Arrowmont July 2020 Instructor Roundtable: Identity conversation recording
July 24, 2020
On Wednesday, July 22, Arrowmont hosted the first Instructor Roundtable, a new monthly series of virtual discussions featuring Arrowmont instructors who represent diverse media and backgrounds – but who share a similar theme in their art. Although we cannot safely gather our community around the lunch table this year, Arrowmont is excited to launch this new lunch-time tradition. For the remainder of the year, the Instructor Roundtables will bring together instructors originally scheduled to teach in 2020 for a one-hour conversation about the themes that unite their work.
Special thanks to 2020 instructor Heinrich Toh who helped conceive and shape this new conversation series.
The topic for the first conversation is Identity, and featured 2020 instructors:
- Tanya Crane, jeweler, object maker and educator in Boston
- Salvador Jiménez-Flores, interdisciplinary artist and educator based in Chicago
- Leslie Pearson, multimedia artist in Fayetteville, NC
- Heinrich Toh, printmaker and educator in Kansas City
CLICK HERE to watch the full recorded conversation, or visit https://youtu.be/012IB7g32hU.
PARTICIPANT QUESTIONS
Not all of the questions were able to be addressed live. However, following the conversation, the instructors were able to offer some feedback on a few of the questions:
Heinrich Toh: Yes! Absolutely different levels of engagement depending on the individual asking. Majority of the time the first questions that are asked, involve process and how it’s made. Complex printmaking processes get simplified before steering the conversation back to the subject matter in the piece. With a lot more people widely traveled these days, I’m delighted when someone surprises me and shares that they actually are familiar with them. The least I hope someone takes away is that they’ve experienced seeing and engaging with unfamiliar elements/objects they’ve just learned about and why they are significant to me. And hopefully connect in their own way.
Bobby Scroggins (Arrowmont instructor), asked: How do you respond to those who feel like your art should look like someone of your racial background?
The next Instructor Roundtable discussion is August 19, 2020, 12:00 – 1:15 EST. The topic is STORYTELLING, and will feature 2020 Arrowmont instructors:
• Ian Brownlee, painting and murals
• Abigail Heuss, jewelry and adornment
• Matt Runkle, book arts, printmaking and mixed media
• Paul Andrew Wandless, ceramics, sculpture, printmaking and writing
Limited to 100 live participants! Join the conversation – click here to register for the August 2020 Instructor Roundtable.
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