As long as I can remember, I have struggled to understand how some people can be convinced of something as complex as the existence of God without any actual proof. Although one might argue that the fact that we exist and the occurrence of supposed miracles, etc., suffice as proof, people who need to have
A Look Back at the Smolny Student Conference (podcast)
St. Petersburg is home to many beautiful things, including (debatably) the world’s most beautiful metro system, delicious Slavic food, and, of course, the Smolny Faculty of Liberal Arts at the University of St. Petersburg. This past April 19th to the 21st, Smolny generously hosted the sixth annual Student Conference in St. Petersburg. Representatives from all
Collage, Quilting, and Feminism: A Conversation with Faith Ringgold
The solo exhibition of the highly acclaimed interdisciplinary artist, activist, and writer, Faith Ringgold, opened at the Weiss Gallery in Berlin on April 24th, 2018. The exhibition opening was preceded by a brief talk with Ringgold and a number of students from two Bard College Berlin courses: Imagined Geographies, taught by Heba Amin and Migration,
A Girl with a Baby Face: Where Sexism and Ageism Collide
About two months ago, on one of those perfect days that alluded to the upcoming Berlin summer, I was craving falafel. I stopped at one of the many Dönerbuden that line the streets of this city (near Eberswalder Straße, if anyone’s curious) to give into my cravings. After encountering the chirpy vendor and ordering my
When Some of Your Closest Friends Graduate
As I chose between two outfits with vaguely Mediterranean patterns that I had worn to previous BCB Commencement ceremonies, I slowly prepared myself to see my friends graduate. I picked the long dress that I had worn to last year’s ceremony, which I didn’t get to show many people because I had to leave early
Open Questions
When I began teaching sculpture at BCB in the spring semester of 2015, The Factory was an incredibly raw, open space, with a vibe perhaps closer to a squat’s than to that of a private college arts facility. There was random graffiti covering the walls, the bathrooms had no mirrors or even paper towel dispensers,
A Reflection on “The Personal is Even More Political”
In the class The Personal is Even More Political, we have engaged with literary texts and different types of visual material; we have had discussions with artists and performed in-class social experiments like watching each other relax for about fifteen minutes or walking around a shopping mall in silence.
The Idea of the Aesthetic: A Class Review
When I started my freshman year at my home institution of Skidmore College, I was determined to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in visual arts. Like many other students, I had been drawing, painting, and making art since I was a kid. So, when the time came for me to start applying to college, it seemed