8 minute read
Engaging Students
THE STUDIO: CREATIVE ARTS COMMUNITY
The Studio is a residential learning community located in Ogg Hall that hosts academic and cocurricular programming for 64 first-year students with an expressed interest in the arts. It is co-sponsored by the Division of University Housing; the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement; and the Division of the Arts.
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The Studio offers residents access to art and performance spaces and provides numerous opportunities for them to attend cultural events. Residents participate in seminar courses and use their artistic skills and talents to serve the greater UW–Madison community through projects, performances, collaborations, and exhibitions. In the fall, students enrolled in the interdisciplinary, hands-on “Mapping Your Creative Practice” course worked with The Studio’s Faculty Director, Professor Faisal Abdu’Allah, to explore a wide range of studio spaces, tools, and resources for making and viewing art on campus.
The last part of the seminar offered opportunities on artistic collaboration. The course was offered in hybrid format, with some sessions meeting online and some sessions meeting in person. In the spring, students participating in “The Studio Presents…,” another seminar course taught by Associate Professor Abdu’Allah, collaborated on a collective artistic project. The final artistic product of the 2021 Spring seminar project, Untitled, was a short arthouse movie exploring the theme of escapism in isolation from multiple student perspectives and experiences. The Division of the Arts also sponsored two Creative Arts Awards for arts research and service to current residents.
The Studio Creative Arts Awards
Research Award
Siena Laws, Education Studies, in support of creating wearable sculpture
Service Award
Asher Bernick-Roehr, Undeclared, and Malcolm McCanles, Theatre and Drama, in support of creating a theater production
Key Highlights
f Themed Welcome Week events f 30 co-curricular events f 12 artistic workshops f 10 student and alumni-led workshops and events f 4 Showcase multi-media events f 4 community dinners f 1 campus-wide event co-organized with the Multicultural Learning Community,
OpenHouse Learning Community,
International Learning Community, the
Center for Cultural Enrichment, and Housing
Marketing f Collective artistic project, Untitled f Over 300 Instagram followers, up from 100 in 2019 f 21 guest artists and speakers f 6 guest artists in seminar f 3 guest artists through IARP f 7 guest artists through Studio workshops f 5 guest artists/speakers through collaborations with other campus units
thestudiouw.arts.wisc.edu 2020 Photos | 2021 Photos Videos
INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTS RESIDENCY PROGRAM
MICHELE BYRD-MCPHEE FALL 2020
Funded through the Office of the Provost, the Division of the Arts’ Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program (IARP) brings innovative, world-class artists to campus for semester-long residencies. Artists teach an interdisciplinary course, present public events, and participate in community outreach. The program gives students exposure to working artists, provides course credit, and strengthens programmatic ties across disciplines.
go.wisc.edu/artsresidency
Michele Byrd-McPhee is the founder and Executive Director of Ladies of Hip-Hop and is a dancer, choreographer, and educator. Byrd-McPhee has been working for many years to re-contextualize spaces and conversation of Hip-Hop culture along gender, sex, cultural, socio-historical, and racial lines for decades. Byrd-McPhee earned her BS from Temple University and an MS in Nonprofit Arts Management from Drexel University.
She also spent many years in TV and arts production, working as a production coordinator at Brooklyn Academy of Music and then as a Senior Music Coordinator at Late Night with Seth Meyers. She currently serves as a Bessie Award Committee Member along with her ongoing commitment as Executive Director for Ladies of Hip-Hop. Michele Byrd-McPhee’s residency was presented by the UW–Madison Division of the Arts and hosted by the Dance Department with Assistant Professor Duane Lee Holland, Jr. as lead faculty. Co-sponsors included the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) and First Wave Learning Community, The Studio Creative Arts Community, Professional Learning and Community Education (PLACE), Art Department, and Drum Power. Other campus and community supporters included Department of AfroAmerican Studies and Barrio Dance.
Guest Artists
f LaTasha Barnes f Maori Karmael Holmes f Ursula Rucker f Stacey “Flygirrl” Wilson f YNOT f Lady C (via the International Visiting Artist
Program)
Residency Highlights
In the fall of 2020, Byrd-McPhee taught “Hip-Hop Culture, Women & the World” with both a 1-credit and 3-credit option. Students examined the roots of Hip-Hop culture and its current place as a global phenomenon with a specific focus on the history, contributions, and experiences of women in Hip-Hop. At the end of the semester, the students presented their short interdisciplinary videos to their classmates. Centered in the historical and contemporary context, Michele Byrd-McPhee, Duane Lee Holland, Jr., and guest artists taught multiple dance styles. The fall residency, including the course and events along with any planning, was all held remotely due to COVID.
During her residency, Byrd-McPhee curated a series of 8 public conversations called Madison Mondays both on Facebook and Instagram during the summer and fall with her guest artists. Each of the guest artists artists led workshops and/or gave presentations to the students in the course. Stacey Wilson also presented to the Arts Entrepreneurship Class and the Just Bust! workshop. LaTasha Barnes led an online dance workshop and presented about Jazz dance.
Byrd-McPhee was a keynote speaker at the a2ru virtual conference—“Creating Racial Justice & Change Through the Arts and Why It’s Important.” She also participated in The Harvest conversation with lead faculty Duane Lee Holland, Jr. ByrdMcPhee joined the panel discussion “Advancing Hip-Hop as a Path Toward Equity” with Holland, Sofía Snow, Rob Dz, and Michael Ford as part of School of Education and PLACE’s Real Talk for Real Change series. As part of the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI)’s Passing the Mic festival, Byrd-McPhee also curated a conversation with Ursula Rucker and Marc Bamuthi Joseph (IARP Spring 2008) along with Sofía Snow, Director of OMAI, and Duane Lee Holland, Jr. There were a total of 16 public virtual events during the summer and fall.
go.wisc.edu/byrdmcphee Video
INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTS RESIDENCY PROGRAM
LITZA BIXLER SPRING 2021
Litza Bixler is a choreographer, filmmaker, movement director, visual artist, and writer. She has produced work on stage, screen, galleries, and mountains. Bixler works across the spheres of art, performance, and film, and has been a working artist and educator since 1995. Bixler has created movement and action for some of the most iconic scenes in film including Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and The World’s End. She has collaborated on a movie musical, a musical series for Disney, and a salsa dance comedy and worked with a variety of award-winning performers. She has created live-pieces, screenplays, and paintings and worked on numerous award-winning advertisements. She has also produced live-art and physical theater pieces with her company Litza Bixler Performance. The Spring 2021 Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program was presented by the UW–Madison Division of the Arts and hosted by the Dance Department with Professor Li Chiao-Ping as lead faculty. The Art Department and Department of Communication Arts were also co-sponsors of the residency.
Guest Artists
f Simon Aeppli f Rejma Gajjar f Paul Machliss f Sean de Sparengo
Residency Highlights
During the hybrid spring 2021 residency, Litza Bixler taught “Creativity, Collaboration and the Creation of Self.” The first part examined creativity in context and the second part explored creative collaboration. There were 1-credit and 3-credit options for students.
The students collaborated on the culminating multimedia collaborative exhibition Bodies, Borders & Belonging. The final collaborative piece examined the movement of people across borders and boundaries. Students explored diaspora, geography, and immigration as essential and positive sources of identity and ask what it means to be “from” a particular place or country. Students explored how we move literally, metaphorically, and culturally, and examined the subtext of the question, “where are you from?” All of Litza Bixler’s guest artists joined in via video call to meet with the students and provide artistic guidance. Since Sean de Sparengo was not able to travel to Madison, UW artists Aaron Granat and Tim Russell provided additional cinematography and soundscapes guidance. Faisal Abdu’Allah also presented to the class.
Litza Bixler was also a guest on Cinematalk, the UW Cinematheque’s podcast, to discuss her collaborations with Edgar Wright and the influence of Metropolis on her work. Cinematheque offered free at-home viewings of Metropolis and The World’s End in early March.
Bodies, Borders & Belonging was presented over a weekend to members of the UW-Madison community in May at the Arts Lofts. The final exhibition was divided into three sections. The first section included dance films projected on fabric with layered soundscapes. The second section showcased three vintage suitcases and referenced personal families’ histories and life journeys. The third section featured ‘pocket-sized’ objects built from paper, ancestral photos, and letters. The exhibit also included a series of the students’ self-portraits. A video of the exhibition will be made later in 2021.
go.wisc.edu/bixler Photos Video
INTERNATIONAL VISITING ARTIST PROGRAM
LADY C
The International Visiting Artist Program is a collaboration between the Division of the Arts and the International Division. This partnership supports short-term residencies for international artists. Through this program, we are able to bring visiting artists and their expertise to expand students’ horizons and facilitate opportunities for future collaborations. Funding is provided by the International Division.
Due to COVID-19 and multiple logistics, we were able to present one international artist in online programming during the week of March 8, 2021.
Caroline Fraser aka “Lady C” is internationally known for her unique versatility and original style in both dance and music. She studied under many of the pioneers and legends of Street Dance and developed an ability to move between Popping, Locking, House, Hip-Hop, and Breaking while maintaining the integrity and essence of each style. Lady C resides in Toronto where she continues her personal development within Hip-Hop culture, performing with Holla Jazz Dance Company and expanding on a professional career in music and vocal recording.
As part of her virtual residency, Lady C joined Michele Byrd-McPhee for a continuation of Madison Mondays on Facebook Live, presented to Duane Lee Holland Jr.’s dance class, and also led a virtual Popping dance workshop.
