePortfolio in written form.
My experience within Arts Scholars has challenged me to view art in a completely different view than when I came in my first semester in the program. I knew art to be what my experience with it had been, which was my passion for music and theatre. However, as we were introduced to all the different types of artistic expression within the community, from work going on in Studio A at the Stamp Student Union, to guest artists in music and poetry, my definition of art stretched into something way more holistic than my initial narrow view. I began to see art not only as a means of entertainment, but as a means for personal expression, activism, and empowerment. In my program, we were asked questions like “What is good art?” which prompted me to come to the conclusion that good art is anything that is authentic and true to oneself. It doesn’t matter how appealing it is to the audience as long as we as artists are expressing our truth. One of the best, and most recent, examples of this was my field trip this semester with chArma, an organization focused around teaching hip-hop and social dance. We learned not only the dance form, but the rich history of this form of dance as a means for expression by a marginalized community.
Artistic expression was one of the greatest values I learned from my time as an Arts Scholar, and this directly applied to my work on my capstone project. As I was forming my project, I focused first on an issue I was passionate about, mass incarceration, and then I applied it to the value of artistic expression that I had fostered within the program. As I combined the two, I polished the idea for my project to focus on art as a form of expression by those who are incarcerated in the U.S. Throughout my project, I used many of the techniques from the program, one being time management but others relating to artistic feedback and honoring another artist’s work, to work to most authentically represent the incarcerated artists in my project.
Arts Scholars has allowed me to not only own my passion for music and theatre, but also expanded my abilities in exploring other forms of art. For example, I never thought about myself as a visual artist, but through just practicing visual art as a warm-up or creative exercise, I began to appreciate my talents within this form of art as something I enjoyed (although I confess my visual art will never compare to the talents of many other program students whose first art is visual!) Also, this past semester, I thoroughly enjoyed my workshop taught by a fellow student Saxon Brown, focusing on poetry. I had always admired the form of written art, but had never made the space to explore this form. I am so grateful to have been afforded this space to learn and practice poetry, and be able to use this as a form of expression and artistic appreciation for the rest of my life.
One of the most enriching experiences within my time in this program has been practicing effective listening to the artistic voices of those around me. Within a large campus, I feel as if Arts Scholars values the diverse voices of each individual within the program and uplifts them and their art. One of my peers chose to focus her capstone on mental health, a vulnerable yet important and relevant topic. As we conducted many peer reviews over the semester, I practiced listening to and uplifting her voice and providing feedback without dishonoring her vision for her project.
My Scholars experience will have had an impact on me for years to come. I have not only gained so much from my time within Arts Scholars, but the overall Scholars community itself. When I came into the program my freshman year, I was met with many community building activities and service, two hugely important values to the program and to me now. I now go into my future with an understanding that great work happens in collaboration with other passionate individuals and when I challenge myself to think critically, put the work in, and encourage others in my community who do the same to inspire me.