Collaborating Curator & Associate Podcast Producer · University of Washington · Danielle New

I like to honing my skills to the specific goals and needs of this unique curatorial mission. I think it’s a great exercise for me as an emerging curator to adapt my previous experience as well as learn on the job. I am also a major proponent of multidisciplinary exhibitions, so The Creative Process’ mix of literary, educational, and artistic elements excites me greatly. 

In two of my most recent projects, I’ve explored creativity in different disciplines:

Musk Rap

What started out as helping out a good friend turned into collaborating on an original musical composition and music video. This summer, I wrote the chorus and helped devise the music video for my up-and-coming musician friend Rocket’s Elon Musk themed rap song. Our goals were to celebrate Elon Musk’s accomplishments and incorporate as many niche references as possible.

Surreal 

I’ve curated a traveling exhibition on dreams and the subconscious featuring multidisciplinary art, science, and literary pieces surrounding the topic of dreaming. With the collaboration of artist, curator, and Environmental Analysis Professor Paul Faulstich at Pitzer College, I developed the exhibit concept, solicited pieces, advertised the show, secured display spaces, installed & de-installed the work, wrote an exhibit catalogue, and of course engaged with visitors.

Collaborating Curator & Associate Podcast Producer · UC Irvine · Crystal Ly

My name is Crystal Ly, and I am a Collaborating Curator of the Creative Process! I currently attend UC Irvine as an art major aiming to do curatorial work. I’m so excited to share the insights of artists and other creatives in Irvine, as well as my own thoughts. I have a passion for supporting the arts in education.

I love engaging in visual arts discussions. With this being my primary focus of study, it’s invaluable to be able to hear of a project's progression from start to finish, candid accounts of artists' inspirations, obstacles, etc. I hope to pursue a career in curatorial work, so the nature of this collaboration greatly contributes to my understanding of the organizational aspects. I am also passionate about community engagement in the arts, and cultivating an awareness and importance for artists' contributions to society. Being involved in presenting these works to the local community is a fulfilling experience. Through The Creative Process I feel I am part of what make art meaningful and important to society. 

Associate Podcast Producer, Interviewer, and Collaborating Curator · UC Irvine · Vivian Le

I’m Vivian Le, Associate Podcast Producer, Interviewer, and Collaborating Curator from UC Irvine. I’m originally from San Diego and majoring in art history and global cultures. I’m looking forward to collaborating on new interviews and learning more about new artists and associated fields with The Creative Process. I’m so excited to be apart of such a expansive and international community.

Associate Podcast Producer & Interviewer at American University, D.C. · Elise Dean

I am a journalism graduate student at American University with a deep interest in exploring a career in audio journalism, with an emphasis in podcast production. When I am not in class, I am working on She+, my own female-empowerment podcast, where I taught myself how to edit audio and put together podcast episodes.

I would be honored to be chosen for this role, as I love interviewing others and sharing their stories through a microphone. The Creative Process offers an extremely unique opportunity, which allows me to explore my passion for podcasting and storytelling, as well as my audio editing skills.

Through our collaboration, I am hearing inspiring stories from truly incredible people. I am constantly in awe by the people in this world and their drive to accomplish things. The ability to connect with these people and hear their stories is invaluable to my development as a professional, as well as giving me hands-on experience with podcasting and helping me develop these skills meaningfully.

Collaborating Curator · Emmanuel Sosa Alvarado · Celebrating Libraries & Social Outreach Initiatives

Hi, I’m Emmanuel Sosa Alvarado, Collaborating Curator from University of Massachusetts Amherst. I’m from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and majoring in History. I’m collaborating on celebrating libraries, librarians and social outreach initiatives with The Creative Process. I have worked or been in proximity to libraries my whole life. You can talk to a librarian about anything, because in many ways that’s what they have to know. Everything that is going on in the university, everything that is going on in the community, and everything that’s going on int the world, depending on the request. Libraries have a history of output for society at large, and we want to know. Libraries are not going out of style; they are more necessary now than ever before. A librarian is not a local keeper of books; they bring people together with a plethora of different knowledge.
Libraries are a place where all parts of a community or student body go to interact with whatever they want. The past, art, science, etc., it has always held this tradition, and we want to know more. How has a library impacted your life?
Feel free to post from time to time about your projects, interviews, things you're doing, or related to creativity, exhibitions you visited. What has exited or engaged you in your library? This helps us celebrate participants in different cities, your work, and put you in touch with opportunities that align with your interests. Every library has a story to tell, and a librarian has a million of them. Tell us yours.

The University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras

Tell us about the libraries and teachers which made a difference in your life and helped you become the student you are today.
I have had many educators who have helped my academic career. I can name many, in junior high my history professor Mr. Viera  really changed the way I look at history today and helped influence many of my academic decisions after only taking one class. In my undergrad at the University of Puerto Rico, I had instructors like Carlos Pabon, Marcial Ocasio, James Conlan and Sandra Pujals, just to name a few. I take great value in education because of these professors and many more. I worked in the library of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras campus for a combined time of about six years. I have a fascination with libraries and the possible future they could serve within the community. My experience going to several libraries and working there has made understand how crucial they are to society. I believe their future lies with more community outreach, especially the homeless. (I could talk about this for hours). 

Collaborating Curator at Tulane University · Reina Protzel

My name is Reina Protzel, and I’m a Collaborating Curator from Tulane University. I’m from the greater New Orleans area. I’m majoring in Art History on the pre-medicine track. I’ve had a love for the visual arts since I was young, and I look forward to expanding my interests and experiencing new perspectives with The Creative Process.
I like to combine my interest in visual language with literary arts and other modes of creative expression. In this capacity, I edited the Literary Magazine and ran the writing club at Metairie Park Country Day School. I have also seen the enormous healing benefits of the arts through volunteering at the geriatrics department of the Community Living Center and St. Margaret’s Daughters Nursing Home. The sense of community generated through collaboration and creative endeavors is something I really enjoy, whether it’s running the Bridging Generations Club at Tulane, helping manage the Green Club or interning at Arts District New Orleans. I have learned so much from each of these experiences and being able to celebrate the wonderful creative and educational community of Tulane and New Orleans is a great opportunity to share what I love about home with the rest of the world.

Associate Podcast Producer & Interviewer · Tulane University · Annie Ritchart

I think storytelling and creativity is what defines us as humans. Since the birth of language, there has been an effort to share and preserve stories through it. I think that the goal of a lot of art and storytelling is to keep the biggest questions alive, which consequentially keeps us alive. While we're not really able to answer the mysteries explored through art, we are able to breathe through the desire to keep asking. By feeling the emotions of others distilled in stories and art, I also think it is probably the most effective movement toward empathy.

Through my collaboration with The Creative Process, I am working on interviews with filmmakers, musicians, and writers in New Orleans and St. Paul, Minnesota (where I’m from). The way art is celebrated everyday in New Orleans is a huge privilege to be around. I am interested in discussing with artists why representation is important, especially in film, and examining the depth of their creative worlds. I am passionate about celebrating the art through which we ask and experience what it means to be human. 

Associate Podcast Producer & Interviewer · Georgetown University · Vanessa Vaz

I love collaborating on this project. I’m an aspiring museum professional, aiming to be involved in a curatorial and interpretation role encompassing research, scholarship and using my experience to shape narratives and stories from South Asia, that build awareness and empathy of India culture and its diversity. 

The Art of Teaching - Young Writers & Artists Curator & Community Organizer Eliza Cooper

I’m Eliza Cooper, Young Writers and Artists Curator/Community Organizer at University of Wisconsin - Madison. I’m from Westchester, NY and majoring in Human Development and Family Studies. I’m collaborating on educational initiatives and celebrating different learning styles with The Creative Process!

Tell us about a teacher or program which made a difference in your life and helped you become the student you are today.

When I was a junior in high school, I took an AP English class. The teacher of this class was a genius in my eyes, and his influence still impacts me today not only as a student but as a person overall. We spent the year studying different types of persuasion in our lives, some that are conscious and some that are subconscious. For example, we learned how to write persuasive essays, but also how different companies advertise themselves to gain more attention. My favorite part of this class, though, was when we spent a few months watching movies and analyzing aspects of the movie that viewers normally wouldn’t. As a class, we began to understand that in many art forms, there is an intention for every aspect that is created. Analyzing these small details was very interesting to me, and I still to do this continuously. During this class was when I began to appreciate every little movement, sentence, and object in the movies I watched, and started to do the same with my life. I learned how to do my schoolwork, and my life in general, with intention in every way. I thought through more of my actions that would not only affect me long term, but short term, to benefit the bigger picture of my life. This class still resonates with me, 3 years later, and probably will for the rest of my life. 

What are some of your recent projects and plans for the future?

I have always been a very creative person who resonated a lot more with humanities type classes than the more science and math heavy work. I am currently minoring in photography at UW-Madison and have taken two in-depth photography classes that have made my love for photography even stronger. I wrote for the Odyssey website for a year, trying to create content that was relatable for other college students who thought they were alone. I have also been a very musically oriented person since I was young, playing many different instruments and singing in the choir at my school for four years. I also participated in a musical that a group of seniors and I wrote and directed together.

The Art of Teaching - Young Artists & Writers Curator & Associate Podcast Producer Emma Veon

I’m Emma Veon, Young Writers and Artists Curator/Community Organizer and Associate Podcaster from George Washington University. I’m from Philadelphia and majoring in English and Art History. I’m collaborating with professionals and students in a variety of disciplines, working to inspire younger generations through exposure to new and interesting fields. I’m excited to learn new things about my home city of Washington, DC, and the incredible creators that live there through The Creative Process.

Tell us about a teacher which made a difference in your life and helped you become the student you are today.

Every October, Dr. Balcer taught her ninth grade English Literature class how to use the semicolon. We learned how to diagram a sentence and where to parse phrasing, but the semicolon was arguably the most impactful grammar lesson we received from Dr. Balcer. She urged us to add personality to our work through experimentation, pushing us to explore the various uses of the comma or the effect of using dashes in dialogue. We were liberated from the strict grammar rules of grade school and thereby free to develop unique authorial voices. The passionate professor taught her students that we could do anything with our writing and equipped us with the tools to do so. Armed with new knowledge, we injected fresh vocabulary, imagery, metaphor, and diction into our essays and reflections. One mark of punctuation empowered us to explore academic and creative writing with a strong sense of self. Dr. Balcer helped us find our own voices. Mine, of course, involves liberal application of the semicolon; I think she felt some pride in that.

Over the next four years, I took three more classes with Dr. Balcer. She expanded my horizons even further, introducing themes, techniques, and genres that will inform my writing long after I graduate from college. When I considered an English major, she was the most adamant - and most convincing - supporter. Though she has since retired from her decades-long position, the lessons of beloved Dr. B will never leave the minds of countless students that she impacted so deeply.

What are some of your recent projects and plans for the future?

I will apply to GWU’s Master’s Degree Program of Art History in March. I am eager to continue my education and remain in Washington, DC, where I can continue working with the university and other organizations with which I have strong relationships. With the assistance of my professors, I will publish an essay in a literary journal. I hope to work more with my critical analysis of the Afro-Mestizo in Mexican art history or to start a new project in a different area of study. I will continue to learn German after I leave my study abroad program in Vienna. I hope to return to the city after I complete my undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Young Writers and Artists Curator / Community Organizer Marie-Eliane Guyader

Tell us about a teacher, library or arts program which made a difference in your life and helped you become the student you are today.

In first grade every student in my class had to read eleven books each week. I absolutely hated this project. I fought with my parents constantly and struggled with spelling and listening comprehension tests. But the next summer after 2nd grade, once I was able to read much more confidently, I discovered a love of reading because of the competitions at the public library. 

My parents are big readers and our house is full of old and new books. I loved the idea of reading but frequently became impatient and tired of it. But the library had a deal: every 5 books read meant a puzzle piece and five puzzle pieces mean a free book. I became obsessed with expanding my book collection and thus with reading. My passions started with the American Girl Doll mystery books. I also am certain that these books started my interest in history which is what I am now studying in college. I then moved on to other genres and more complex books too. 

My cousins, who were my babysitters for the summers, took my sister and I from the pool to the library and back again every single day. I read at the pool. I read entire books in the bean bags of the kids section at the library. When school started, I read under the desk while teachers taught. My mom even told me I was not allowed to read until my homework was done. My standardized test scores went up as well. Reading has become a defining part of my life, especially historical fiction.  Even when I am buried in school work, I always have a stack of good books to read, sitting in a pile on my desk. 

What are you studying and what your plans for the future?

I am a sophomore at NYU studying History and Journalism. I speak French fluently and am currently learning Spanish. At NYU I am a mentor in NYU Fempowered (previously called WYSE) which aims to educate middle school girls in local Manhattan public schools about consent, body image, social media and sex ed. I am hoping to pursue a graduate degree in Museum Studies and continue researching the historical events that fascinate me. I spent the summer as an intern at Vulcan Park and Museum where I researched Birmingham’s impact on the home front during World War II and curated a display using artifacts from the Vulcan Park Collection. Some of the objects on display are detailed in the link below in a blog post on the Vulcan website.

http://visitvulcan.com/articles/birminghams-impact-on-the-homefront/#.XbzFby2ZOu4

Associate Podcast Producer Lilas Cuby de Borville

I am Lilas Cuby de Borville, a former student of the Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris, in Management of artistic and cultural projects at their department of Art and Aesthetics. I am currently working at the Biennale de Lyon and as an Associate Interviews Producer for The Creative Process. Having participated in the inaugural exhibition of The Creative Process at the Sorbonne, I am fascinated to see how it has expanded to include artists of many disciplines. Conversations with artists are always illuminating because they help us understand so many things which may not be immediately apparent, and I come to appreciate my role as a young curator and cultural translator.

I recently anchored the podcast of the interview with artist April Gornik. Looking at April’s oil paintings and large charcoal pieces, I am moved by what is happening. There is a sort of peaceful tension.
The large scale of her artworks, the fact that they are low hanging and often have no frame, all those factors naturally lead to an immersion in the atmosphere of the landscape that April is depicting, in her precise universe. In front of these paintings, we always hesitate, not knowing, “Is the weather getting darker or lighter ?”, “Are we right after a storm, slowly disappearing, or are we, in the moment of the painting, at the crucial time of the storm about to happen”?

It is April Gornik’s talent that she can create suspended moments like these and make us dive profoundly into these ambivalent atmospheres. The tension is always discreet, but truly present, underlying all her work. It is less about the contemplation of several artworks and their technique than it is about diving into one's vision and slowly immersing yourself in this world, this landscape, listening to what these  “unpeopled dramatic landscapes” tell us.

I was fascinated to learn about her process and to hear that, to some extent, she considers that she is not responsible for the final effect of her paintings : she knows what happens in the studio, but not beyond. The organic function of art and what arises out of “happy accidents” is interesting to me, as well as how a painting comes together and reaches past its original intention. That it’s not about reproducing reality, but more about working with imagination and the intimacy between her and those landscapes.

She has been to these places, observed and taken photographs of many locations, but once she is working on painting these places, she does so by the way of an intimate mediation, which has a lot to do with emotion and memories.  As I myself grew up surrounded by landscapes - the ones of the southwest of France - I am also deeply convinced that a landscape is not only a large area filled by nature, neither a fixed frame. Landscapes tend to intensify our feelings and emotions. And by living with them, or looking at them for enough time, you also learn to discover your own sensitivity because the landscape gives you back, as a reflection, the image of what you are at the precise moment when you are looking at it.

The dialogue between the real and the imagined is strong in Gornik’s work. Sometimes her paintings are inspired by something else: like this painting she did from a book she read. She kept in mind the description of the way the sun was coming up, with a peculiar projected shadow, and created a painting from words she read.

She is strongly inspired by the 19th century landscape painters like Monet and his landscapes which she says “open up your soul”. April Gornik noticed that she works with landscapes that are “important to [her] for some reason”. So it is not about the territories that she is depicting in themselves, but more about her vision of the world. And as I see her work and listen to various community initiatives she is involved in, I understand that she is an artist who cares very much, about nature, about people, about places. In a period when caring and noticing is something we often don’t take time to do, she has created paintings which are interactive: a place for her and other people to “fully exist”. As Gornik says, she wants to “allow people to project to the world by themselves”.

Writer and Collaborating Curator - Lethokuhle Msimang

South African poet and writer Lethokuhle Msimang was born in Durban KwaZulu-Natal. Graduated with a B.A. in Literary Studies and Creative Arts at the American University of Paris, and pursuing a Masters in Creative Writing at Rhodes University. Her poems have appeared in New Coin Poetry, Grocotts Mail, Hanging Loose, The Paris/Atlantic, etc. She is currently developing a South African Oral History Project, presently focused on the documentation of the Delville Wood Memorial and the role of South African Native Labour Corps. Her most recent efforts are towards completing a book of linked short stories Tales of the Orange Time of Day.

*

Lethokuhle was involved in the inaugural exhibition of The Creative Process at the Sorbonne, and we have remained friends through her travels to China and other parts of the world. I have long admired her distinctive lyric voice. Her writing, which is full of directness and intimacy, addresses many difficult subjects, such as isolation and mental health, imbibing them with a sense of beauty. It is a voice well suited the spoken word and other interdisciplinary collaborative projects she has been involved in.
We honored to be collaborating with Lethokuhle on a special section of the traveling exhibition, celebrating the writers, artists, oral tradition, and creative community of South Africa.

–MIA FUNK
Artist, Interviewer & Founder of The Creative Process

THE DEATH OF A POET

by Lethokuhle Msimang

I once kept still enough to write 

I wrote 

And the old marveled at my wisdom

And the young wondered where I went

I went to school and did my work 

I went back home and did my work 

I took long walks and thought of work 

I read and wrote and slept

I once kept still enough to write

And then the people gathered

I went to school, I found a friend

I went back home with far more friends 

I took long walks and thought of friends 

I read and spoke and slept 

When I was almost still enough to write

I wrote

And the old marveled at my beauty 

I went to school in high heeled shoes 

I went back home to nurse my feet

I took long walks with tired old men 

I talked and wept and slept 

And I want to blame my ruin on the people 

They came too near and stole my art 

But I’d never thought myself a poet

I just sat still and wrote

As though my thoughts fell from the sky

And my bucket held sturdy in the rain