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What will your art do?

Below are a variety of artists creating art as a catalyst for social change. Their work reflects contemporary social justice issues, coming from a place of action. Students will encounter a few of these artists (Robin Root, Mark Lomax, and Anisa Gandevivala) at our media arts experience next month. They will join us as a panel to discuss the film Forbidden Voices, and their work as it relates to themes in the film.

Robin Post

“Robin Post is the supervisor and creator of InterACT, the director of the Shakespeare and Autism program and the coordinator of newly developed teaching artist program. InterACT is a community engagement theatre program, established in 2006, whose mission it is to devise and perform interactive theatre with socially conscious content. Robin established InterACT as a service learning course which has developed partnerships across disciplines with university departments, colleges, and administrative units as well as with organizations and institutions within the greater Columbus community. The partnerships have resulted in dozens of interactive performances offering hands on training to university instructors in the areas of diversity inclusion and social justice.” —theatre.osu.edu/people/post

More Information : http://nisonger.osu.edu/shakespeare-autism

http://ucat.osu.edu/InterACT/

Stephanie Rond

Rond is a street artist from Columbus, Ohio whose “work blurs the line between outdoor and indoor spaces, and seeks to challenge the traditional gender roles associated with each.” —StephanieRond.com

Portfolio: http://www.stephanierond.com/

Along with creating visual art, she is the founder of S.Dot Gallery, “a dollhouse sized gallery in Columbus Ohio… specialized in contemporary tiny sized artwork.” —stephanierondcreative.com

Residency Website: http://stephanierondcreative.com/sdot-gallery

Ai Weiwei

“Weiwei infuses his sculptures, photographs, and public artworks with political conviction and personal poetry, often making use of recognizable and historic Chinese art forms in critical examinations of a host of contemporary Chinese political and social issues.” —Art 21

Informational Video: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/ai-weiwei

Zadie Smith

“Zadie Smith is not merely one of Britain’s finest younger writers, but also one of the English-speaking world’s best chroniclers of race, class, and identity in urban confines. Smith remains fearless, and there are moments [in her books] that astonish. Her ambition and talent continue to awe.”—Philadelphia Inquirer

Interviews and book reviews: http://www.npr.org/books/authors/137991389/zadie-smith

Zadie Smith is speaking at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Thursdsay, November 13th, 2014 @ 5PM: http://wexarts.org/public-programs/conversation-race-writing-and-culture-zadie-smith

Mark Lomax

“Inarhyme Recording artist Mark Lomax II has spent a lifetime in music. His mother, a composer of gospel music, introduced him to both gospel and jazz at an early age. He continued his study of gospel music with Dr. Raymond Wise, founder of the Center for the Gospel Arts, where Lomax currently teaches… He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music Art’s degree in composition at The Ohio State University. His myriad experiences have allowed him to create a wonderful blend of styles in his music. Whether he’s interpreting the Negro Spiritual through jazz, arranging gospel music for a symphony orchestra, or performing his original works, his music is relevant, probing, and inspiring.” —Jazz Columbus

Website: http://marklomaxii.com/

Jenny Holzer

“Whether questioning consumerist impulses, describing torture, or lamenting death and disease, Jenny Holzerтs use of language provokes a response in the viewer. While her subversive work often blends in among advertisements in public space, its arresting content violates expectations.” —Art 21

Informational Video: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/jenny-holzer

Kerry James Marshall

“The subject matter of his paintings, installations, and public projects is often drawn from African-American popular culture, and is rooted in the geography of his upbringing.” —Art 21

Informational Video: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/kerry-james-marshall

GRRRLS ROCK COLUMBUS

“Grrrls Rock Columbus builds self-esteem and empowerment through musical and creative expression, education, and performance. By providing workshops and technical training to female-identified individuals, trans, and gender variant youth ages 12-18, we create leadership opportunities, cultivate a supportive community of peers and mentors, encourage social change, and foster the development of life skills.” —GrrrlsRockColumbus.com

Website: http://www.grrrlsrockcolumbus.com/

Interview: http://www.columbusalive.com/content/stories/2014/07/10/qa-grrrls-rock-columbus.html

Sharon Hayes

“Sharon Hayes cross-disciplinary artwork and research mine the intersections of history, politics, and speech, eliciting a response between public and private historical realities and raising questions about the complexity of today’s collective affiliations around gender. Her conceptual and methodological approaches borrow from artistic and academic practices including theater, film, anthropology, linguistics, and journalism.”

2014 Sculpture X Symposium Keynote Speaker: http://www.sculpturexsymposium.com/

More info: http://www.shaze.info/

The Beehive Collective

“The Beehive Design Collective is a 100% volunteer-driven non-profit arts organization that uses graphical media as educational tools to communicate stories of resistance to corporate globalization. The purpose of the group, based inMachias, Maine, is to ‘Cross-pollinate the grassroots’ by creating collaborative, anti-copyright images that can be used as educational and organizing tools. The Beehive Collective is most renowned for its large format pen and ink posters, which seek to provide a visual alternative to deconstruction of complicated social and political issues ranging from globalization, free trade, militarism, resource extraction, and biotechnology.” —Wikipedia

Website: http://beehivecollective.org/en/

Informational Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqUsKLKCBSM

Marina Abramovic

“A pioneer of performance as a visual art form, Abramovic has used her body as both subject and medium of her performances to test her physical, mental, and emotional limitsтoften pushing beyond them and even risking her life in a quest for heightened consciousness, transcendence, and self-transformation.” —Art 21

Informational Video: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/marina-abramovic

Anisa Gandevivala

“Anisa Gandevivala is a writer, poet, artist and connector living in Columbus, Ohio. Having spent most of her life in and around healthcare, Anisa wants to spend some time feeding her soul; she co-organizes a monthly workshop called ‘The Connection Experiment’. As the CCC Community Coordinator, Anisa is responsible for managing our Community Partners — local businesses that offer resources, discounts and incentives to CCC members. She also actively seeks new esources for CCC members.” —Columbus Scoop