91ֱ�� Opera Brings “Jack and the Beanstalk” to Schools Across Northeast Ohio for Winter Term</h1> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Opera Brings “Jack and the Beanstalk” to Schools Across Northeast Ohio for Winter Term</h1> <p>srasmuss — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 18:24:48 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Opera Brings “Jack and the Beanstalk” to Schools Across Northeast Ohio for Winter Term</span> <span><span>srasmuss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-03-10T14:24:48-04:00" title="Monday, March 10, 2025 - 14:24">Mon, 03/10/2025 - 14:24</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>This January, 91ֱ�� voice students had a unique opportunity to rehearse and tour the opera rendition of Jack and the Beanstalk in just one month. This experience included a total of ten performances, allowing 91ֱ�� students to connect with hundreds of enthusiastic elementary and middle school students across Northeast Ohio, providing invaluable exposure to classical singing bound to inspire.</p> <p>"With it going on during Winter Term," said second-year voice major Ella Vaughn, who played the roles of Jack’s Mother and the Giant’s Wife, "it was really nice to be able to focus on the production without classes.” During Winter Term, 91ֱ�� students pursue a unique project outside of regular course offerings, which can be done across the U.S., around the world, or, in the case of Jack and the Beanstalk, on campus. Directed by Associate Professor of Opera <a href="/stephanie-havey">Stephanie Havey</a> and Associate Professor of Opera Coaching <a href="/kyung-eun-na">Kyung-Eun Na</a>, students had only a mere one-and-a-half weeks of rehearsal to prepare the entire production, during which they were also responsible for setting up the stage and moving props. Vaughn commented on how even though the show was, at times, comedic and lighthearted, “our director, Stephanie Havey, put thought and effort into the staging and overall purpose of the show, which is important when thinking about our characters and the message we want the kids to go home with.”</p> <p> “I’m really glad I had this opportunity,” Vaughn said about the tour, “and I hope they continue doing these tours because it's really important for us performers and for the community.” Jack and the Beanstalk marks the beginning of <a href="/opera-theater">91ֱ�� Opera’s</a> ongoing commitment to community engagement. Havey intends for 91ֱ��’s Opera program to offer a community-facing opera as a Winter Term project each January moving forward—in addition to two full-length productions each semester—ultimately providing numerous performance opportunities and chances to explore cities beyond 91ֱ��. “I've only been in productions where we perform three or four times, so having a lot of performances was both fun and tiring. It was exciting to see how we could make different choices by interacting with other people in the cast and the kids in the audience.”</p> <p> Opera Tour Director Stephanie Havey also shed light on the purpose of the tour: “Our hope with this tour is to inspire children to love music and learn more about it. We hope to set the stage for future opera lovers.” With engaging and lighthearted study guides—provided to each school in advance—behind-the-scenes insights, interactive chase scenes, and enthusiastic Q&A sessions after each performance, young students experienced a dynamic and immersive introduction to opera. “The young audiences at the Elementary Schools were completely enthralled with seeing a live theatrical performance,” she said, “I saw that as a desire to connect with the performers—to see themselves in the performers.”</p> <p> The experience was not only transformative for children in the audience but also professionally informative for students in the cast. As Vaughn noted, “Learning how to quickly get a show on its feet, performing at early hours in the morning, having multiple performances a day, interacting with different audiences—these are all things that are common in a professional opera career.” The Winter Term project provided a variety of real-world opera experiences that are essential for emerging performers. “Additionally, a lot of young artist programs at opera houses do a school tour similar to this, so there's a good chance I'll be doing this in my future as well.”</p> <p> </p> <p> Through this project, 91ֱ�� Opera not only enriched the local community but also equipped its students with essential professional experiences and skills. With plans to continue these performances in future Winter Terms, 91ֱ��’s commitment to community engagement and professional-level exposure ensures that opera remains a vibrant, accessible art form for generations to come.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2025-03-10T12:00:00Z">Mon, 03/10/2025 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">George Rogers</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3878">Conservatory of Music</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3873">91ֱ�� Opera Theater</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3319">Community Engagement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2398">Community Education</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=32971">Opera Theater</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/vocal-studies" hreflang="und">Vocal Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Genevieve Dilan '24</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Students Create Project That Engages Local Hospital Patients and Nursing Home Residents</h1> <p>cstrauss — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 21:31:49 +0000</p> <span>Students Create Project That Engages Local Hospital Patients and Nursing Home Residents</span> <span><span>cstrauss</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-06-04T17:31:49-04:00" title="Tuesday, June 4, 2024 - 17:31">Tue, 06/04/2024 - 17:31</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>“It all kept coming back to how important it was to have important people around you—people that cared,” says Grammy-winning composer and Associate Professor of Horn Jeff Scott, describing the essence behind Meera Bhatia and Emily Nixon’s community engagement project as well his commission, <em>Two Orchids</em>.</p> <p>The project all started in March 2022 as the brainchild of Monument, Colorado native and fourth-year oboist and English horn player Meera Bhatia. At this time, Bhatia had an unexpected visit to the emergency room at Mercy Allen Hospital and underwent abdominal surgery that resulted in a week-long hospital stay and months of formal recovery. </p> <p>“As I was lying there in the hospital bed, I reached for the only thing I had in the moment—music,” Bhatia recalls. She describes skimming through recordings of oboe pieces until eventually coming across Augusta Reed Thomas’s <em>Song Without Words</em>, which “provided the only few minutes for that eight-week period where I was not in pain or worried about the future.” </p> <p>For Bhatia, this experience was transformative and helped her realize that music can be a tool for hope, strength, and emotional validation. </p> <p>Experienced in community engagement through the <a href="/bcsl/programs/ninde-scholars">Ninde Scholars Program</a>, <a href="/community-music-school">91ֱ�� Community Music School</a>, and Conservatory coursework, Bhatia set out to give back to the same community at Mercy Allen Hospital that provided her crucial emotional and physical support during moments of distress. </p> <p>“In her darkest hours, the first thing she thought about was to give back,” Scott says about Bhatia. “The first thing was, ‘how can I say thank you in a grand way? To the people who took care?’ That's the first thing she thought about. And that really spoke so much about who she is as a person.”</p> <p>In the spring of 2023, music education professor <a href="/jody-kerchner">Jody Kerchner</a> identified an overlap between Bhatia’s initiative and Aloca, Tennessee native Emily Nixon’s ’23 interest in music therapy. Both pursuing the<a href="/conservatory/divisions/pace/integrative-concentration"> PACE (Pedagogy, Advocacy, and Community Engagement) Integrative Concentration</a>, Bhatia and Nixon joined forces and began preparing for their visits. </p> <p>“I loved Meera’s vision for the project and very much wanted to be a part of it and help out in any way that I could,” says Nixon. “Meera and I met for coffee toward the end of the spring semester and shared with each other our interest in bringing music to Mercy Allen and the greater 91ֱ�� community, and she graciously let me join in.”</p> <p>A bulk of their preparations consisted of applying for the inaugural <a href="/bcsl/bulletins/gletherow-young-deppman-project-award">Gletherow-Young-Deppman Project Award</a>, which is reviewed and awarded through the <a href="/bcsl">Bonner Center for Community Engagement Learning, Teaching, & Research</a>. The award allows recipients to utilize prior coursework and explore professional interests through direct and practical community engagement work. Bhatia and Nixon’s proposal described their project in depth: meeting with three to four patients for 30 minutes, asking what kind of emotion they want to hear reflected musically, playing corresponding portions of larger works, and discussing the listener’s experiences afterwards.</p> <p>A crucial element of their proposal was the use of funds to commission Jeff Scott to write a piece commemorating the project and “all of the stories told in the common room of the Mercy Allen Hospital as a tribute to 91ֱ�� community members.” Upon receiving the award in May 2023, the two students began meeting with Scott not only to workshop the piece, but also to develop a deeper connection with each other and better understand what the project should represent. </p> <p>Scott explains, “I really wanted to find out what they considered to be important, especially when I'm being commissioned to write something. I like to know what people value. In the conversations, we talked about everything—parents, vacations, brothers, sisters—and it all kept coming back to relationships. It all kept coming back to how important it was to have important people around you—people that cared,” says Scott. “So when I set about writing the piece, and I was thinking about the hospital and the home for the aged, I thought, ‘Boy, how important are relationships when you're isolated in that capacity?’”</p> <p>Throughout the composing process, Scott met with Bhatia and Nixon several times to workshop snippets. “It's not something I usually do,” he says, noting the uniqueness of the project even for him, “I usually might send one draft and then finish the piece, but it's such a personal piece, and it wasn't only for two musicians—I really wanted it to be <em>for them</em>.”</p> <p>The piece, titled <em>Two Orchids</em>, is a duet for flute and oboe and symbolizes two women of advanced age with a strong bond. One is more melancholy and reflective, and the other is a prankster who keeps her counterpart from getting overly serious. The work is divided into multiple sections by subtitles that indicate the women sharing various stories and recalling different memories. The inscription on the piece is “To honor the stories of resilience found at the edges of our collective consciousness.” </p> <p>Following the initial proposal, Kerchner suggested visiting Welcome Nursing Home, which was incorporated into the project’s final form. From November 2023 to March 2024, Bhatia and Nixon made two visits every week: one to Mercy Allen Hospital and one to Welcome Nursing Home. During these visits, the two instrumentalists played duets and conversed with listeners about music, culminating in two separate premiers of Scott’s <em>Two Orchids</em>: Mercy Allen Hospital on April 19 and Welcome Nursing Home on April 21.</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Mercy Allen Hospital staff supported Bhatia and Nixon, attending the premiere of the piece inspired by the students' interactions with patients. 91ֱ�� faculty Jeff Scott and Jody Kerchner also attended the performance.</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>“Everyone, regardless of what stage of life they are in,” says Bhatia, “should feel part of the 91ֱ�� community. And it is our hope that, through this project, more people feel seen as part of the community.” It was a point emphasized in the artists' proposal, which they described as a “symbiotic alliance" between them and the patients and staff at Mercy Allen Hospital and Welcome Nursing Home.</p> <p>91ֱ�� students, faculty, and Mercy staff and patients alike rejoiced in the success and positive reception of the project, which left an indelible impact on Mercy Allen Hospital and the broader 91ֱ�� musical and cultural community. “People recognize it as the notes that were written by someone,” said Scott, “but it becomes something really, really special because you're putting <em>you</em> into it.”</p> <p>In May 2024, Bhatia, Nixon, and Scott met in the Conservatory’s <a href="/clonick-hall">Clonick Hall</a> for a formal audio and video recording session of <em>Two Orchids</em> that will be made available to the public soon.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Meera Bhatia ’23 and Emily Nixon ’23 visit local hospital and nursing homes, commissioning and premiering a piece by Jeff Scott through the Gletherow-Young-Deppman Project Award</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2024-06-04T12:00:00Z">Tue, 06/04/2024 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">George Rogers</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2410">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3319">Community Engagement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2381">Bonner Center</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=37361">Oboe</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35911">Flute</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jody-kerchner" hreflang="und">Jody Kerchner</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/winds-brass-and-percussion" hreflang="und">Winds, Brass, and Percussion</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Oboist Meera Bhatia ’23 and flutist Emily Nixon ’23 meet in Mercy Allen Hospital's lobby before going off to perform for patients.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jacob Strauss</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Fulbright ETA in Mexico Recipient to Provide Support to Asylum Seekers and Refugees</h1> <p>ygay — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 15:54:21 +0000</p> <span>Fulbright ETA in Mexico Recipient to Provide Support to Asylum Seekers and Refugees</span> <span><span>ygay</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-07-13T11:54:21-04:00" title="Tuesday, July 13, 2021 - 11:54">Tue, 07/13/2021 - 11:54</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>While serving as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Mexico this fall, Johan Cavert ’20 also plans to provide support to asylum seekers and refugees.</p> <p>The <a href="https://us.fulbrightonline.org" target="_blank">Fulbright U.S. Student Program </a>provides grants for individually designed study and research projects or for English Teaching Assistant (ETA) programs. </p> <p>Participants in the program work, live with, and learn from the people of their host country, while sharing daily experiences. The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks. </p> <p>Placements vary in Mexico from elementary schools to universities in many regions of the country. And as is the case in most countries offering ETA positions, grantees are encouraged to develop a 20-hour per week project related to their personal, professional, and/or educational interests. </p> <p>Cavert’s Mexico ETA will begin in September and go through May 2022, during which time he plans to continue the work he has been involved with at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) by providing support to asylum seekers and refugees across the border.</p> <p>After graduating from 91ֱ��, Cavert began work at the ILCM, which is considered the state’s leading provider of free and high-quality legal, policy, and education services for immigrants, immigrant families, and immigration-reform efforts. As a legal assistant at ILCM, Cavert assists attorneys as they defend U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees facing deportation. He also works with pro bono lawyers representing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applicants and residents applying for naturalization.</p> <p>“In recent years, Mexico has become the indefinite residence for increasing numbers of immigrants from countries in the Northern Triangle and around the world,” says Cavert. “COVID-19, migrant protection protocols, and other policies have limited U.S. border crossings while at the same time, the number of asylees fleeing violence remains high. Seeking to provide support, trauma-informed care, and knowledge of legal resources to refugees in Mexico will allow me to continue this work at the ground level while learning about the everyday impact of bilateral immigration policy. </p> <p>“I am also curious to learn more about the impact and causes of climate migration and the ways in which environmental justice is interrelated with international immigraiton policy.”</p> <p>While working in U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office during the Trump Administration’s family separation policies, Cavert says he talked with scores of constituents who were upset by events at the U.S.-Mexico border. “That inspired me to get directly involved in changing the inhumane policies levied against individuals seeking asylum and humanitarian relief within our county,” he says.</p> <p>As a volunteer committee member and traveler with Servas International, he met and befriended many people around the world who are also committed to fostering peace and cross-cultural diplomacy through cultural exchange. </p> <p>Through the Humanity In Action program in Amsterdam, he learned about human rights and social justice with a transatlantic cohort that brought many diverse perspectives to discussions on pressing contemporary issues. </p> <p>“I have been challenged and have grown during these and other experiences, including my time at 91ֱ��,” he says. “I hope my Fulbright grant will allow me to continue to build on that foundation while I prioritize language education and diplomatic exchange as tools for furthering empowerment and equity, forming authentic connections, and creating international commitment to common goals of peace and social justice.”</p> <p>While majoring in <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/economics" target="_blank">economics</a> and <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/hispanic-studies" target="_blank">Hispanic studies</a> with an <a href="/international-affairs" target="_blank">international studies concentration</a>, as well as minoring in <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/comparative-literature" target="_blank">comparative literature</a> at 91ֱ��, Cavert taught Spanish through the <a href="https://www.oberlinsites.org/" target="_blank">Spanish in the Elementary Schools</a> program. SITES, he says, solidified his devotion to education as a tool to facilitate community building and empowerment.</p> <p>“Teaching through SITES and taking [Instructor and SITES Program Director] <a href="/kim-faber" target="_blank">Kim Faber</a>’s practicum piqued my interest in pedagogy and language education, and led me to apply to Fulbright,” says Cavert.</p> <p>Living and working abroad has always been an integral aspect of his identity, says Cavert. And he is incredibly grateful to all the teachers, friends, family, and community members who continue to support him and provide inspiration.</p> <p>Cavert is also the recipient of the 2019 <a href="/news/johan-cavert-selected-humanity-action-fellowship" target="_blank">Humanity in Action Fellowship</a> to the Netherlands and is a 2019 Truman Scholarship State Finalist.</p> <p>At 91ֱ��, Cavert served as a sustainability liaison for Student Senate; member of the <a href="https://www.greenedgefund.com/" target="_blank">Green Edge Fund</a> Board; student representative on the <a href="/environmental-sustainability/governance/committee" target="_blank">Committee on Environmental Sustainability</a>; and the <a href="/environmental-sustainability/carbon-neutrality" target="_blank">Carbon Neutrality Student Advisory Board</a>; reported for the <a href="https://oberlinreview.org/" target="_blank"><em>91ֱ�� Review</em></a>, and hosted a <a href="https://www.wobc.org/" target="_blank">WOBC</a> radio show about news and current events.</p> <p>Cavert plans to pursue a graduate degree and career in public policy, law, or environmental economics.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2021-07-13T12:00:00Z">Tue, 07/13/2021 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yvonne Gay</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2369">Environment & Sustainability</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3319">Community Engagement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3846">Engaged Liberal Arts</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=245971">International Affairs</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25316">Comparative Literature</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25341">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=4796">Hispanic Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/kim-faber" hreflang="und">Kim Faber</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/economics" hreflang="und">Economics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/hispanic-studies" hreflang="und">Hispanic Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/comparative-literature" hreflang="und">Comparative Literature</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Johan Cavert ’20</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of Cavert</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Community-Based Work-Study Program Maintains Connections with Retirement Community</h1> <p>anagy — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 21:28:17 +0000</p> <span>Community-Based Work-Study Program Maintains Connections with Retirement Community</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-01-19T16:28:17-05:00" title="Tuesday, January 19, 2021 - 16:28">Tue, 01/19/2021 - 16:28</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The pandemic hasn’t prevented 91ֱ�� College’s <a href="/bcsl/programs/community-work">Community-Based Work-Study Program</a> from working with Kendal residents. While Kendal is not currently allowing outside guests to physically enter the community, the student workers found a way to connect with residents online via Zoom.</p> <p>Michele Tartisano-Amato, the director of creative arts therapy at Kendal, acts as a liaison to all of the student workers. She explains that many students felt apprehensive about the future of the program at the start of the semester. </p> <p>“When COVID-19 happened, our work-study students were saying, ‘Wait a minute, we can’t come in anymore. How are we going to do the program, and how are we going to earn our work study hours?’ We quickly met on a Zoom call and began the discussion about converting to a virtual platform.”</p> <p>While transitioning to a virtual platform was challenging at first, it eventually opened new doors to the outside community. At the beginning of the semester, the student group held weekly meetings to troubleshoot technology problems. They also offered technology classes for Kendal residents. When things began to run smoothly for the residents at Kendal, Tartisano-Amato decided to expand the program and open up the online classes to other retirement communities.</p> <p>In addition to adjusting to changes during the semester, the student workers managed to offer an extensive amount of classes and events to Kendal residents during the semester. They taught classes in Spanish, German, food science, musical theater, yoga, and events in world news, as well as hosted a spelling bee club and various musical performances. </p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>First-year Alissa Leon. Photo credit: Yvonne Gay</figcaption> </figure> <p>First-year Alissa Leon became involved with the Bonner Center for the first time this fall and taught yoga and meditation at Kendal.</p> <p>“When I was looking for service opportunities, the online Bonner Center service was extremely helpful. I realized I could fulfill my federal work study and community service requirements within the same organization. When I saw Kendal was looking for members to create programs, I just sent an email and hoped they would take me on—and they did!”</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Third-year Golara Malaki. Photo credit: Yvonne Gay</figcaption> </figure> <p>Golara Malaki, a third-year, is passionate about issues related to accessibility for the elderly. During their second year at 91ֱ��, they began training to volunteer at Kendal and teaching a course on food science.</p> <p>“To be a part of a lifelong learning community is a tremendous honor,” Malaki says. “No matter an individual's age or skill level, there's always more to learn about the world.”</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-left"> <figcaption><br> First-year Ashton Doll taught a discussion-based class on modern musicals. “We'd watch one act of a musical and then discuss it. We'd talk about the importance of various scenes, the implications of a certain action or line of dialogue, and how the play related to our own lives. Teaching in a relatively low-stakes environment is really great for one's self-confidence. Doing this made me feel like I was a little more integrated into the 91ֱ�� community, despite COVID and Zoom lectures.” Photo credit: Yvonne Gay</figcaption> </figure> <p>Tartisano-Amato is proud of what the student workers have accomplished this semester and looks forward to working with them in the future.</p> <p>“One of my interests is mentoring students to become the future leaders in my field and getting them excited about working with older folks. I’ve been so pleased with the quality of the students’ work this year. It’s just been amazing.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2021-01-20T12:00:00Z">Wed, 01/20/2021 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jane Hobson '22</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>For 91ֱ�� students who receive federal work-study awards, the <a href="/bcsl">Bonner Center for Community-Engaged Learning, Teaching, and Research</a> offers special opportunities to connect with the community. One such opportunity is teaching classes at the local retirement community, Kendal at 91ֱ��.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3319">Community Engagement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2381">Bonner Center</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">While Kendal at 91ֱ�� is not currently allowing outside guests to physically enter the retirement community, 91ֱ��'s Community-Based Work-Study Program found a way to connect with residents online via Zoom.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Zach Christy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� College Joins Leaders From Across the United States Affirming a Commitment to Global Climate Action</h1> <p>swargo — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 15:04:24 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� College Joins Leaders From Across the United States Affirming a Commitment to Global Climate Action</span> <span><span>swargo</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-12-11T10:04:24-05:00" title="Friday, December 11, 2020 - 10:04">Fri, 12/11/2020 - 10:04</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>OBERLIN, OHIO – December 12, 2020, marks the five-year anniversary of the world coming together to sign on to the Paris Agreement for global climate action. To commemorate this moment, 91ֱ�� College has joined more than one thousand leaders from local governments, businesses, tribal communities, and other institutions across the country as a signatory of the “<a href="http://americaisallin.com">America Is All In</a>” <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> joint statement. </p> <p>This joint statement will be delivered to the incoming Biden-Harris administration, as well as to United Nations officials and global heads of state at the Climate Ambition Summit hosted by the United Kingdom, also on December 12. </p> <p>91ֱ�� College has long been committed to taking action on climate change and social justice. As the college nears 2025—the target year to achieve carbon neutrality—there is much progress to celebrate and lots of work ahead. 91ֱ�� College has achieved approximately 100 percent green electricity and offers sustainability-related courses in 22 departments across the curriculum. For these initiatives and more, 91ֱ�� College was recently featured as a top-five baccalaureate institution in the Sustainable Campus Index published by AASHE.</p> <p>‘‘91ֱ�� College is moving boldly ahead to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. We are partnering with experts in the carbon-neutral field as well as those in our local community to achieve this goal,’’ said Kevin Brown, chief of facilities at 91ֱ�� College. ‘‘The next monumental step is our Sustainable Infrastructure Program, which includes replacing our aged district steam system with a new district low-temperature hot water system with a carbon-neutral energy source providing the heat.’’</p> <p>The ‘‘America Is All In’’ declaration is organized by We Are Still In, a coalition in support of climate action and a pledge to uphold the United States' commitments to reduce emissions under the Paris Agreement. With more than 3,900 organizations and institutions across all sectors of the United States, these leaders represent over half of the national population, nearly two-thirds of the economy, and more than half of the country’s emissions.</p> <p>While the United States officially exited the Paris Agreement on November 4, 2020, the incoming Biden-Harris administration has committed to reentering the unprecedented global agreement. 91ֱ�� College was also a signatory to the 2017 ‘‘<a href="http://www.wearestillin.com">We Are Still In</a>’’ <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span>climate declaration that was issued in response to the announcement that the United State intended to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.</p> <p>‘‘December 12 is more than an anniversary of an agreement, it represents a critical turning point for the future of U.S. and global climate action,’’ said Elan Strait, director of US climate campaigns at World Wildlife Fund (WWF). ‘‘Nationally, we have stumbled in our leadership on climate action. But We Are Still In shows that there was a commitment to change in the United States that never faltered. Today‘s statement from 91ֱ�� College and hundreds like them across the country sends a clear message that we need a unified national response to the climate crisis.’’</p> <p>To date, the new statement has been signed by more than 290 cities and counties across the United States, 945 faith groups, more than 400 colleges and universities, and 10 states.</p> <hr> <p><strong>About 91ֱ��</strong></p> <p>Ranked among the nation’s top liberal arts schools, 91ֱ�� of Music are known for exemplary academic and musical pedagogy and commitment to social justice, sustainability, and creative entrepreneurship. The college, founded in 1833, holds a distinguished place among American colleges and universities as the first to grant bachelor's degrees to women in a coeducational environment and was a leader in the education of African Americans. The Conservatory of Music, a recipient of the National Medal of Arts, was founded in 1865, making it the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. 91ֱ�� Conservatory alumni enjoy illustrious careers in all aspects of the music world, achieving prominence as performers, conductors, composers, music educators, scholars, and arts administrators.</p> <ul> <li>View the statement and signatories at <a href="http://americaisallin.com">AmericaIsAllIn.com</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span></li> <li>Learn more at <a href="http://www.wearestillin.com">WeAreStillIn.com</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span></li> </ul> <p>Media contact: <a href="mailto:Scott.Wargo@oberlin.edu">Scott Wargo, director of media relations</a></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-12-11T12:00:00Z">Fri, 12/11/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2369">Environment & Sustainability</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3319">Community Engagement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3499">Climate Action</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Rob Lamppa</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Gabriel Morales Receives Ping Legacy Award for Service-Learning</h1> <p>anagy — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 20:21:24 +0000</p> <span>Gabriel Morales Receives Ping Legacy Award for Service-Learning</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-06-10T16:21:24-04:00" title="Wednesday, June 10, 2020 - 16:21">Wed, 06/10/2020 - 16:21</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Second-year Gabriel Morales, a jazz guitar performance major, has received the 2020 Charles J. Ping Student Service Legacy Award from Ohio Campus Compact.</p> <p>The <a href="https://ohiocampuscompact.org/resource-posts/2020-charles-j-ping-student-service-award-recipients/">Ping Student Service Award</a> recognizes and honors undergraduate students for their outstanding leadership and contributions to community service or service-learning on their campus and within their community. Recipients of the award represent the next generation of civic leaders and problem solvers.</p> <p>Morales is one of two award recipients who was selected for the Legacy Award—a recognition of nominees who show exceptional leadership, initiative, and innovation. The award comes with a $250 mini grant to be given to a nonprofit organization of the winner’s choice. </p> <p>At 91ֱ��, Morales has balanced his pursuit of music studies and performance with community engagement through his work with 91ֱ�� Center for the Arts (OCA), an organization that connects students, educators, and the broader community to various forms of arts programming and other area arts organizations.</p> <p>When he joined the OCA team, Morales started collecting data on the accessibility of arts programming for underserved populations, researching and creating arts-in-health programming, and hosting performances for area high school students by acclaimed artists such as Rhiannon Giddens ’00. He recognized a potential for arts programming in hospitals and senior care facilities, and sought out opportunities to bring the arts into underserved health spaces in 91ֱ��.</p> <p>In spring 2019, Morales partnered with musician Ruby Brallier, a graduate of the conservatory’s master’s in historical performance, to pilot performances for Mercy Allen Hospital and Welcome Nursing Home residents. Morales plays jazz guitar and Braillier plays cello and viola da gamba.</p> <p>The following fall, Morales, Brallier, and the OCA team expanded their roster to recruit conservatory instrumentalists and developed Performing Artists In Residence (PAIR), a program model in which musicians give regular performances, either at a patient’s bedside or for small gatherings. </p> <p>The program provides an opportunity to build community and foster personal connections among students and area residents. The health benefits of music in medical institutions extends to care providers by lowering the rates of tension and fatigue in nursing staff.</p> <p>“These performances served the purpose of relieving stress, improving the atmosphere, offering comfort, and providing access to art that is often unavailable,” Morales says. </p> <p>Morales, <a href="http://www.gabemoralesmusic.com/">an accomplished guitarist, vocalist, and composer</a> from Roanoke, Virginia, is a Bonner Scholar and received support and encouragement from the <a href="/bcsl">Bonner Center</a>. </p> <p>Musicians who took part in the program received training in community service learning and working in health spaces, and were prompted to reflect on their performances.</p> <p>“After a full semester of performances, it was clear that the patients and staff at the health facilities were delighted with the programming and eager to see it continue and expand,” Morales says.</p> <p>Due to measures in place to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, all in-person <a href="/bcsl">performances have been discontinued</a> for the time being.</p> <p>With the Legacy Award, Morales has chosen OCA to receive a $250 mini grant. </p> <p>“I am honored to be a recipient of the Ping Legacy Award and to be able to represent 91ֱ�� in this capacity,” he says. “This award represents the service that opened my eyes to the various ways I can connect with and positively influence my community as a performing artist and arts advocate.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-06-11T12:00:00Z">Thu, 06/11/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3319">Community Engagement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2372">Performing Arts</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2381">Bonner Center</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=34691">Jazz Performance</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/jazz-studies" hreflang="und">Jazz Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Gabriel Morales ’22 is the recipient of the Ping Student Service Legacy Award from Ohio Campus Compact.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tanya Rosen-Jones ’97</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Welcome Showers</h1> <p>eburnett — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 14:39:58 +0000</p> <span>Welcome Showers</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-04-28T10:39:58-04:00" title="Tuesday, April 28, 2020 - 10:39">Tue, 04/28/2020 - 10:39</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Back in January, a group of 91ֱ�� students began a collaboration with a nearby hospital. Now those students and others have begun a new initiative to support that hospital’s staff.</p> <p>They call it “<a href="https://sites.google.com/view/gratitudeshowers/home?authuser=0">The Gratitude Showers Challenge</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span>,” which is intended to honor the dedication and sacrifice of healthcare professionals at University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center. In recent weeks, the project has been further reenvisioned to involve the creativity of area children and to support a key fundraising initiative at the hospital.</p> <p>The Gratitude Showers Challenge grew out of a winter-term project called Sonic Arts in Society, which involved five students from the college and conservatory, led by <a href="/node/51641">TIMARA</a> technical director <a href="/node/49256">Abby Aresty</a>. Together they set about devising a series of projects with UH Elyria:</p> <p>• They prototyped bracelets that could tell the story of patients’ lives through audio recordings and meaningful scraps of fabric.</p> <p>• They prepared creative programming to share with the hospital’s “Better Breather’s Club,” intended to examine the intersections of sound, breath, mindfulness, and technology for the benefit of COPD patients and others with respiratory conditions.</p> <p>• And they devised the Gratitude Showers Challenge, a celebration of thankfulness among staff and others at the hospital that would culminate in a community art installation.</p> <p>The projects developed during winter term were to be implemented by Aresty’s spring semester class, which is also called Sonic Arts in Society. (The winter-term project was profiled in <a href="/node/184541">this story on oberlin.edu</a>.) But soon after Aresty’s spring students began their work, spread of the novel coronavirus changed the plans of hospitals—and everyone else—nationwide.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>In January, Abby Aresty worked on Gratitude sundrops with students in TIMARA's makerspace.<br> Photo credit: Julie Gulenko '15</figcaption> </figure> <p>“The Gratitude project came about as a way to express gratitude across the hospital community,” says Aresty. “We were collecting anything that people at the hospital were grateful for, which was great. But the changes that have come about in recent weeks with COVID-19 have made it clear there’s a real desire among so many of us in the community to show our gratitude toward hospital workers.”</p> <p>Sonic Arts in Society is supported by four student research assistants: Michael Gaspari ’22, Maya McCollum ’23, Gabriel Baskin ’23, and Rachel Gibson ’20. Once they were settled at home for the rest of the semester, they set about the task of repositioning the project for a virtual world, complete with a <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/gratitudeshowers/home?authuser=0">website</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span>, promotional videos featuring drawings and animations, original music—and a revised mission to raise funds for the community. Their hope is to connect the initiative with schools and local youth organizations.</p> <p>“We all tried to convey the complicated feeling of having hope during dark times,” says Gaspari, a composition major who worked on the website’s music and animations. “To do that, I had the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_QksCL_VGJgzownDowFOtFFTUk-19olf/view">video</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> start with darker colors and shift slowly to warmer tones.” Likewise, Gaspari’s score transitions from minor to major chords. “Working on this has been a pleasure, and I can’t wait to see what it becomes in the future!”</p> <p>Aresty and her students use craft cutters to fashion vinyl “sundrops” that can be decorated with brief, personalized expressions of thanks—words or drawings—to hospital personnel. When hospital officials deem it appropriate—and ideally when 91ֱ�� students can take part—the collected sundrops will be installed on clear umbrellas suspended in a courtyard at the hospital.</p> <p>Why “sundrops” as opposed to raindrops? The website identifies several reasons: In part because each message will deliver a ray of sunshine to those in need of support. In part because each drop will cast a welcome shadow when the sun shines through the installation. And in part because specially designed solar-powered “sundrop circuits” created by Aresty and her students will allow the installation to emit soft raindrop sounds when the sun shines. (Hear the sound of a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NUaoAfP5zYNT1lu0fWNAYQHXErcSMmPe/view">sundrop circuit</a>.) <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span></p> <p>Sundrop messages can be submitted via the <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/gratitudeshowers/home?authuser=0">Gratitude Showers Challenge website</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> or the Twitter handle @GratefulShowers.</p> <p>Supporters are also encouraged to donate to <a href="https://support.uhgiving.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app30123b?idb=1396846009&df_id=1646&mfc_pref=T&1646.donation=form1&NONCE_TOKEN=CF1E51138B8D6B0EF4118385944E4D75">UH Elyria Medical Center's COVID-19 Community Response Fund</a>.</p> <p>In late April, Aresty’s students connected online to make sundrops with children from the <a href="https://www.ochoristers.org/">91ֱ�� Choristers</a> vocal program.</p> <p>Also in the works is a virtual challenge that runs from Monday, May 4, through May 11. Aresty and her students are encouraging area children and others to submit drawings or messages of thanks that will then be transferred to sundrops for the hospital installation: As the messages pour in, Aresty and her students will be completing the sundrops at their homes.</p> <p>The event kicks off with a broadcast on YouTube Premieres from 7:15 to 10 p.m. on May 4; details are available on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/669089710540418/">Facebook</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span>. It also serves as an opportunity for participants to pledge to the UH Elyria Community Response Fund.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Sundrops use solar-powered circuits that simulate the sound of rainfall. (photo by Julie Gulenko '15)</figcaption> </figure> <p>Hospital administrators, not surprisingly, have been sharing their own messages of gratitude lately.</p> <p>“What an amazing show of support for our caregivers in a time when feeling positive and hopeful is crucial,” says Kristi Sink, president of UH Elyria. “Aresty and her students have been extremely creative as they continue to work on this project.</p> <p>“We couldn’t be happier with how Abby and her students are working so hard to provide our front-line staff with emotional support through the Gratitude Showers Challenge. We can’t wait for a time when the umbrellas can actually be displayed.”</p> <p>This fall, Aresty will be co-teaching an interdisciplinary course for first-year students that focuses on arts and election-season activism. She hopes by then those new students will be able to finish the work her current students have begun.</p> <p>“For so many of them, COVID-19 really defined their senior year in high school and—hopefully to a lesser extent—it will define their first year in college,” she says. “This would be a very powerful opportunity for them to give back.”</p> <p><em>Institutions interested in having children create sundrops for the Gratitude Showers Challenge are encouraged to contact Abby.Aresty@oberlin.edu.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-04-28T12:00:00Z">Tue, 04/28/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>91ֱ�� students lead ‘‘Gratitude Challenge’’ with area hospital and children.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3319">Community Engagement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2382">Community Service</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=33031">TIMARA</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/abby-aresty" hreflang="und">Abby Aresty</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/contemporary-music" hreflang="und">Contemporary Music</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Allen Memorial Art Museum Shares its Collections in New Ways</h1> <p>hhempste — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 21:19:37 +0000</p> <span>Allen Memorial Art Museum Shares its Collections in New Ways</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-04-03T17:19:37-04:00" title="Friday, April 3, 2020 - 17:19">Fri, 04/03/2020 - 17:19</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The <a href="https://amam.oberlin.edu">Allen Memorial Art Museum</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> (AMAM) is an integral part of the 91ֱ�� College academic experience. The museum hosts public programming throughout the year, including Tuesday Teas and Art Breaks programming, and professors use class visits to incorporate artwork into their course material. So what happens when the museum is temporarily closed due to a global health crisis? Befitting an art museum, the staff gets creative.</p> <p>From producing videos of curator talks, to sharing artwork on social media, staff at the AMAM are making their collections available to the public in ways beyond those methods used before the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> <p>“Our intention is to make the museum accessible during the closure,” says Eric & Jane Nord Family Curator of Education Jill Greenwood. </p> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption><em>MacArthur Nurses (Pushing)</em>, 2013, Jenifer K Wofford (American, b. 1971) Acrylic on canvas. Art Object Sales Fund, 2017.1</figcaption> </figure> <p><strong>Sharing Art Through Social Media</strong></p> <p>The museum is largely focused on sharing its collection through its social media channels, with an emphasis on works connected to the theme of “health and healing through art.” The topic is particularly relevant right now during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it seems to resonate strongly. An image of nurses shared recently, paired with commentary about the work they’re doing and the lack of supplies, has garnered the most engagement of any previous post on the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/allenartmuseum/?hl=en">museum’s Instagram account</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span>.</p> <p>“We’re sharing with our visitors as much as we can through social media,” says Walker Shadle, curatorial assistant in the museum’s education department. “Sometimes it will be on the theme of health and healing, and other times it may feature curators talking about various works.”</p> <p>According to Shadle, another social media trend the staff has embraced is the #museumfromhome hashtag. Museums across the country are using the hashtag to create a searchable repository of posts from any institution that uses it. When someone searches on a social media site using that hashtag, they will be greeted with artworks from myriad museums. </p> <p><strong>Gallery Talks Become Video Talks</strong></p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Alexandra Letvin will lead a gallery talk on the work <em>St. Sebastian Tended by Irene</em>, 1625 Hendrick ter Brugghen (Dutch, ca. 1588–1629) Oil on canvas R. T. Miller Jr. Fund, 1953.256</figcaption> </figure> <p>When it comes to the museum’s public programming, what would normally take place as an in-person gallery talk led by a curator has taken on a different format. Curators instead talk about art through videos they’ve produced, and those videos are shared on the museum’s social media accounts. This allows the museum to extend the program’s reach from what might have been 20 people in person at the museum, to anyone who visits the AMAM’s social media. </p> <p>This spring, Alexandra Letvin, assistant curator of European and American art, will lead a talk focused on health and healing, using works in the museum’s collection featuring St. Sebastian, who is identified as the patron saint of plague victims. </p> <p>Those who follow the museum’s social media will also have the opportunity to see pieces from current exhibitions that are not on view due to the closure, including pieces in <a href="https://amam.oberlin.edu/exhibitions-events/exhibitions/2019/08/20/afterlives-of-the-black-atlantic"><em>Afterlives of the Black Atlantic</em></a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span>. A video discussion, led by Matthew Francis Rarey, assistant professor of the arts of Africa and the black Atlantic, is planned for later this semester.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>A work by José Rodríguez, “\ ’sə-kər \,” 2019 from the exhibition <em>Afterlives of the Black Atlantic.</em></figcaption> </figure> <p><strong>Connecting to Artwork in a Virtual Classroom</strong></p> <p>Typically, Hannah Wirta Kinney, assistant curator of academic programs, works with faculty to connect them with artwork at the museum. Often, classes come to the AMAM to look at works in person. With students, faculty, and staff working and taking classes remotely, that method was no longer viable, and Kinney had to devise an alternate plan. </p> <p>“My job is all about creating situations in which students and faculty are engaging with art in the original form,” says Kinney. “We often say, the digital image can’t replace the original—come to the museum. So figuring out how to keep the importance of objects while being able to support faculty has been an interesting challenge.”</p> <p>What has stayed the same for Kinney is the model she uses to work with faculty, but the method of presentation has changed. Now, Kinney creates digital presentations of the artwork to lead classes in a Zoom meeting. </p> <p>One of the surprising things Kinney has found is that there are benefits to presenting artwork digitally. Says Kinney, “We can look closely at a detail in a piece of artwork in a way that’s not possible in the gallery. There are also administrative rules that limit the number of works we can bring into the print study room, but that constraint has been removed. Finally, when you’re in the museum with a class, you have to think about time and how long it takes to move through spaces, but digitally, space is collapsed, so you have more time with the artwork.”</p> <p><strong>Looking Toward the Future</strong></p> <p>While the staff admits that they miss being in the museum and talking about the works of art in person, they have managed to find the opportunities among the challenges of the situation. “We have been looking for the bright moments,” says Kinney. “Changing what we’re doing, in small ways, can really help us rethink things... and maybe help us do our work better in the future.” </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-04-03T12:00:00Z">Fri, 04/03/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Hillary Hempstead</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>During the temporary closure of the museum, staff have embraced the challenge of moving education online. In the process, they are finding silver linings, including a broader audience for their programming and fewer constraints on how to present artwork.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2378">Allen Memorial Art Museum</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3319">Community Engagement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2578">Art Exhibition</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25301">Art History</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/art" hreflang="und">Studio Art</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">The exterior of the Allen Memorial Art Museum.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">John Seyfried</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Bridget Conway Honored as Newman Civic Fellow</h1> <p>anagy — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 18:06:26 +0000</p> <span>Bridget Conway Honored as Newman Civic Fellow</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-03-16T14:06:26-04:00" title="Monday, March 16, 2020 - 14:06">Mon, 03/16/2020 - 14:06</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Third-year <a href="https://compact.org/newman-civic-fellow/bridget-conway/">Bridget Conway</a> has received the <a href="https://compact.org/newman-civic-fellowship/">Newman Civic Fellowship</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> , a yearlong program that recognizes and supports community-minded students who are changemakers and public problem-solvers on their campuses. Students from Campus Compact member institutions are nominated by their president or chancellor on the basis of their potential for public leadership.</p> <p>Conway, who is double majoring in studio art and comparative literature, has distinguished herself as a tutor and leader in the <a href="/news/oberlin-writing-partnership-brings-new-collaboration-high-school">91ֱ�� Writing Partnership</a>. In this community-based work-study program, 91ֱ�� College students assist 91ֱ�� High School students with planning, writing, and editing essays in classroom and drop-in settings. Conway has participated in the program since it began as a pilot in 2018 in response to an expressed need for enhanced writing support at the high school.</p> <p>This year, Conway serves as a tutor supervisor. She facilitates the participation of an expanding group of 91ֱ�� College students whose work furthers educational equity. Their work also supports local youth in honing the writing skills they will need for success in their professional and college lives after high school.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-left"> <figcaption>Conway tutors 91ֱ�� High School students through her work with the Oberin Writing Partnership.<br> Photo credit: Michael Hartman</figcaption> </figure> <p>In addition to her work with the partnership, Conway promotes arts and culture in 91ֱ��. She is actively involved with WOBC-FM, the campus and community radio station, and helps to organize events that encourage diversity in the performing arts.</p> <p>“Throughout my time at 91ֱ��, one of my favorite experiences has been working as a writing partner,” Conway says in a personal statement. ‘‘It’s been an incredibly fulfilling experience because I’ve been able to use my place in the community to uplift and prioritize 91ֱ�� High School students, especially as I have continued my involvement, becoming a tutor supervisor in the last year. This gave me the opportunity to collaborate with other writing partners and reflect on why I find community involvement so important.”</p> <p>Through the Newman Civic Fellowship, <a href="https://compact.org/who-we-are/">Campus Compact</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> provides students with a variety of learning and networking opportunities that emphasize personal, professional, and civic growth. Each year, fellows are invited to a national conference of Newman Civic Fellows and participate in numerous virtual training and networking opportunities. The fellowship also provides students with pathways to apply for exclusive scholarship and postgraduate opportunities.</p> <p>Conway is among the 290 students who make up the 2020 cohort—the largest group of Newman Civic Fellows to date.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-03-17T12:00:00Z">Tue, 03/17/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2410">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3319">Community Engagement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2377">Arts & Humanities</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25316">Comparative Literature</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25436">Studio Art</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/art" hreflang="und">Studio Art</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/comparative-literature" hreflang="und">Comparative Literature</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Third-year Bridget Conway has been awarded the 2020 Newman Civic Fellowship for public leadership.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jack Lichtenstein ’23</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Drama at Grafton Celebrates Alumni Who Are Now Restored Citizens</h1> <p>anagy — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 21:11:34 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Drama at Grafton Celebrates Alumni Who Are Now Restored Citizens</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-02-20T16:11:34-05:00" title="Thursday, February 20, 2020 - 16:11">Thu, 02/20/2020 - 16:11</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Ten alumni of 91ֱ�� Drama at Grafton (ODAG) were honored at an informal ceremony at the Eric Baker Nord Performing Arts Annex on February 15 for becoming restored citizens. </p> <p>Emerita Professor of English Phyllis Gorfain founded ODAG, a prison theater program at the Grafton Correctional Institution, in 2012. The program prepares residents of the Grafton Reintegration Center for a successful return to society through increased self-knowledge, social understanding, and enhanced life skills gained from studying and performing meaningful drama.</p> <p>ODAG’s 15 productions, some of which the 10 alumni starred in, include Shakespeare’s <em>Julius Caesar</em>, <em>Othello</em>, <em>Macbeth</em>, <em>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</em>, and <em>The Tempest</em>. Additionally, ODAG members performed <em>The Piano Lesson</em> and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, both by African American playwright August Wilson. </p> <p>During the past eight years, 66 men have performed in 15 productions, and ODAG has seen 26 men become restored citizens. The program has achieved a zero percent recidivism rate among the alumni who are restored citizens.</p> <p>In 2019, Gorfain was awarded the Governor’s Award in the Arts for Arts Administration for her leadership in ODAG. While the ceremony recognized ODAG’s eight-year history and its successful productions, Gorfain focused on the restored alumni and their families.</p> <p>“There are so many people here who I love so much, above all the ODAG actors,” Gorfain said. “We have so much to celebrate.” </p> <p>The ODAG alumni include Shaun Bernard, Brian Butler, Christopher Fredrickson, Patrick Janson, Martin Louis, Stanley Martowitz, Joseph Peoples, Gene Scott, Joseph “Buck” Sharp, and Jerome Thompson. </p> <p>Gorfain presented each actor with a certificate of appreciation, <a href="http://www2.oberlin.edu/alummag/fall2016/issue/html5forpc.html?page=14">an article about ODAG</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> from the <em>91ֱ�� Alumni Magazine</em>, and a 20-page packet of 41 letters that audience members, made up of local 91ֱ�� and greater Ohio residents, wrote for the ODAG actors.</p> <p>The actors who gave remarks about their experience expressed their gratitude for Gorfain for not only immersing them in Shakespearean theater, but treating them with kindness and respect and believing in their potential.</p> <p>“I think one of the most special things about ODAG for me is that in prison you are kind of invisible,” Brian Butler said. “To society at large, it’s really easy to be forgotten, and most of us, when we’re in that situation, are forgotten. And to have something where Phyllis and 91ֱ�� students and people came in and saw us, and were there with us… to have them come in and work with us as people, as humans, not as the iconic prisoner, on our level, to interact with us where we were. It was just such a powerful thing.”</p> <p>Jerome Thompson agreed, citing Gorfain’s commitment to putting on each production and dependence on the actors’ cooperation as transformative.</p> <p>“[In ODAG], somebody else was depending on me. Somebody else needed me. And that opened up something in me that allowed me to change my own life in different ways,’’ Thompson said. ‘‘I’m really proud of that,”</p> <p>The prison environment often discourages vulnerability and communication, but for many of the ODAG actors, having Gorfain’s direction and encouragement allowed for a space to open up.</p> <p>“Coming to ODAG, it was the perfect thing for me… [Phyllis] was like a mother, a sister, a cousin, she was everything,” Joseph Peoples said. “The neighborhood I come from, there’s no community. ODAG for me was a community. It gave me something to look forward to, it gave me something to work toward. It was dynamic in that way.”</p> <p>91ֱ�� faculty who have assisted with ODAG include Ana Cara, professor of Hispanic studies; Justin Emeka, associate professor of theater and Africana studies; Caroline Jackson Smith, professor of theater and Africana studies; Gillian Johns, professor of English; and Paul Moser, professor of theater.</p> <p>Gorfain stated that ODAG will be replaced by a new theater program at Grafton Correctional Institution after her retirement as artistic director of 91ֱ�� Drama at Grafton this year. Assistant Professor Anjanette Hall of the Baldwin Wallace University Theatre Department will become the new director. She plans to stage an original play in April 2020 based on the stories of the incarcerated men she will work with, with the assistance of 12 theatre students from Baldwin Wallace. </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-02-20T12:00:00Z">Thu, 02/20/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jaimie Yue ’22</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2363">Academics & Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3319">Community Engagement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2392">Social Justice</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25441">Theater</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25346">English</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/theater" hreflang="und">Theater</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/english" hreflang="und">English</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">91ֱ�� Drama at Grafton alumni pose for a group picture with outgoing director Phyllis Gorfain (front, second from left).</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jack Lichtenstein ’23</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>