#2 My First Week!

I can truly say i’m already starting to get a feel for New York just within these past two days.

Tuesday I met up with Nicole and Andrew of ETD and basically went over what type of things I would be doing in the coming weeks to help them. We then traveled to a gorgeous studio where I got to take class with the company and then watch and document their rehearsal process. One of my assignments is to take two useable photos a week to upkeep social media posts that showcase the rehearsal process and not just photoshoots. I’m excited that they’re using my photography skills and look forward to the challenge of keeping fresh and interesting photos posted to their pages. Dance is such a challenging art form to capture in photography because a lot of times the essence of the movement or pose gets lost in the translation. Im hoping to get my own DSLR soon so that I can practice on something other than an IPhone, but it’ll do for now.

Wednesday I worked on another assignment remotely from Philly and got to explore and learn about Trello, the system they use to communicate with each other and update progress on projects. I’m still trying to work my way around the system, but the best way to learn is to do so we’ll see how it goes!

Thursday I had the task of sorting through and organizing “the big black bag” full of all the things they had been meaning to get to, but never got the chance to do. After separating and organizing, Eryc and I went through and noted all of the things I would eventually have to do with those documents as an ongoing assignment. I then went over my schedule with Eryc and Nicole for the next few weeks and solidified days and times that i’ll be coming in or working from Philly. My goal is to go to NY at least two times a week and so far it seems like that will happen.

Something i’ve noticed during their rehearsal process is that the dancers and Eryc know how to work efficiently, but also know how to have fun. There is a great energy in the space because they're not afraid to try things that might not look right the first time around, and I think it is largely due to the fact that they're all such friendly people. They workshop their ideas and every dancer gives input to the creative process in what might help fix a problem which is really nice to see. They are building a piece, but they are also building a small community, one that I'm happy to be able to observe and visit during my time with them.

More to come~

Introduction:

Hi, my name is Glorious. I’m a Junior Creative Writing major and was fortunate enough to be paired with Veronica Cianfrano. She’s a visual artist, teacher at UArts, an exhibition curator, and an all-around great person. She founded a local pop-up gallery with Jessie Clark called Champions of Empty Rooms, also known as CHER. The mission of the non-profit is to connect the art community with the community at large and to bring contemporary art that express relatable and meaningful themes to communities throughout Philly, making art accessible to everyone. Right now, we’re preparing for a series of events that will lead up to a group exhibition, More Stately Mansions which focuses on the themes of wage inequality, class divide, and the notion of the American Dream. The artists who were selected to contribute to the exhibition will remodel the gallery space into renditions of great American mansions built during the Gilded Age using free materials to explore the artist’s role in the class divide, to challenge the exclusionary stigma in the arts, and to exhibit the exploitative nature of the American dream.

Bringing art to communities that would otherwise not have access to it, is an ambitious feat, and to assist her with that, I will be helping her manage any and everything press and social media related. I will maintain Veronica’s PR database, write and send newsletters and press releases, manage CHER Pop-Ups’ social media accounts, and I will contribute to and help organize the zine that will accompany the exhibition. I also intend to volunteer by distributing the zine throughout the city once completed and published, and I will assist with ushering at her three events: The Opening Reception, Performance Night and Zine Launch Event, and the Closing Reception and Artist Talk (which I encourage everyone who’s reading this post to attend. There will be free art and free food available!)

Though, as artists, Veronica and I are passionate about similar things, we both use different mediums to express how we feel and challenge the systems that we and our neighbors find ourselves confined by. 

The impulse to work with her came from a place of not only wanting to discover different ways other types of artists use to find inspiration, but also, different ways inspiration can be elicited. I’m also excited to learn more about using art as a type of grassroots campaign and about the work and creative processes done that ensures the fruition of exhibitions and other types of events.

Summer 2017 at Eiland Arts Center

Hey,

My name is Chloe’ and as of next semester I’ll be a senior at UARTS in the Photography BFA program. As an artist, I like to create a lot of the materials needed in my work and I also focus on creating photographs similar to historical paintings. I really enjoy working with different mediums and learning how I can incorporate them into my work.

 I’m really pleased to work this summer with Alumni Nicole Eiland. It’s truly exciting to meet grads who have kept making work after graduation and love what they’re doing. I’m also happy to work with the kids at the program and meet the other artists at The Eiland Arts Center in Merchantville, New Jersey. I know that this experience will help me long after graduation. I know that working with one of my fellow classmates, Larisa, will make this really awesome as well.

Super excited to start summer ’17 doing something that I love!! 

Hi!

Hello!

My name is Julia Mcgrady and I’m an incoming Senior illustration major! I love working with all different mediums like fabric, papers collages and digital which is why I’m so excited to start my fellowship with artist Kay Healy in South Philly. Kay works with fabric she screen prints and turns them into forms. Most of the forms represent household objects in her most recent work and she uses them to tell personal stories about who they represent. Something that really excites me about Kay’s work is her use of storytelling and the materials she uses. I feel like kay will help me develop my ability to use different materials such as fabric. I run my own etsy shop where I screen print t-shirts so I’m hoping to learn a lot from Kay about how she screen prints on fabric.

I’m also really looking forward to learning about the business side of how kay works as an artist. We discussed her upcoming shows in our initial meeting and I look forward to hearing more about how she prepares for these shows, how she gets in the shows and more about the actual business side of being an artist. Some of the things I discussed doing with Kay include assistance of her inventory, sewing, screen printing and assembling artwork. Along with learning trapunto sewing techniques, printing large scale objects and learning about her studio practices. Something I’m really interested in is seeing how she organizes her studio space and functions. I’m also really excited to learn these new techniques and see how they could traslate in my illustrations and my etsy store products. I’m interested in her use of creating stuffed objects because it’s something I’ve experimented with before but have yet to master.

Kay shares a fun studio space with her husband Greg Pizzoli who is a children’s book illustrator. I see this as a great added bonus to my fellowship since I also happen to be very interested in illustrating children's books. I hope he will also be willing to share some knowledge with me as well!

A goal I have been working on lately is how I can translate my style of mixed media into digital format, so I’m looking forward to seeing how learning these things will influence my illustrations! I think It will be a great experience to see where my work goes and I also hope to be a big help to Kay!

-Julia :-)

Hi, I'm Andrew

I will be a senior at Uarts next semester. I am studying glass in the Craft and Material Studies Program. This summer I will be working with Remark glass located in South Philadelphia. Remark glass mainly uses recycled glass such as wine bottles and beer bottles. They heat the glass up and manipulate it into bowls, platters, cups etc. I will most likely be working in the cold shop, grinding and polishing glass among other tasks such as mirroring the inside of glass.

I am excited to learn more about glass as a material and acquire new skills.

Hi, I'm Alexis.

A little bit about me...

I am a rising senior at UArts pursuing a BFA in Dance and a minor in photography. Originally from Ellington CT (lots of fields and cows), I've been dancing since I was almost 2 years old and have developed a deep passion for the arts. I enjoy experimenting with technology and dance to create, document, and perform works that push the boundaries of performance and, after completing my studies, hope to join a company where I can continue to perform and choreograph alongside my interest in photography.

This summer I will be working with the Eryc Taylor Dance Company (ETD),  located in New York, NY. ETD was founded in 2006 by UArts alum Eryc Taylor, and is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), modern dance company who’s mission is to “advance appreciation of dance and educate the public about dance by creating and presenting original performances, conducting master classes and workshops, and making grants to aspiring choreographers”. In addition to performing and teaching workshops, ETD strives to break barriers with a number of different outreach programs that they implement within the community as well as internationally.

From what I understand, this experience will further my knowledge of  both the front-end process of choreography, client meetings, scouting, etc, and the back-end business logistics that fuel a nonprofit company. Eryc also mentioned the possibility of me helping edit videos and experiment in the documentation process of rehearsals through my interest in photography and media. I will even get the opportunity to observe rehearsals, learn repertoire, and take class with the company, as well as get feedback from them as I create my own small study.

Through this experience I hope to gain a firm understanding of budgeting, grant writing, fundraising, marketing, scheduling, and the general administrative work needed for a dance company to run smoothly. I also hope that this will give me the opportunity to feel what it’s like to be a part of a dance company and get advice and insight from the professional dancers I will be surrounded by. I will be starting in about two weeks and am going to be commuting from Philadelphia to New York, as housing in NY is awfully expensive and too last minute. I look forward to the challenge of getting to know NYC a little better and am excited to grow as a person and and artist in the upcoming weeks.

More to come~

Hello, I'm Larisa

Hi everyone, I'm Larisa. I'm a senior Photo major that usually focuses on fashion and fantasy, creating elaborate looks with hair, makeup, and costumes.

I'll be doing my internship at the Eliandarts Center in Merchantville, and I can't wait! My alum seems very sweet, and I look forward to working with her and her husband and learning all that I can. I also have the benefit of not only working with my alumni, but also Chloe, a fellow photo major.

It looks like I'll be helping out with various art classes throughout the summer, such as ceramics, photography, and painting. As a photographer, I look forward to the opportunity for new experiences this brings me. I'll also be working some retail in the attached coffee shop, selling both coffee and artists' wares. Lastly, I'll hopefully be learning about curating and hosting art shows. It's looking like this will be a well-rounded, multi-faceted experience and I'm really looking forward to getting started at the end of May.

- Larisa Fox