Fall 2014 Newsletter
Issue Number 3                                                                                                                                                  
Spotlight on Concentrators
The Community Engagement and Social Change concentration is a unique way to combine work in any discipline with activism and community involvement. For more, click here

Below are profiles of students combining their artistic interests with community work through the CESC concentration.

Elaine Kuoch '15 meshed her interests in teaching and visual art by interning at an arts non-profit that focused on accessibility through the creation of art exhibitions in community centers.

Hannah Sachs '16 is directing a production of "Time Stands Still" by Donald Margulies. This play raises many questions related to social and political issues, such as the representation of suffering, mental health, and the effects of war. This upcoming production is free for students and open to the community. The play be performed on December 5 and 6 at 7:30 pm. For more information, click here

Engaging the Community through the Arts

This newsletter focuses on the exciting ways in which students, alumnae, and faculty members are using artistic expression to make political statements, engage with marginalized communities, and connect Smith with local groups
Smith Alumna Directs
Successful Political Theatre Piece
  
"MOM, BABY, GOD," directed by Smith alumna, Emma Weinstein, is an exciting piece of original theatre. This comedic one-woman show has been met with packed houses and rave reviews here at Smith and across the country. Emma recently described a bit of her own journey, how she came to use theatre as a tool for activism. 

Emma has been interested in directing since her childhood and, once at Smith, she quickly set to work. For her, however, there wasn't a specific moment when her work became political. Emma explains, "Theatre is not an art of escapism: every play takes place in the real world, in real time, in front of real people. A play is political even if it doesn't mean to be." 

The biggest directing challenge Emma encountered in the controversial political content of her most recent production was preventing the characters from becoming caricatures. She believed it was important to help the audience feel for characters with whom they disagreed, because she "always felt that to create a shift in your audience you need to employ the theatre's greatest political tool: empathy." This successful production comes only a year after Emma's graduation from Smith, and she is thankful for the development of her directing skills through the training and experience she gained here. Emma encourages any current Smithies interested in political theatre to take advantage of the myriad opportunities available in the department, and to remember, "There is tremendous power in telling a story."
Faculty Member Utilizes Dance in Diverse Community Settings

Marilyn Sylla teaches West African dance here at Smith College, as well as at Mount Holyoke College, Amherst College, and Greenfield Community College. Her classes in West African dance are wildly popular , and her work with dance in local communities has inspired many students. Sylla explains, "Dancing in the community is about connecting and bringing people together. . . . There is a sense of well-being and satisfaction that is experienced by most of us when we dance." 

 

Her work with dance has extended far beyond academic institutions. Sylla has brought dance to the elderly in nursing homes, the homeless, veterans, children in public schools, as well as to those in burn centers, hospitals, or mental health facilities. She believes that the arts, and dance in particular, can be used to enact social change. She encourages other young artists saying, "We can dance for the pure joy of movement or we can dance to expose injustice and unfairness in the world.  We can bring people together through the arts who may ordinarily have nothing in common." She adds, "Through the arts we find common ground and become one unit forging ahead for the betterment of all."  

Ellen Kaplan Works for Social Justice through Theatre 
 

Professor Ellen Kaplan's teaching integrates theatre literature, history, practice, and social justice. She often directly involves marginalized communities in her work. Read more here.

Smith Professor and Students Create Mt. Tom Community Art Project  

Carolina Aragon, Landscape Studies lecturer at Smith, combined arts and community engagement in her recent project, Parks to People. As the Artist-in-Residence for the New England Trail, Carolina was tasked with creating "an art project that would bring attention to this young trail through an art installation and a community project." In this project, students in Aragon's class, Landscape Studies Studio: Art and Ecology, worked with sixth- to-eighth graders from the William R. Peck School in Holyoke to create diverse works of art. Among the final pieces were a 12 foot long collage made of photographs taken at Mt. Tom State Reservation and a 3D art structure modeled after Mt. Tom decorated with photographs, watercolors, and drawings based on the park and its history. All of these projects allowed Smith students to become more aware of the local landscape and surrounding communities, and provided an opportunity for community members to develop an appreciation for Mount Tom and the New England Trail. Professor Aragon believes that "visual art is very important because it helps make community issues visible, and allows members of the community to express themselves and physically change or alter their local community." The CCC is proud to support this important work in the community.
News 
In October, Smith hosted the Consortium for Excellence in Teacher Education conference on campus. The annual CETE event, "Perspectives on Community Partnerships," featured a number of discussions, workshops, and panels. 
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Save the Date:

April 9, 2015 
Celebrating Campus-Community Partnerships 

Sept. 25-27, 2015
Sixth Annual 
Digital Storytelling Conference
Hosted by the Center for Digital Storytelling (CDS), workshops, panels and breakout sessions held at Smith and the other Five-College campuses will focus on the theme "Youth and Social Change" within the realm of digital storytelling.  
Center for Community Collaboration 

Interim Director: 
Jennifer Walters
 
Faculty Co-Director: Lucy Mule
 
Director of Voluntary Service:  
Tiertza-leah Schwartz
 
Science Outreach Coordinator:  
Thomas Gralinski
 
CSO Program Coordinator:  
Ellen Lord
 
Administrative Coordinator:
Carla Cooke
 
Communications Interns: 
Hannah Sachs, 
Emily Wilson


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