Emory Arts Underground is blowing up on campus! Check out below to hear all about the cool things that the organization does and meet some of the many faces behind it all!
Tameka: How did Emory Arts Underground get started?
Wei Wei: Emory Arts Underground (EAU) began as a single arts showcase. The first year, a coffeehouse style gallery in White Hall, was organized by three first-year students: Rudy Oku, Julia Lee, and Jessie Goldblum. The second year, the board increased to ten members and the showcase moved to Cox Hall Ballroom. The theme of the show, “Underground,” came about as a way to prove that even though the arts at Emory wasn’t as prominent as the pre-professional tracks, creativity was very much alive in all the communities on campus. Having attracted the attention of 200+ audience members, “Underground” proved to be extremely successful and led us to become a chartered organization under the name “Emory Arts Underground” the following year. Now in its fourth year, EAU has expanded to encompass two other projects (Dark Arts & Science.Art.Wonder.), with the original Showcase group organizing at least three showcases and galleries a year instead of one.
Tameka: What attracted you get involved with all of this?
Wei Wei: The year I came into Emory wanting to be a Visual Arts major was the year the department closed for good. Because of this, I ended up trying out film, theater, dance, and creative writing classes and fell in love with all of them. Through these classes, I gained a greater understanding of myself and of others around me. EAU became my platform for connecting with others who also love art and arts education.
Tameka: Can you tell us about Dark Arts and Science. Art. Wonder?
Jess: I have spent a lot of my life watching and experiencing the consequences of the absence of mental health awareness. My high school is subject of a phenomenon called suicide clusters, which can be summarized by the fact that we’ve had 15 student suicides in the past 10 years, and 5 in the last 2 years. Many of those students seemed like incredibly happy and traditionally successful people, but because of the lack of mental health awareness, they didn’t have any way of expressing how they were feeling. I personally was diagnosed with bipolar disorder fairly recently, but I have been struggling with the symptoms for my entire life, but I had no idea what I was experiencing or how to share with people what I was going through, which was incredibly dangerous and led to attempted suicide. Dark Arts, by using the arts to spread mental health awareness, gives an outlet for people to convey what they’re experiencing in an artistic and informative way, so that others can learn from those experiences. Not only is this beneficial to the artist, but also the audience, no matter what mental health state either person is in. Dark Arts is also home to a lovely community of warm, understanding, and deeply thoughtful people, and we can all find comfort in each other. I can confidently say that I have never been more mentally healthy than I currently am, and that is largely due to the community that Nate Sawyer and Caroline Schmidt have created and the dialogue they encourage.
Pamela: Science.Art.Wonder (SAW) is important to me because I grew up with people telling me what I could not do. People would tell me I would eventually have to choose between my passion for art and science. That I could never do both. And by creating Science.Art.Wonder, I am not only showing that I can, but also enabling those who also want to merge art and science together. I want to dismantle the false idea that science and art are opposites and show they are not only complimentary but necessary for each other. Each sheds new light on the other, and each are also necessary for shedding new light on ourselves. Art without science is like a body without a brain, and science without art is a body without a heart. And as both intellectual and emotional beings, I believe we need both in order to be complete. I hope SAW breaks the arts/science dichotomy, helps people fulfill their dreams, and also helps people reach a better understanding of themselves as a whole being.
Maureen: Personally, I have been painting and drawing since the age of 6. I started to understand the world around me with art and it has significantly helped my developing inquisitive mind. I would like to share my experiences with such a thriving community like the one present here at Emory and I’m sure that there are a wide variety of individuals would be interested in these experiences as well.
Tameka: Are there any upcoming events? How can students get involved?
Wei Wei: This semester there will be four main events: The Revival: Spring All Arts Showcase (April 15, 2017); Dark Arts at Social Justice Week (March 20th-24th); AHANA Spring Dance Showcase (April TBD); and Mental Health Monologues: BrainStorm (April 14th / April 16th).
Tameka: What is your overall goal for Emory Arts Underground?
Wei Wei: Art that is pretty entices, but art that is meaningful stays with us for life. Our mission is to share knowledge about the quiet but thriving arts scene at Emory, and to provide students with a non-discriminatory platform for self-expression.