April 2017 – Catalyst Series Blog

UNDERBELLY | A Reflection

This Spring’s Underbelly performance, a space to nurture ideas, innovation, and artistic collaboration, focused on exploring story, hip hop, satire, politics, and history, and featured performances by Emily Zimmer, TruthMaze, and Vie Boheme.

Sorry. by Emily Zimmer

I admit that I wasn’t sure what to expect from Emily Zimmer’s performance. Hiding inside a tiny cottage wearing a dress with balloons? At first, I thought her piece was meant to be comedic, but then I started to pick up on the satire … and let me tell you, I love satire! Although it was hard for me to keep up, as the show had a quick pace, it also allowed me to simply fully immerse myself into the story and songs of the candy witch Emily Zimmer was portraying. Afterwards, I was able to think about and appreciate the satire of modern society she had woven in her darkly whimsical and colorful act. And I must say, popping balloons was a delightful interactive experience!

Contraction – Expansion by Truthmaze

“Story meets song meets truth.” TruthMaze takes the interaction a step further, where he allowed the audience to ask him questions about his performance, which he answered in a free-style rap. I could feel the energy and emotion that he and his accompanying singers and musicians brought to their piece, and it was infectious. I found myself connecting with these musicians, especially when they sang about being connected to a higher, cosmic universe, which as someone who (probably) has an unhealthy love for space and the universe, really rang true with my soul. TruthMaze’s piece felt real to me. Story meets song meets truth. That describes the performance perfectly.

Viva:BLACK (Volume 1.) by Vie Boheme

Vie Boheme’s singing, her dancing, her recitation of poetry … it was filled with such emotion. She candidly presented small vignettes that were historically charged and reflective of today’s socio-political landscape. Even though I personally don’t share Vie Boheme’s lived experience, her history, or her perspective, her piece allowed me to connect with her. I felt my heart swell and fall with each vignette. When my brain started scrambling to find meaning, I had to remind myself to simply stop. And listen.

That was my biggest takeaway from UNDERBELLY. To just stop and listen. Don’t think, but feel. As someone who’s first instinct is to think and analyze, I learned a lot about myself that night.

One other takeaway: the next time Underbelly comes around, I’m definitely seeing it again. 🙂

Caitlin Albright, Arts and Media Leadership Associate, is a senior at the University of Minnesota and a Leadership Intern at Intermedia Arts. Although she grew up in a small town sandwiched between Blaine and Lino Lakes, Caitlin attended a Spanish immersion elementary school in Forest Lake, and followed the program up to her sophomore year of high school. She attended Anoka Ramsey Community College as a PSEO student for both her junior and senior years of high school, and then went off to the University of Minnesota to pursue a Bachelor’s of Individualized Studies in Astrophysics, Earth Sciences, and Leadership. Although she is looking at a career in the STEM field, Caitlin is an amateur artist who dabbles in both digital and traditional media, enjoys writing and reading, and has an appreciation for the arts.

The Power of Words

The Queer Voices reading on March 28th was the first time I’ve gone to any sort of literary reading, and I didn’t have words to describe how excited I was. Luckily for me, the artists had plenty of words to share.

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John Medeiros started off the reading. John has been co-curating the Queer Voices reading series for over ten years. John’s love for this event was evident as he read. John’s poems had an intimate feeling; he seemed at ease on the stage and brilliantly set the stage for the rest of the artists.

Lisa Marie Brimmer’s inspiration for her poem selection was “love.” Lisa said “Love may be an antidote for all of the things we have been feeling lately.” Her powerful tone was soothing. Her words enveloped the crowd. What I found extremely fascinating when Lisa read was that, despite all of her poem choices being centered around love, they weren’t what one typically thinks of when the word ‘loves’ comes to mind. The fact that the word love can hold many different forms, was showcased so eloquently during Lisa’s reading.

When Anthony Ceballos read, his hands wove elegant gestures that harmonized beautifully with his soothing voice. One of my favorite poems by Anthony was a new piece that started out as a Facebook post. One part that stuck out to me was; “I write to keep myself alive. To keep myself from drowning. To keep the skeletons in my closet aside.” This was strikingly beautiful and relatable on a deeper level than I anticipated. We all have our ways of escape when we need a break from the world and it was beautiful to get a little glimpse into Anthony’s.

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Co-curator Andrea Jenkins came up next to read and introduce the last set of artists. Andrea’s passion for this reading series and the readers present was evident. Andrea read a poem about ‘10 things to do for inauguration day 2017.’ Andrea gave advice such as ‘don’t watch the news, call your loved ones and tell them you love them and resist.’ Andrea read with a graceful authority and was a commanding presence on the stage.

Catherine Lundoff, who works in IT by day but writes by night, told us that she is also opening her own printing called Queen of Swords Press. I found it so inspiring that Catherine was essentially working two jobs to do what she loves. It gave me hope to follow my own dreams. I also found Catherine’s reading so entertaining. Catherine had so much fun on stage and I didn’t want her to stop reading. Her voice was animated and the voices she used helped distinguish between the characters she was reading about.

Sofia Yarberry took the stage last. Starting with shorter poems and ending with a play on a sonnet, Sofia’s tone was slow calm. Some of Sofia’s poems dealt with college experiences and, as I am a college student right now, I found the parallels between what Sofia felt and what I have experienced to be very powerful. It was very cool to hear someone else’s experiences and get an insight into their lives. Sofia’s last poem was a sort of sonnet. One of Sofia’s professors said that ‘this was a sonnet but not quite a sonnet.’ John said that this was a great metaphor for the queer community.

At the end of the Queer Voices event was the question and answer portion. At the beginning of the event, John had said that the success of the Queer Voices reading series happens because of the interactions between the audience and the artists. The readings themselves were so powerful, but to hear how these artists’ words impacted people in the audience was incredible. The power of words.

They say that a picture can say a thousand words but during this reading, I felt that there was no picture that could do the words that were coming out of these artists mouths justice. Their words took me on a journey that I wasn’t expecting to go on. I felt inspired and enlightened as I left. I plan to go to many more readings in the future and if you are reading this, you should too.

Faith Hansen, Arts and Media Leadership Associate, is a Junior at the University of Minnesota and is studying Strategic Communications with a minor in Leadership. Faith grew up in a very small town in southern Minnesota. She was named after country star ‘Faith Hill’. However, despite getting the name, she failed to inherit Faith Hill’s beautiful singing voice. When she was younger, she wrote scripts and persuaded her friends to star in short films she made. Her dream back then was to be on Broadway and she acted in several school plays. She quickly realized that her strengths are more along the lines of producing material rather than acting. Now, she would like to work on a creative team for an advertising agency and produce advertisements for television shows and movies. This semester, Faith is working as intern for Intermedia Arts.

A Behind the Scenes Look at Open Stages

By Bella Gonzalez

Monday night’s Open Stages was high energy and thought provoking. Open Stages is a bi-monthly event that offers young people a way to express their talents in song, dance, spoken word, and more. This event is planned and run by Intermedia Arts’ Youth Leadership Council. The YLC consists of about ten members ages ranging from 12-19 who put on a number of events at Intermedia Arts like the Live Music Fest. I attended one of their meetings before the event, where members created their own meeting agenda, established roles for the evening and discussed other small details about how the event would play out. The YLC’s collaboration and flexibility were evidenced throughout the whole event. When assigning roles for the evening, most of the members stuck to their strengths but were more than willing to take on multiple roles, or roles that they might not have done before.

The YLC encourages participants to sign up ahead of time in order to create a general schedule for the show, but allow walk-ins the night of. About ten performers shared their spoken word, songs, and dance styles. After their performance, each participant received feedback from the crowd which gave the whole show a new sense of community. Everyone was there to enjoy each other’s presence and help one another improve.

One aspect unique to Open Stages is the live paint board. Just as it sounds, the live paint board is a board put on stage for guests to add to during the performances. Seeing all the expression on the board was thought-provoking and definitely added to the atmosphere of the show.

The Youth Leadership Council members were so welcoming to me in more ways than one. They all introduced themselves to me and even included my name on their agenda when deciding roles for the evening. Throughout the night they were always there to answer any questions or even just to talk and joke around. I think small things like that really show their leadership strengths. I never once felt out of place throughout the event and I credit that to the YLC.
From attending both the Live Music Fest in February and Open Stages on Monday, it is easy to see all the great work that the YLC does for Intermedia Arts. They contribute fresh perspectives to the space and are skillful in planning and executing many successful events. They are inclusive and strive to make sure that every guest feels welcome. The YLC should be proud of all the work they do for Intermedia Arts because it truly makes a difference.

Bella Gonzalez, Arts and Media Leadership Associate, is currently a junior at the University of Minnesota’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication with a passion of pursuing a career in Public Relations. Bella is minoring in leadership and her leadership qualities are evidenced by holding positions such as the PR/Marketing Director of Her Campus Minnesota, Entertainment Coordinator for the Edina Art Fair and Leadership Intern at Intermedia Arts. She is also growing her event planning experience through her internship at the 50th & France Business Association where she works to organize and develop events to strengthen the organization’s public image. One of Bella’s top values is positivity which she embodies in both professional and personal settings by constantly keeping a smile and good attitude. She enjoys spending her free time attending concerts and other live performances.

FOOR Folx | A Reflection

When I attended the FOOR FOLX gallery opening reception, I encountered an interactive visual arts exhibit exploring what it was like to live between the lower, middle, and upper classes. It talked about subjects that many aren’t comfortable talking about – like class, class mobility, the acquisition of wealth and privilege, how it affects the individual, their career, and the community.

Even though I grew up in a middle class family (a term which, itself is vaguely defined), I connected with a lot of the pieces displayed in the art gallery. I listened to one of the curators, Tina Cho, give an impassioned speech on the 3D Interactive Graph of Debt, Wealth, and Income; I participated in the interactive exhibits; I placed my post-it note where I thought I was on the social class ladder – lower class. And yet, I felt guilty putting it there.

3D Graph

Yes, I am a college student – a huge amount of my money is going towards higher education, and I’m working a part time job. But I couldn’t forget where I came from or the circumstances that led me here, from the fact that I came from a closely knit, middle class family, to when I was in a car-bike accident and received a settlement that I decided to use to pay off all of my tuition. I am middle-class in college where the majority was experienced downward mobility and were likely going to end up with mountains upon mountains of debt by the time they graduated.

And whether I liked it or not, I saw myself beginning to belong to two classes: middle class with my family and lower class with fellow college students. I have had to learn how to blend in with both cultures, but didn’t feel I belonged to one or the other.

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So I made another post-it note, naming it the “Albright Family” and placed it in middle. I might not be FOOR, but I know I belong to two distinct classes, whether slightly or very much, and the cultures involved with that. This exhibit is something everyone can connect with. I highly recommend that you check it out.