Pages 2017-18 Anthology by Wexner Center for the Arts

ages is an interactive, engaging, creative, exploratory experience that sheds light on the connection between art and literature.”—Brooke Stooksbury ages is the sweet sound of love. Love is something that I see every day from family and myself. My mother’s voice sounds like love. Pages teaches us to tter understand each other.”—Tydrea Martin “Pages is a breath of fresh air when learning becomes a burden.”—Kaylee Swank “Pages is a dragon upting from a bird’s nest.”—Micaiah Brown “Pages is an opportunity to see the diverse, beautiful world you’re living in.”—Madilyn Coulson “Pages has owed me to think more outside the box.”—Alexis Bastress “Pages is the opportunity for students to not only experience diversity in thinking, but it is e opportunity to use creative thinking to build new ideas and opinions about ‘unspoken’ topics.”—Elizabeth Ansel Pages is “tension movement gether.”—Kamar Mickens “Pages is having the opportunity to learn and experience unknown territories rarely seen in a normal classroom.”—Maxwell nner “Pages is freedom that encourages us to live and experience new and different views to better understand each other.”—students from Westerville rth High School “I really learned a lot when I went on the Pages visits.…The sounds that Kronos presented made me think beyond where I was. Sound is or.”—Arman Scott “Pages is the secret ingredient to innovative classrooms.”—Rachel Sherman “Pages is a unifying and cooperative experience that ngs emotional perspectives together to contribute to society.”—Karen Tavarez “Pages is walking into a room and having no idea what will be on the her side, but once you enter you never want to leave.”—Samantha Cox “The Kronos presentation made me look at sound differently. Dr. Torres…helped e realize all the similarities between art and sound and even think of what colors sound like. I can play any instrument you put in front of me, so now en I play an instrument or hear a note, I think of what color it sounds or looks like.”—Tychee Tyler Pages “taught me that there is still hate in this world. helped bring certain things to my attention that I didn’t know before.”—Thomas Baire “Pages is a great program. I learned to see things in life differently ile participating. I look at my life differently now, whether it’s sounds, protests, or even images.”—Taylor Pleasant “Pages is the collaboration between e minds of the youth that gives intellectual freedom.”—students from Westerville North High School “Pages is an opportunity to have an open mind thout your views being judged or torn down. Everyone supports each other and has their own views while looking from different perspectives.”—Colbi rland “Pages is looking at a rock and realizing the beauty in such a small and minute object.”—Stephen Kells “Pages is the platform needed to create the e environment for controversial contemporary conversations.”—Maryam Ali “Pages is an invaluable experience that you didn’t realize you needed.”— oira Elliot “Pages is the box cutter that lets students out of their boxes.”—Abbie Bookman “Pages is a way to meet people who can be so different yet so milar to you.”—Caroline Elicson “Pages is realizing that there is so much more to the world than you ever knew.”—Mary Gray Pages showcases “struggle. as it a crime for African Americans to want the same education as whites?”—Marcel Butler “Pages is looking at the world through a new set of eyes and ding your inner artist.”—Hanna Pinkston “Pages is an easy way for sheltered kids to learn about NEW things.”—Rosemarie Cundiff “Pages is a pathway uncovering ideas that influence and inspire creativity and progress.”—Clark Jaeger “Pages is like a paper cut; it hurts but in the end it’s so satisfying.”— mleng Sok “Pages is a place where we come together to learn to become one.”—Emily Kuederle “My experience with Pages was awesome….I was pressed by Cindy Sherman as a world-renowned artist who could make people look like no one else….The James Baldwin trip was an eye opener for me d taught me so much about the past. I had so many mixed emotions about what I learned.”—Wilhelmina Barnett “Pages is an experience that allows you get outside your comfort zone and explore the unknown.”—Matthew Hunt “Pages is getting out of your comfort zone.”—Peter Pohlod “Pages is a key at unlocks the door to creativity and knowledge, creating a world of art and culture for students to experience.”—students from Westerville North High hool “Pages is a program where you may express yourself without fear of judgment, no matter your background. —Devon McCullough “Pages is an portunity just waiting to be taken.”—Kiersten Judy “Pages is perception. I stopped explaining myself…when I realized people only understand from their el of perception.”—Tasia Berry “Pages is seeing. They teach you to see instead of just watching. And to know the difference.”—Allison Cook “Pages ught me to open up my mind to new realms of art I’ve never thought possible before. Sounds telling stories, Cindy Sherman’s amazing work—I find it all have been quite an eye-opening experience that I greatly enjoyed participating in.”—Arianna Turner “Pages taught me to express myself in ways I ought I couldn’t.” —Isaiah Booker “Pages is a chance to experience different cultures and viewpoints while still staying local.”—Connor Staschiak “Pages s the push I needed to improve my writing.”—Tresden Quincel “Pages is an interactive, engaging, creative, exploratory experience that sheds light on e connection between art and literature.”—Brooke Stooksbury “Pages is the sweet sound of love. Love is something that I see every day from family and self. My mother’s voice sounds like love. Pages teaches us to better understand each other.”—Tydrea Martin “Pages is a breath of fresh air when learning comes a burden.”—Kaylee Swank “Pages is a dragon erupting from a bird’s nest.”—Micaiah Brown “Pages is an opportunity to see the diverse, beautiful rld you’re living in.”—Madilyn Coulson “Pages has allowed me to think more outside the box.”—Alexis Bastress “Pages is the opportunity for students to t only experience diversity in thinking, but it is the opportunity to use creative thinking to build new ideas and opinions about ‘unspoken’ topics.”— zabeth Ansel Pages is “tension movement together.”—Kamar Mickens “Pages is having the opportunity to learn and experience unknown territories ely seen in a normal classroom.”—Maxwell Renner “Pages is freedom that encourages us to live and experience new and different views to better derstand each other.”—students from Westerville North High School “I really learned a lot when I went on the Pages visits.…The sounds that Kronos esented made me think beyond where I was. Sound is color.”—Arman Scott “Pages is the secret ingredient to innovative classrooms.”—Rachel Sherman ages is a unifying and cooperative experience that brings emotional perspectives together to contribute to society.”—Karen Tavarez “Pages is walking o a room and having no idea what will be on the other side, but once you enter you never want to leave.”—Samantha Cox “The Kronos presentation de me look at sound differently. Dr. Torres…helped me realize all the similarities between art and sound and even think of what colors sound like. I can y any instrument you put in front of me, so now when I play an instrument or hear a note, I think of what color it sounds or looks like.”—Tychee Tyler ges “taught me that there is still hate in this world. It helped bring certain things to my attention that I didn’t know before.”—Thomas Baire “Pages is a eat program. I learned to see things in life differently while participating. I look at my life differently now, whether it’s sounds, protests, or even ages.”—Taylor Pleasant “Pages is the collaboration between the minds of the youth that gives intellectual freedom.”—students from Westerville North gh School “Pages is an opportunity to have an open mind without your views being judged or torn down. Everyone supports each other and has their n views while looking from different perspectives.”—Colbi Borland “Pages is looking at a rock and realizing the beauty in such a small and minute ject.”—Stephen Kells “Pages is the platform needed to create the safe environment for controversial contemporary conversations.”—Maryam Ali “Pages an invaluable experience that you didn’t realize you needed.”—Moira Elliot “Pages is the box cutter that lets students out of their boxes.”—Abbie okman “Pages is a way to meet people who can be so different yet so similar to you.”—Caroline Elicson “Pages is realizing that there is so much more to e world than you ever knew.”—Mary Gray Pages showcases “struggle. Was it a crime for African Americans to want the same education as whites?”— arcel Butler “Pages is looking at the world through a new set of eyes and finding your inner artist.”—Hanna Pinkston “Pages is an easy way for sheltered s to learn about NEW things.”—Rosemarie Cundiff “Pages is a pathway to uncovering ideas that influence and inspire creativity and progress.”—Clark ger “Pages is like a paper cut; it hurts but in the end it’s so satisfying.”—Kimleng Sok “Pages is a place where we come together to learn to become e.”—Emily Kuederle “My experience with Pages was awesome….I was impressed by Cindy Sherman as a world-renowned artist who could make people ok like no one else….The James Baldwin trip was an eye opener for me and taught me so much about the past. I had so many mixed emotions about what arned.”—Wilhelmina Barnett “Pages is an experience that allows you to get outside your comfort zone and explore the unknown.”—Matthew Hunt ages is getting out of your comfort zone.”—Peter Pohlod “Pages is a key that unlocks the door to creativity and knowledge, creating a world of art and ture for students to experience.”—students from Westerville North High School “Pages is a program where you may express yourself without fear of dgment, no matter your background. —Devon McCullough “Pages is an opportunity just waiting to be taken.”—Kiersten Judy “Pages is perception. I opped explaining myself…when I realized people only understand from their level of perception.”—Tasia Berry “Pages is seeing. They teach you to see tead of just watching. And to know the difference.”—Allison Cook “Pages taught me to open up my mind to new realms of art I’ve never thought ssible before. Sounds telling stories, Cindy Sherman’s amazing work—I find it all to have been quite an eye-opening experience that I greatly enjoyed rticipating in.”—Arianna Turner “Pages taught me to express myself in ways I thought I couldn’t.” —Isaiah Booker “Pages is a chance to experience

2017–18 Anthology

An Arts, Literacy, and Writing Program for High School Students

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology An Arts, Literacy, and Writing Program for High School Students Wexner Center for the Arts The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio

“Pages is an interactive, engaging, creative, exploratory experience that sheds light on the connection between art and literature.”—Brooke Stooksbury “Pages is the sweet sound of love. Love is something that I see every day from family and myself. My mother’s voice sounds like love. Pages teaches us to better understand each other.”—Tydrea Martin “Pages is a breath of fresh air when learning becomes a burden.”—Kaylee Swank “Pages is a dragon erupting from a bird’s nest.”—Micaiah Brown “Pages is an opportunity to see the diverse, beautiful world you’re living in.”—Madilyn Coulson “Pages has allowed me to think more outside the box.”—Alexis Bastress “Pages is the opportunity for students to not only experience diversity in thinking, but it is the opportunity to use creative thinking to build new ideas and opinions about ‘unspoken’ topics.”—Elizabeth Ansel Pages is “tension movement together.”—Kamar Mickens “Pages is having the opportunity to learn and experience unknown territories rarely seen in a normal classroom.”—Maxwell Renner “Pages is freedom that encourages us to live and experience new and different views to better understand each other.”—students from Westerville North High School “I really learned a lot when I went on the Pages visits.… The sounds that Kronos presented made me think beyond where I was. Sound is color.”—Armand Scott “Pages is the secret ingredient to innovative classrooms.”—Rachel Sherman “Pages is a unifying and cooperative experience that brings emotional perspectives together to contribute to society.”—Karen Tavarez “Pages is walking into a room and having no idea what will be on the other side, but once you enter you never want to leave.” —Samantha Cox “The Kronos presentation made me look at sound differently. Dr. Torres…helped me realize all the similarities between art and sound and even think of what colors sound like. I can play any instrument you put in front of me, so now when I play an instrument or hear a note, I think of what color it sounds or looks like.”—Tychee Tyler Pages “taught me that there is still hate in this world. It helped bring certain things to my attention that I didn’t know before.”—Thomas Baire “Pages is a great program. I learned to see things in life differently while participating. I look at my life differently now, whether it’s sounds, protests, or even images.”—Taylor Pleasant “Pages is the collaboration between the minds of the youth that gives intellectual freedom.”—students from Westerville North High School “Pages is an opportunity to have an open mind without your views being judged or torn down. Everyone supports each other and has their own views while looking from different perspectives.”—Colbi Borland “Pages is looking at a rock

and realizing the beauty in such a small and minute object.”—Stephen Kells “Pages is the platform needed to create the safe environment for controversial contemporary conversations.”—Maryam Ali “Pages is an invaluable experience that you didn’t realize you needed.”—Moira Elliot “Pages is the box cutter that lets students out of their boxes.”—Abbie Bookman “Pages is a way to meet people who can be so different yet so similar to you.”—Caroline Elicson “Pages is realizing that there is so much more to the world than you ever knew.”—Mary Gray Pages showcases “struggle. Was it a crime for African Americans to want the same education as whites?”—Marcel Butler “Pages is looking at the world through a new set of eyes and finding your inner artist.” —Hanna Pinkston “Pages is an easy way for sheltered kids to learn about NEW things.”—Rosemarie Cundiff “Pages is a pathway to uncovering ideas that influence and inspire creativity and progress.”—Clark Jaeger “Pages is like a paper cut; it hurts but in the end it’s so satisfying.”—Kimleng Sok “Pages is a place where we come together to learn to become one.”—Emily Kuederle “My experience with Pages was awesome…. I was impressed by Cindy Sherman as a world-renowned artist who could make people look like no one else….The James Baldwin trip was an eye-opener for me and taught me so much about the past. I had so many mixed emotions about what I learned.”—Wilhelmina Barnett “Pages is an experience that allows you to get outside your comfort zone and explore the unknown.”—Matthew Hunt “Pages is getting out of your comfort zone.”—Peter Pohlod “Pages is a key that unlocks the door to creativity and knowledge, creating a world of art and culture for students to experience.”—students from Westerville North High School “Pages is a program where you may express yourself without fear of judgment, no matter your background.”—Devon McCullough “Pages is an opportunity just waiting to be taken.”—Kiersten Judy “Pages is perception. I stopped Pages explaining myself…when I realized people only understand from their level of 2017–18 Anthology perception.”—Tasia Berry “Pages is seeing. They teach you to see instead of AnCook Arts,“Pages Literacy, and just watching. And to know the difference.”—Allison taught me Writing Program for to open up my mind to new realms of art I’ve never thought possible before. High find School Students Sounds telling stories, Cindy Sherman’s amazing work—I it all to have been quite an eye-opening experience that I greatly enjoyed participating Wexner Center for the Arts in.”—Arianna Turner “Pages taught me to expressThe myself waysUniversity I thought I OhioinState Columbus, Ohio couldn’t.”—Isaiah Booker “Pages is a chance to experience different cultures and viewpoints while still staying local.”—Connor Staschiak “Pages was the push I needed to improve my writing.”—Tresden Quincel

and realizing the beauty in such a small and minute object.”—Stephen Kells “Pages is the platform needed to create the safe environment for controversial contemporary conversations.”—Maryam Ali “Pages is an invaluable experience that you didn’t realize you needed.”—Moira Elliot “Pages is the box cutter that lets students out of their boxes.”—Abbie Bookman “Pages is a way to meet people who can be so different yet so similar to you.”—Caroline Elicson “Pages is realizing that there is so much more to the world than you ever knew.”—Mary Gray Pages showcases “struggle. Was it a crime for African Americans to want the same education as whites?”—Marcel Butler “Pages is looking at the world through a new set of eyes and finding your inner artist.” —Hanna Pinkston “Pages is an easy way for sheltered kids to learn about NEW things.”—Rosemarie Cundiff “Pages is a pathway to uncovering ideas that influence and inspire creativity and progress.”—Clark Jaeger “Pages is like a paper cut; it hurts but in the end it’s so satisfying.”—Kimleng Sok “Pages is a place where we come together to learn to become one.”—Emily Kuederle “My experience with Pages was awesome…. I was impressed by Cindy Sherman as a world-renowned artist who could make people look like no one else….The James Baldwin trip was an eye-opener for me and taught me so much about the past. I had so many mixed emotions about what I learned.”—Wilhelmina Barnett “Pages is an experience that allows you to get outside your comfort zone and explore the unknown.”—Matthew Hunt “Pages is getting out of your comfort zone.”—Peter Pohlod “Pages is a key that unlocks the door to creativity and knowledge, creating a world of art and culture for students to experience.”—students from Westerville North High School “Pages is a program where you may express yourself without fear of judgment, no matter your background.”—Devon McCullough “Pages is an opportunity just waiting to be taken.”—Kiersten Judy “Pages is perception. I stopped explaining myself…when I realized people only understand from their level of perception.”—Tasia Berry “Pages is seeing. They teach you to see instead of just watching. And to know the difference.”—Allison Cook “Pages taught me to open up my mind to new realms of art I’ve never thought possible before. Sounds telling stories, Cindy Sherman’s amazing work—I find it all to have been quite an eye-opening experience that I greatly enjoyed participating in.”—Arianna Turner “Pages taught me to express myself in ways I thought I couldn’t.”—Isaiah Booker “Pages is a chance to experience different cultures and viewpoints while still staying local.”—Connor Staschiak “Pages was the push I needed to improve my writing.”—Tresden Quincel

4 WEXNER CENTER FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES Leslie H. Wexner Chair Michael V. Drake, MD Vice Chair Bill Lambert President Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

David M. Aronowitz Lisa M. Barton Jeni Britton Bauer Shelley Bird David J. Campisi Brenda J. Drake Adam Flatto Sherri Geldin Russell M. Gertmenian Michael Glimcher Brett Kaufman Elizabeth P. Kessler C. Robert Kidder Nancy Kramer Mark D. Kvamme James Lyski Ronald A. Pizzuti Janet B. Reid, PhD Joyce Shenk Alex Shumate Abigail S. Wexner Sue Zazon EX OFFICIO Peter L. Hahn Bruce A. McPheron Bruce A. Soll Mark E. Vannatta

MAJOR SUPPORT FOR PAGES

SUPPORT FOR OTHER TEACHER AND SCHOOL PROGRAMS

MILTON & SALLY AVERY ARTS FOUNDATION

SUPPORT FOR FREE AND LOW-COST PROGRAMS

GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT FOR THE WEXNER CENTER

Table of Contents

Director's Foreword Sherri Geldin

Schools, Students, and Teachers

Visual Arts Experience Cindy Sherman: Imitation of Life

Acknowledgments Dionne Custer Edwards

Open Mic Reading and Reception

Pages Artists-in-Residence

Performing Arts Experience A Thousand Thoughts: A Live Documentary by Sam Green & Kronos Quartet

80 134 Media Arts Experience I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck

Visual Artwork

Director’s Foreword

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

It’s a genuine pleasure to welcome you to this collection of compelling prose, poetry, and visual art created by high school students who participated in this year’s Pages program at the Wexner Center for the Arts. Now in its 12th edition, this year-long offering gives teens the opportunity to develop their personal voice, along with invaluable literacy and writing skills, through their experience and interaction with contemporary artistry. As in prior seasons, Wex curators and educators selected an exhibition, film, and performance they considered especially relevant and resonant for teens. Participating classes from across Columbus visited the center several times at no cost to the schools or the students—and then translated those encounters into the thoughtful and varied works showcased in this publication. Pages was designed to uniquely amplify the high school curriculum, exposing students to the full array of artistic expression across visual, performing, and media arts as a point of departure for in-depth discussion and creative writing. Because contemporary art naturally reflects contemporary life, this year’s students engaged such timely subjects as race, feminism, social justice, and identity politics— preparing them for adulthood and

responsible citizenship. They were introduced to accomplished, even illustrious, artists and their work on stage, on screen, or in our galleries. And whether it was through Cindy Sherman’s slyly satirical portraits, Raoul Peck’s searing documentary about writer and social activist James Baldwin, or filmmaker Sam Green and music ensemble Kronos Quartet’s pioneering “live cinema” collaboration, Pages students—some visiting a museum or art center for the first time—found personal meaning in the creative expression of others.

7 This multidisciplinary approach is of course a direct reflection of the center’s own mission and core values: to provide a forum for cross-cultural understanding; to inspire, illuminate, challenge, and surprise; and to spark intellectual development and connectivity through the experience of contemporary art. In today’s volatile education environment, which requires students to master an expanding universe of subject matter while school funding is reduced or remains uncertain, Pages presents the arts as an open, accessible, and vital pathway to comprehending our ever more complex world. The program’s impact and success has been validated by methodical external evaluation, as well as by enthusiastic feedback from participating students and teachers alike. I am fiercely proud of the work we’ve accomplished, with profound gratitude to my colleague Dionne Custer Edwards, Wex Educator and Manager of School Partnerships, who brilliantly conceived Pages more than a decade ago and has led the program with passion and grace ever since. So too, I express my deep respect and appreciation to Director of Education Shelly Casto,

who championed this novel experiment from the start. My abiding thanks go as well to all the participating Pages teachers and artists-in-residence for their enthusiastic partnership over the years. And for their generous and sustained support, I’m honored to recognize the American Electric Power Foundation, Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Ingram-White Castle Foundation, Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, and Ohio Arts Council. Through their sustained partnership and investment, we’ve together made a lasting contribution to the cultural well-being of our community. Finally, I echo Dionne’s gratitude for the time, talent, and dedication of the Wex team in making Pages possible. Their collective effort and commitment is more than rewarded in the articulate, imaginative, and inspiring work that follows. With best wishes,

Sherri Geldin Director, Wexner Center for the Arts

Acknowledgments

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

After celebrating more than a decade of Pages—serving dozens of central Ohio high schools and thousands of their students—we in some ways have come full circle. We started this work with an initial pilot in 2005, and the very first school to believe in this program was Columbus City School’s Africentric Early College. We launched with 60 students in the pilot, and now serve around 200 students each year. How celebratory and fitting it is that Africentric Early College would return to participate in the past year with new administrators, teachers, and students. Here is but one way we see the great impact of Pages, both through this evolution and return to our roots. Much has changed since 2005, but still I remain deeply grateful to be able to do this work. The 2017–18 year began with teachers and artists working together during the summer intensive workshop. This time is where we introduce ideas, build and strengthen our partnerships, and imagine the arts experiences included in the Pages program year throughout the curriculum.

To sprinkle each experience with intention, rhythm, and risk, we partnered with three skillful and talented artists: Karie Miller, theater artist and scholar; Alexis Wilson, writer and performance artist; and Michael Rene Torres, composer and musician. As you’ll see in the descriptions of the Pages experiences that follow, each of these fellow creatives are flexible collaborators with great range in working with students and teachers to find new ways of connecting big, messy ideas to thoughtful discussion, writing, thinking, and making. In the coming pages, you will also see the effect this year’s program had on students (and on all of us). There were moments when the room would swell to encompass all of our curiosity, emotions, and reactions. We grew together and individually as we explored challenging topics about identity, race, politics, perception, and performance through sensory-based learning and of course through language. We ignited all of the senses, in and out of the classroom, all year long.

9 None of this programming is possible without strong partnerships, and in addition to the artists-in-residence, I would like to thank all of the educators who make Pages matter every day in their classrooms: Stacey Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly, Big Walnut High School; Fawn Harris and Lysa Harris, Columbus Africentric Early College; Laura Garber, Franklin Heights High School; Alissa Guitner, Reynoldsburg Encore Academy; and Kim Swensen, Westerville North High School. Your poise, thoughtfulness, and commitment are ever inspiring. Thank you for the comprehensive and unlimited support of all of my colleagues here at the Wexner Center, including Director Sherri Geldin for her enthusiastic encouragement over the years. And a special thank you goes to my fellow practitioners in the education department led by Director of Education Shelly Casto. I join Sherri in expressing gratitude to our individual and corporate funders for believing in Pages: we could not do this work without your sustained support.

Finally, thank you to anyone and everyone Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had the opportunity to meet, reach, and engage with because of Pages. As a writer and arts educator, this program is where my curiosities, creativity, and scholarship meet in service to the community, its teachers and learners, and of course the arts. Be well,

Dionne Custer Edwards Educator and Manager of School Partnerships, Wexner Center for the Arts

Pages Artists-in-Residence

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

Karie Miller is a fourth-year PhD candidate at The Ohio State University’s Department of Theatre. She is currently developing her practice-as-research dissertation on the aesthetics of hospitality. Miller holds an MFA in performance from the University of Virginia and a BFA in performance from Northern Kentucky University. Her research interests also include spectatorship and applied theater, as well as such themes as failure, spectacle, and play.

Michael Rene Torres currently teaches saxophone and composition at Ohio State and at Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio. The recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award and Greater Columbus Arts Council Composition Fellowship, Torres is also the founder and artistic director of the Columbus Ohio Discovery Ensemble (CODE), a contemporary music ensemble that is dedicated to the promotion, performance, and perception of new music in Central Ohio. As a concert saxophonist, Torres has presented recitals, clinics, and masterclasses throughout the US; his recent performances include premieres by the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra, Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus, CODE, Tower Duo, and the xYz Quintet.

11 Alexis Wilson is a professional dancer, choreographer, actor, and author currently based in Columbus. Born to a family active in the arts (her mother was a prima ballerina and her father a celebrated choreographer), she earned a BFA in drama from Carnegie Mellon University and developed her dancing career in New York City. After retiring from dancing, she acted in commercials, TV, and film; became a casting associate; and went on to produce and direct numerous theatrical productions. Wilson recently completed her riveting memoir and musical, Not So Black and White, and is currently working on a book of nonfiction with her daughters. Both she and her husband Byron Stripling (Columbus Jazz Orchestra) are active in the local arts community.

Schools, Students, and Teachers Big Walnut High School Teacher: Stacey Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Elizabeth Ansel Sofi Bello Colbi Borland Emily Bryant Christian Ceneskie Madilyn Coulson Samantha Cox Caroline Elicson Moira Elliot Mary Gray Clark Jaeger Kiersten Judy Emily Kuederle Fiona Lariviere Mikayla Leaf Devon McCullough Riley McDermott Chloe McKenzie Cora Neeper Hanna Pinkston Peter Pohlod Maxwell Renner Rachel Sherman Connor Staschiak Brooke Stooksbury Kaylee Swank Riley Tapper

Columbus Africentric Early College Teachers: Fawn Harris and Lysa Harris Wilhelmina Barnett Marcel Butler Aliyah Fraser Nature Jacobs Tydrea Martin Kamar Mickens Taylor Pleasant Daeshanae Reid Armand Scott Sade Thornton Diamond Tiller Tychee Tyler

Franklin Heights High School Teacher: Laura Garber Maryam Ali Jonathan Amaya-Vasquez Tasia Berry Micaiah Brown Rosemarie (Rosie) Cundiff Bintou Fofana Jarod Griffith Emanual Hunt Matthew Hunt Faduma Ibrahim Stephen Kells Kimleng Sok Karen Tavarez Julia Vang

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Reynoldsburg High School, Encore Academy Teacher: Alissa Guitner Jacques Alday Talamantes Nevaeha Bailey Thomas Baire Alexis Bastress Gabe Baughman Isaiah Booker Abbie Bookman Cassidy Brooks Allison Cook Isis Evans Adrienne Holley Gary McCreary Elaysia Moore Tresden Quincel Mahogany Senethavisouk Hailey Smith Arianna Turner

Westerville North High School Teacher: Kim Swensen Elijah Afriyie Maryamo Ali Cole Baker Austen Bazemore Andrew Blosser Maggy Bolen Jason Bradshaw Tsunami Brisco Alyson Brown Carolynn Bructo

Junior Bundu Cameron Calhoun Brogan Campbell Lauren Carl Justin Cashman Liam Clark Hannah Cook Caden Crist Lauren Dunfee Zach Durand Chrissy Fite Joe Gardner Emily Garee Lakesha Gilliam Nina Greer Laila Guled Connor Hite Josh Houston Anna Hrinko Mia Iacampo Alison Kaiser Andrew Kalista Katie Koch Tobias Kohut Jared Lance Christy Lara Eva Lauer Madelynn Longwell Makaela Lucarelli Emily Malick Nick Martz Julia Meacham Omar Nasser Hunter Nearhood Cyrus Neville Prisca Osmens Kimmy Potter Mitch Potterf

Rachel Robinson Zach Ryan Faries Salama Syd Salisbury Kaitlyn Sisk Dominique Smith Kate Smith Shayne Smith Jack Stallings Nick Starling Santana Steele Will Steele Kenadi Stevens Alice Stevenson Hailey Stickney Alyse Stitt Sara Story Corey Talmadge Nick Thompson Camden Turner Alex Vineyard Amber Wilkins Megan Zody Alex Zury

Teachers and Teaching Artists

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology Clockwise from top left: Elizabeth Sandoval, Fawn Harris, Alissa Guitner (at right), Karie Miller (center), Alexis Wilson, Stacey Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly

15 Clockwise from top left: Laura Garber, Lysa Harris, Michael Rene Torres (standing), Kim Swensen

Open Mic Reading and Reception For the 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 program year, Pages again culminated with a festive open mic reading and reception held at the Wexner Center. Participating students celebrated the completion of the program and the release of this commemorative, limited-run anthology by sharing their work with peers, friends, and family.

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Conceptualized and directed by filmmaker Sam Green, A Thousand Thoughts is a live documentary featuring the innovative, inventive, and still-hip Kronos Quartet—widely acclaimed artists and trailblazers of the vibrant indie chamber music scene. This expansive, performative work tells Kronos’ 45-year history through filmed interviews and archival footage interwoven with live narration by Green and live music performed by Kronos onstage. Commissioned in part by the Wex, the piece made its world premiere here in January 2018.

A Thousand Thoughts: A Live Documentary by Sam Green & Kronos Quartet

Pages Artist-in-Residence, Michael Rene Torres

Working with their high school teachers, artist-in-residence Michael Rene Torres, and members of Kronos Quartet, Pages students began to rethink everything they knew about sound. Torres performed on his saxophone, brought found audio into the classroom, and encouraged students to explore their own sound-making, all while teaching them how to listen with deliberation and how to capture what they heard in words and phrases. When students had the chance to attend an excerpted performance of A Thousand Thoughts (and talk intimately with Kronos and Green afterward), they were fully prepared to process the work’s music and images, reaching for all of the tools they learned through their exploratory classroom visits. The Pages experience offered new ways of thinking about nonfiction, sound, time, stillness, and mindful perception.

Performing Arts Experience

artist residency award project

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

A Thousand Thoughts: A Live Documentary by Sam Green & Kronos Quartet

Pages Artist-in-Residence, Michael Rene Torres

Performing Arts Experience

artist residency award project

Storms

Allison Cook

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

I don’t like “rainy days.” I like storms. The kind of storms that paint the sky black and you can’t see through the rain. Thunder claps so loud that it clears every thought. Lightning flashes so quick and bright you could miss it in one blink. Storm fog shielding me from the continuous ache of reality and setting me free into a fantasy. I don’t like rain. I like the way that a symphony of clouds slowly rolls in and grabs the attention of everyone around. Brings a family closer in hopeless scavenging for candles and flashlights. Forces us to turn off each and every device. Noticing the small things you didn’t before. Lying with the dogs and being curled up together. Knowing that it will take every emotion but fear from my mind, but welcoming the boost of adrenaline. And as those grand, treacherous beauties melt their way across the deep, gray, milky sky, I am comforted by the soft sharpness of their sorrow. Thrilled and helpless to their effects.

Comets Lauren Dunfee

Performing Arts Experience

It is the comets Carrying fragments of dust and ice One day colliding with planets Creating impact craters lasting billions of years Debris left all over from the formation of the solar system Comets huddle around the sun like campers near a campfire Comets made by rock and iron blazing over our heads

The Motion of Love Brogan Campbell

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Dancing is a sensation of self-love A feeling like a flying dove Something that I never get sick of I feel my body move with the rhythm As I move my feet in the shape of a prism My mind and my body both as one Feeling the heat of the great big sun Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m letting loose all my emotion As I groove into the motion I feel as if I just took a potion Feeling the music all around me I finally now feel free I finally now am able to see

Music

Makaela Lucarelli

in the sky in the grass in the trees in the dirt music is a forest in the waves in the sand in the salt in the heat music is an ocean in the walls in the voices in the speakers in the patients music is a psych ward once in, you cannot escape loud sad somber breathe feel alive music human partners in crime

Performing Arts Experience

how do you feel the ringing the buzzing does it hit your heart or your mind in your hands in your knees in your chest

“November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses Faries Salama

With November rain, comes guns and roses. Guns bring roses

Roses befriend guns

Guns Roses Rain Darkness

Anger Pain

Feelings Pages 2017–18 Anthology

Black Suit Trench Coat Umbrellas Pain Cries of despair Heads bow at the earth What did I do to gain such feelings? Why did this happen to me? Blame Shots “Hands behind your head” Lights of red and blue White Allegations Black Crime Prison Hands on hearts Pain Fear Crying Tears Oh my God I can’t believe it...Why?...Why?

Cacophony of Reality A violin is strung A cello is plucked Cymbals crash like the sound of dishes falling to their death Death It is a feeling more than it is an event Memories of a life lived, all played in the same key Although the journey is unique to all, the destination is the same Boom One can be dead though still breathing Crash Our lungs breathe in a choice, and exhale its consequence Scratch The sounds of instruments fill the soul with a crescendo to misery A decrescendo to pain Pain of regret Pain of hopelessness Pain Death Silence

Performing Arts Experience

Karen Tavarez

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Found Poem Prisca Osmens

Inspired by “Music Can Change (the Way We See) the World” by Cheryl Murphy, Scientific American November Rain Tainting

Noisy Gray background Expectations Altered

Disappointment

Depression Anxiety Sad music Play Pause Breathe Repeat The sun is gone

Performing Arts Experience

The color of the world seemed to fade

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Performing Arts Experience

Our Eyes, Our Experiences, Our Stories

Amber Wilkins

Inspired by “Music Can Change (the Way We See) the World” by Cheryl Murphy, Scientific American

The melodies gave me some solace, Brought a bit of peace to my bruised heart.

The way you perceive things may be influenced

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

By visual perception, not just by our experience, But your selection just might make the difference Whether you see yourself walking on sunshine Or want to see the sun blotted out of the sky.

Untitled I was I was Completely crushed I was stuck I was Crushed and stuck An unhappy byproduct Byproduct of despair Despair Music could be at the heart of it The heart The heart The heart Music At the heart

Performing Arts Experience

Lauren Carl

February 1 Mary Gray

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Performing Arts Experience

Un Nouvel Espoir Mary Gray

Tied Hands Alex Vineyard

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

Could this be any louder? The music is faint and no one will shut up. I get the servers with ten glasses on a tray, clanking together on the balance of a stem. They have a pass. But everyone else? Why must they be so loud? The voices in my head, they’re bouncing off the walls of my skull. The music is here for a reason. To listen. But I can’t listen. SHUT UP! My amplified words do nothing to quiet anyone down. All is not calm. If anything, the bees’ nest just gets angrier. GET OUT! But not a single soul scatters. Why is it so difficult to hear the notes of strings, but so easy to hear the obnoxious yells and shouts of heartless demons around me. BE QUIET! It only gets louder. BE QUIET! Nothing. My hands are tied behind my back. EVERYONE QUIET DOWN! Not a single change of beat.

35 Performing Arts Experience

AHHH!... AHHHHHH!... AHHHHHHHHHH!... ENOUGH! Enough? But that voice wasn’t my own. No. I peer up to see the window cover slide open. SHUT UP ALREADY. I HAVE HEARD ENOUGH OF YOU BLABBIN’ ON AND ON. YOU’D THINK PEOPLE LIKE YOU’D BE QUIET, ALL ALONE ALL THE TIME. The rays of light coming through the bars left. The window was closed. I could hear the guard pacing back to the asylum’s entrance.

Sound of a Melody Andrew Kalista

From “Music Can Change (the Way We See) the World” by Cheryl Murphy

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

Solemn smooth violins singing the blues brought peace to my broken heart. Altered by our music, our current state of emotions and mood have been tainting my view of things. The melodies and the solemn smooth violins.

1,000 Thoughts Faduma Ibrahim

Tears streamed down her face as she dragged the lower half of her body behind her frail arms. This was the only time she could escape; Natalia knew that he would be back soon, possibly with a new hostage. She could barely muster up enough energy once she reached the first of the many wooden gates. Natalia struggled to open the door as huge bursts of pain erupted from her lower abdomen. She questioned if she’d be able to make it past the gates without her child being born. After opening the first gate, she quickly tried to take another step towards the second gate, but was surprised to find a set of stairs. She began to stumble down them. Her vision began to cloud over with black spots. She could barely make out the scene in front of her, but heard the huge clopping of steel-toed boots as they approached with hurry, followed by complete silence.

Performing Arts Experience

Inspired by “God-music” by Black Angels

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Performing Arts Experience

February 1 Josh Houston

How simple and sweet writing can be.

Writing out feelings is completely different to me. Attempting to understand my mind; A solution to my anxiety, stress, and everything else I’m looking to find. Pages 2017–18 Anthology

We’re all looking for a chance to be sane, Either sane in the eyes of the world, or just inside of our brain.

I’m completely filled up inside. But I’ll never show you that. I have too much pride. That’s why I keep all my thoughts on a page. And then in life I put on a facade like I’m an actor onstage.

Writing gives me hope, but also an inspiration so I can figure out just how far my mind’s imagination will go.

Letter to My Father Chloe McKenzie

I miss you more than anything in this world. I want you to be here. Writing this is making me so sad, so angry. It is making me realize how much I truly hate cancer. My hatred for cancer is so immense. It’s indescribable. I HATE CANCER. It’s one of those things that when you think of it, all you want to do is scream, cry, and give up. Give up on living. Wonder, why am I here? Why wasn’t it me? Why, out of everyone in this world, did it have to be you? Daddy, I miss you. I want to hug you one more time. Ride in your truck again and watch my movies in the back. Decorate Easter eggs. If I had the chance to dance with you again, I’d choose a song that would never end. I want you to be here, by my side. Daddy, why can’t you be here to help me on my homework or watch a movie with me? I want you to be here to walk me down the aisle at my wedding, to be the wonderful grandfather of my children that I always imagined, to be my best friend. I want you to be here. I need you here. I love you, Daddy. I will forever and always be your little girl. Love, Coco

Performing Arts Experience

Dear Daddy,

Untitled Jack Stallings

A dark and lonely road stretches before me like the endless expanse of the ocean I hear the deafening sounds of the car engines as they drive by I feel the world beneath shifting my feet, threatening to knock me over Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

I can smell the gas from the cars, burning like smoke as I breathe the air in Why is it that I have not left this place of shadow? This deep, endless expanse

Elements of Life Live, love, laugh, and listen Live for yourself, and only yourself Live the fullest life that you possibly can Love as many people as possible Love all of those who love you equally Laugh at the hard times, and the good times Laugh maybe if it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even funny Listen to the footsteps frolicking around your body Listen to the voices that go against you and the world

Performing Arts Experience

Justin Cashman

Let Me Be Your Beach Hailey Stickney

Your mind is so full of troubles and fears That diminished your wonder over the years But today I have a special place A beach for us to go A shore reaching beyond your sight A sea that sparkles with brilliant light The wall in your mind will melt away Before the sunny glow

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

It’ll be the beach that washes your worries away It’ll be the beach you daydream about each day It’ll be the beach that makes your heart leap In a way you thought had left you long ago Let’s bury your heavy thoughts in a pile of sand Bathe in sunbeams and look into my eyes Wash your insecurities in the salty sea And let me see you shine Let’s leave your memories in a footprint trail Set you free in my windy sail And remember the reasons you’re wonderful When you gaze upon that sparkling beach I’ll be the beach that washes your worries away I’ll be the beach you daydream about each day I’ll be the beach that makes your heart leap In a way you thought had left you long ago To my dearly beloved Sabrina in heaven I hope you learn to love yourself and those around you I pray in your eternal happiness you remember me as your beach R.I.P. my dearly beloved Sabrina Vermillion

Never Have I Ever Never have I ever: Had a dad thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in my life. I have never known the difference, Have never noticed the distance. Never have I ever: Wanted more than what I had. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never put myself behind, Have never looked for more than I could find. Never have I ever: Lost a vital part of me. Though I am constantly drawing near, Losing my brother is my greatest fear. Never have I ever: Had a love as great as this. A perfect solace is my family, The blood that runs deep inside of me.

Performing Arts Experience

Emily Malick

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Cindy Sherman: Imitation of Life is an expansive survey of the famed artist’s photographs made over a career spanning four decades. Organized by The Broad in Los Angeles and making its only Midwest stop at the Wex, the exhibition featured over 100 works by Sherman, whose bodies of work all feature herself transformed into a seemingly endless variety of personae that slyly play off entrenched notions of female identity.

Pages Artist-in-Residence, Karie Miller

Working with artist-in-residence Karie Miller, Pages students used Sherman’s work as inspiration for examining their own thoughts about identity and for considering how their bodies respond to ideas, space, and time. Gallery and classroom visits included robust discussion about the creative process, as well as sensory exploration and physical movement. Applying these exercises, students made visual and verbal portraits while thinking critically about the idea of the self and “the other self” as subject matter and muse.

Visual Arts Experience

Cindy Sherman: Imitation of Life

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Pages Artist-in-Residence, Karie Miller

Visual Arts Experience

Cindy Sherman: Imitation of Life

My Garden

Mahogany Senethavisouk I’ll plant a garden full of beauty. Once it grows, then you’ll see.

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

I’ll spread the seeds in a barren place. Then I’ll water them with the tears streaming down my face. Seasons will pass. The flowers will grow. But will I remain? The new buds will sprout under the sun’s rays, and my body will feed them as it rots and decays. The world will be better without me around. This garden: my grave. My bed: underground. I’ll plant a garden full of beauty. Then I’ll be gone, but no one will see.

Untitled I do not recognize the person I see in the mirror. The girl with a full face of makeup painted on, along with a smile. The girl clothed in the finest shirts, shoes, and accessories. The girl who is focused and driven. That is not me. However, no one knows that, nor do they need to. The face I put on for my peers is the only side of me they see, the only side of me that they have become familiar with. I am not the girl I make myself out to be. I am broken and insecure. The girl with flaws who does not know how to handle them. No one knows that, nor do they need to. I make it seem like I am the type of person who wakes up in the morning, ready to conquer all of the challenges in store for me that day. In reality, I am scared and tired. I am scared that people may see the real me and reject her. However, I am tired of hiding who I really am. I have quite the dilemma on my hands: I am scared of people rejecting the real me, while at the same time, I am tired of keeping this secret. That is me. The girl who is broken and insecure. Flawed and afraid. The girl who is tired and lazy. Despite this, I find comfort in knowing that I am not alone.

Visual Arts Experience

Julia Meacham

The Danger of a Single Selfie Cole Baker

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

One selfie can tell a story. The story of a carefree teen, or the story of a troubled past. Selfies can be used by the individual to hide the truth. The truth they don’t want others to see, the truth they’re afraid of. Selfies can be used to give others the illusion of a happy life when life isn’t always so happy. Are we all our selfies?

Untitled Cyrus Neville

Visual Arts Experience

The danger of a single selfie is that it is not a single story. One picture tells a thousand words. The background picture shows me and my friends dressed up as gangsters, and if someone didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really know us, they might think this to be true. Of course, we were just goofing off for a fun night of Halloween. The top layer blends us at homecoming wearing our best clothing. A picture is whatever you make of it. No words can be physically told through it. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all in the eyes of the beholder.

The Danger of a Single Selfie Elijah Afriyie

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Selfies are taken by millions of people every day. Many still might askâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;what exactly is a selfie? A selfie is a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or a webcam and shared via social media. Now that we are all on the same page, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talk about the selfie. The selfie has caused many individuals to live through a persona of themselves, usually a better or more beautiful person than they actually are. The major problem with this is that children and even many adults are learning not to fully love themselves, and instead fall in love with the persona of themselves. This causes people to glorify false versions of themselves. Apart from the cons, there are also some positive things that can come from the selfie, such as capturing moments in life and being able to look back on them.

Women: a Found Poem Syd Salisbury

An acre of motorcycles around each isolated diner and motel Room full of knife sheaths, jackboots, and few women Heartbeat of drums Tortured Afraid Women as sexual fair game I put my foot down Partners A rainbow stretches from can’t-see to can’t-see

Visual Arts Experience

From My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Visual Arts Experience

Found Poem Dominique Smith

From Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape by Peggy Orenstein

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

Life in this body Confident Happy They told me no fear I always tell myself that People have been harassed I’ve got a little bit against me She said Things are opening up for women And gay people I guess we’ll see

Untitled Emanual Hunt

Inspired by Untitled Film Still #15 (1978) by Cindy Sherman

One day at work, she noticed one of her female coworkers walking briskly out of Mr. Heartland’s office, visibly upset. Maggie could only imagine what had just happened to her. Maggie was lucky to have never been cornered by Heartland. Many of the women in the office would walk in groups to never be alone. All of the unlucky women’s stories were all the same. He would call them into his office to discuss performance and then demand they never speak about what actually happened in the room under threats of not having a job. Maggie knew that the sick feeling in her stomach she got whenever she looked at Heartland would never go away unless someone did something. One night before work Maggie went and found the shortest skirt and most revealing blouse to wear on her mission, as well as her mother’s old cross necklace. At work, Heartland didn’t waste any time mentioning how good Maggie looked. His gaze happened upon the necklace that hung low on Maggie’s chest. She mentioned she wasn’t very religious, but she would be open to the idea of learning more about it. At this, Heartland’s eyes lit up and his vicious grin grew wider as he offered to take her to

Visual Arts Experience

In the late 1970s there was a 20-something woman named Magdelyn Fenner. Her friends called her Maggie, but she didn’t have a lot of those as she was introverted and spent a lot of time at the office job she dreaded. Her boss was a pervert, constantly commenting on female employees’ skirts if they were the slightest bit too short or if their blouses were even a bit revealing. Her boss, Mr. Heartland, fancied himself a Christian family man (as he had two young boys with his wife of many years).

58 his office and introduce her to some of the big ideas. As Maggie followed Heartland into his office, she brought her purse that held a new tape recorder. She was going to tape the interaction and eventually expose Heartland.

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

Heartland ushered Maggie into the room first. She stood at the door next to the bookshelf as he shut the door and walked over to his desk. While he had his back turned to her shuffling some papers on his desk, she set her purse down on the bookshelf and hit “record” with a shaky hand. He turned towards Maggie and offered the seat on the other side of his desk. Maggie slowly sat down, thinking of where she would be able to draw the line and end what was going on. Heartland again commented on Maggie’s outfit, but mentioned how it was way out of the dress code and told her to take it off as he undid his belt. Just then, Maggie’s purse, which must’ve been poorly placed, fell off the bookshelf. Out spilled everything in her purse, including the tape recorder. As soon as Heartland saw it, he whipped around angrily and started yelling at Maggie. As she dove for the recorder he pushed her back against his desk. He pushed her face down onto the desk as he screamed at her. In a frantic panic, she reached for anything she could grab on his desk, latched onto the first solid thing she brushed her hand over, and swung back. Suddenly, all the weight from Heartland pushing down on her was relieved. Maggie heard a thud and snapped her head towards the sound of the noise. She saw Heartland lying on the floor, face up, gargling as a pair of scissors stuck out of his neck. A pool of blood started forming underneath him. Her mind began to spin as she realized what she has done. She

59 Visual Arts Experience

felt dizzy and slightly nauseous as she backed up from his body and stumbled onto the windowsill. She finally took her gaze off of Heartlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body, and it drifted to the street beneath her out the window. She kept running through her mind how her plan went wrong. What would he have done to her? She killed him. Who would believe her story? Was it enough to claim self-defense? Should she stay and deal with this? Should she leave town?

Silhouettes in the Night Nevaeha Bailey

Light up my world, but it’s alright if it doesn’t stay bright. Just sit with me in the dark, and we’ll stay safe through the night.

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

The Thorn Rose Isis Evans

She is regarded as beauty And yet she holds onto pain Her guard is up

When she is hiding, she is crying Vowing to never wear her heart on her sleeve A true red rose A classic beauty With thorns Vulnerable she could never be Until one day He will come His love will heal And her pain will cease The thorns that guarded her Will come down with ease But until that day She will forever be With thorns

Visual Arts Experience

No matter where she goes Others love her appearance They say she receives love And yet she never feels it

[ ] Micaiah Brown

I am blank I have no pigment to speak of I don’t do anything Every Single Day Pages 2017–18 Anthology

I can’t tell if I’m breathing or not Or if I even exist One day I had to grab a paintbrush And paint the world But nothing comes to mind Cause all I see Is blank… Until… I had a dream A dream that was bigger than everything Bigger than anything COLOR I stand up and let the brush fall to the ground I begin to run Faster and faster I pick up more and more speed Behind me are the colors and I’m never looking back

Plain Sight Karen Tavarez

I am a living stereotype. A painting to observe. What if you were to look at the details? Would you still see a generalization?

Visual Arts Experience

Or would you see me in plain sight?

Barbie Isis Evans

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

Real girls aren’t perfect and perfect girls aren’t real That’s what they tell little girls but that’s not how they feel Long hair, slim thick, that’s how society is Dictating how and when girls should be allowed to freely live Put your makeup on to cover your tears Because here the only thing that matters is how you appear Can’t be too loud, can’t be too quiet Have a mind of your own but you must be compliant They move your hands and they move your feet Because you’re a Barbie doll and that’s all they see Feeding you your words, playing with your heart It doesn’t matter here if you are actually smart The prettier you are, the longer you last But even then, your worth fades fast Replaced by others who fit the new trendy desires You spent all your time on things that seem to expire But what’s left is your regret, wishing what could’ve been If you had followed your heart and spoken from within Denied the world and marched to the beat, your own beat The battle you had lost that you knew you could’ve won Don’t lose hope now, it is never too late To right the wrongs and twist your fate Tell other dolls who they could truly be Why sit in a dollhouse when you have bigger dreams Set free from the control and shooting for the stars There you go, young girl, tell the whole world who you are

A Letter to My Daughter Bintou Fofana

When it comes to beauty, I want you to keep this quote in mind. As you post your pictures on these social media sites, don’t use the amount of likes or views as a way of expressing how beautiful you are. Beauty lies within. Knowing that you are beautiful allows you to be less affected by what the world thinks of you. As you scroll and see these celebrities who get numerous amounts of likes because of their new lips or their new noses, do not feel as if there is something wrong with you. For if the world consisted of every woman looking the same, where would the beauty lie? Like Sherman states in the quote, sometimes the differences are what really make you YOU. I also want you to keep in mind that what is viewed as “beautiful” now, will change. Centuries ago, being heavier in weight denoted class and wealth. Later on, being very slim showed wealth because you looked as if you took care of yourself and had the time for yourself. In my time, we have a term called “slim thick,” which means you have a skinny waist, big breasts, a big butt, and a flat tummy. Who knows what the beauty standards will be in your time? All I want you to keep in mind is that you need to find the beauty within you. Do not focus on what society has to say to you about beauty.

Visual Arts Experience

“Nowadays, with digital printing, it’s so easy to make everything perfect, which is not always a good idea. Sometimes the mistakes are what really make a piece.” —Cindy Sherman

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Visual Arts Experience

THAT GIRL Mia Iacampo

I’m not THAT GIRL The one who is FLAWLESS The one who NEEDS male attention Because she’s INSECURE with herself

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

I’m not THAT girl The one with the EASY route The one with the WALK Or the TALK I’m the girl with the WAYS The INTELLIGENCE The PEACE OF MIND with myself And my DIVINE GRACE The SECURITY of my dreams and MYSELF A BRIGHT future with NOTHING standing in my way The one who doesn’t need VALIDATION for my beauty I’m the one who LOVES who she is Because I am not THAT GIRL

Visual Arts Experience

Untitled

Chrissy Fite

I Am Not a Tool Tsunami Brisco

I work in the day by everyone’s side I work in the night where no one can see me

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

My magic does so much good I keep people happy and heal the sick I give people their true desires Still they all want more My features are as elegant and pure as a dove’s feather My face appears gruesome and scarred No one truly looks at me I live in the city square I live in the forest I am always alone I am used for my abilities I am powerful I am brave I am more than a face I am a witch I am a fairy I will not be used for your purposes I am not a tool

I Am From Daeshanae Reid

I am from poetry I am a poet

I am one of the first poets to write English verses in the American colonies I am Anne Bradstreet

Visual Arts Experience

I am influenced by Guillaume du Bartas a 16th-century French poet

I Am From Aliyah Fraser

I am Pocahontas I am really Amonute, to some Matoaka I am from a tribe where we speak almost 30 Algonquian languages

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

I am from a story of true love with John Smith I am the favorite daughter of Chief Powhatan Yes I am from one they call the formidable ruler I am Pocahontas, the model of how to bridge cultures The one allied with the English The girl who was kidnapped for ransom I am Pocahontas The daughter of Chief Powhatan The child who lived and dwelled on the coast of Virginia

I Am She Kimleng Sok

I am She. The perfect little girl, The one that fits societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s common standards.

I am She. The woman who is a housewife To only fall into the ground with no impact. I am She. I am She. How long do I have to wait until I can be her, The woman who can express herself and not be ridiculed.

Visual Arts Experience

I am She. The lady who is going to school, To become only a housewife.

What I’m Living For Madilyn Coulson

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

A girl walking down the sidewalk, short, dark-eyed, and delicate. Looking down at her feet with every step and licking her chapped lips as she goes. A quiet girl, I suppose. A student striding through the hall, heavy backpack full with notes and books. She’s a smart girl, everyone knows that. A brain, oh so very bright, but there’s not much after that, right? A vibrant laugh comes from a young soul as she smiles and jokes with her friends. Everywhere she goes, freedom and joy breathe. She is a carefree girl who seeks only glee. Now, who are these girls? The silent? The smart? The reckless? The relation between them is slim, all similarities seem distant. Yet, the answer is clear: they are all coexistent. I am all these girls. I feel hushed when I need space. I care about my schooling, but crave to seek more. I love to laugh and want to strive. I am the reason these girls are alive. You see me through your eyes. I see you through mine. Both views are different,

75 Do their opinions matter, or should you just be you? Today in our society, people’s opinions matter too much. No one wants to be alone, the unpopular outcast. However, I say it’s time we put down the mask. The crazy thing about this life that we’re given, is we are all meant to be individuals. I may seem reserved to you, but silly to my friends and family. I can be a little bit of a different person to everybody. And to me that is beautiful. An opportunity to show that I can be anyone. It does not matter what others think of me, for I am exactly who I want to be. Yes, I am hushed. Yes, I am smart. Yes, I am reckless. And yes, you are YOU, too. Now that is something worth living for, through and through.

Visual Arts Experience

separate and unalike. So why does this happen, this undefined line? A thick line of judgment, of a well-known truth: that everyone is watching you, and has their own views.

Untitled Christy Lara

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Unfold Nina Greer

when you look at me my lungs are filled with fire replacing every inch of air. my stomach contorts

animal.

balloon Visual Arts Experience

every thought within my brain stops as they are sucked into your eyes staring back at me. pools of

hunger,

wildflowers,

and late-night picnics.

with one look, I feel safe. with just a glance, I

unfold

like crude origami at the slightest breeze. with just one peek, I am vulnerable.

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Visual Arts Experience

80 80

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 2017-18 Anthology Pages Anthology

I Am Not Your Negro (2016) takes 30 completed pages of author and activist James Baldwin’s final, unfinished manuscript and uses them to create a bracing and powerful film essay. Director Raoul Peck uses a critical and complex lens to explore an American narrative around race, social justice, and the persistence of humanity through Baldwin’s ever-present words. The text, read by Samuel L. Jackson, highlights the lives and assassinations of Baldwin’s friends Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr.

Raoul Peck

Pages Artist-in-Residence, Alexis Wilson

Teachers and students, along with artist-in-residence Alexis Wilson, opened up to an expansive and challenging journey through Baldwin’s prose and Peck’s images. Students expanded their notions of how communication and writing can take on a visual form. This experience asked students to “prewrite” with their five senses. Wilson pushed this concept further and offered students the option of writing with their bodies, using sensory cues and movement. In addition to exploring communicative formats, the film provided a poignant and profound landscape for the study and discussion of race, social justice, and civil rights, as well as a platform for investigating narrative, memory, and creative nonfiction. The students also took a close look at Baldwin’s essay specifically, both on the page and on-screen.

Media Arts Experience

I Am Not Your Negro

80 80

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 2017-18 Anthology Pages Anthology

Raoul Peck

Pages Artist-in-Residence, Alexis Wilson

Media Arts Experience

I Am Not Your Negro

Conviction of Innocence

Rachel Sherman, Caroline Elicson, Riley McDermott, Connor Staschiak, Maxwell Renner, and Elizabeth Ansel

White, Privileged, Educated, Oppressor. Pages 2017–18 Anthology

Fabricating a complex, Yet simple Crime story From a beautiful frame of reference. “Today a heartbeat was murdered…” All visions of sincerity have been masked.

Bound

Daily we witness futile struggles, shackling commitment, moral duty, and political future. To change our belief is the greatest gesture we can offer. However, oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s race should not be defining or cause one guilt or make one weep. There is one human race and all of the angels know that. Nor are we strangers to this fact.

Media Arts Experience

Emily Kuederle, Moira Elliot, Kaylee Swank, Chloe McKenzie, and Peter Pohlod

Funeral of Freedom Kiersten Judy, Mikayla Leaf, Mary Gray, Riley Tapper, and Hanna Pinkston

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

People from our past nations pretend to love us Lies Spit on by the superior race We were seen as criminals Lies The following is true They said it was for the best They left our freedom unaddressed Now we are all in this mess The only way out is A funeral of freedom

Severed

Devon McCullough, Samantha Cox, Fiona Lariviere, Cora Neeper, Sofi Bello, and Emily Bryant

The bloody history of nonviolent prophets began When the innocent and the grotesque collided.

To resistance, division. The defenseless cried for an appeal Separating the people. Thus, a trail of sorrow was born.

Media Arts Experience

A struggle of different values led

Untitled Stephen Kells

Sure I’m white But I’ll fight For when the light seeks Pages 2017–18 Anthology

To stomp out the night Balance won’t reside It’ll be turning tides For the moon To resign And leave humanity Behind

Eyes of the Soul Jonathan Amaya-Vasquez

Color. Shades. Tones.

Coming in with the heavy gunners. It all becomes sets of raids. All before the evil throne. Shun my existence and shun my pain. The only thing you want, you shall never obtain.

Media Arts Experience

Is there really a difference with my bones? Your body, my body, fades. You all remain shunners.

Untitled Jarod Griffith

Dear The United States of America, Is it true that you are no longer united? That you fight against yourself? That children fight parents And sister fights brother?

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Dear The Land of the Brave, Is that what you still wish to call yourself? You sit behind walls of white and On chairs of mahogany as the True braves fight in the streets. Dear The Home of the Free, What is the cost of being free? The price of the word is Hate, tragedy, war, death. We can see the truth you refuse to see. Dear The Land of Liberty, Or as it should be called, the land of oppression, My siblings fight for a freedom That in writing is given, but Is still not ingrained in the Minds of our leaders.

Restless Faduma Ibrahim

Yes, I can hear you, But your words seem suppressed by your quaking voice. Why won’t you just stop? Aren’t you tired?

Media Arts Experience

They’ve been grumbling for so Many years, when will it stop? Yes, we gave them rights, But they say we’re drowning them in oppression. Yes, we gave them education, But it’s not really the same that I got. Yes, we gave them “freedom,” But they still cry for “justice.”

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Media Arts Experience

The New Jim Crow Laws Alice Stevenson

“It shall be unlawful for a negro and white person to play together or in company with each other in any game of cards or dice, dominoes or checkers.” —Alabama, 1930 “Separate free schools shall be established for the education of children of African descent; and it shall be unlawful for any colored child to attend any white school, or any white child to attend a colored school.” —Missouri, 1929 Pages 2017–18 Anthology

“All marriages between...white persons and negroes or white persons and Mongolians...are prohibited and declared absolutely void...No person having one-eighth part or more of negro blood shall be permitted to marry any white person, nor shall any white person be permitted to marry any negro or person having one-eighth part or more of negro blood.” —Missouri, 1929 “Every person...operating...any public hall, theatre, opera house, motion picture show or any place of public entertainment or public assemblage which is attended by both white and colored persons, shall separate the white race and the colored race and shall set apart and designate...certain seats therein to be occupied by white persons and a portion thereof , or certain seats therein, to be occupied by colored persons.” —Virginia

Different Worlds under the Same Sun I find it funny that we gaze at the same twinkling stars, stare in awe at the same beautiful sunsets, and block our eyes from the same golden sun. All of these things in common yet we are all so different. We enjoy different music, foods, clothes, and on and on and on. We are from different countries, speak different languages, have different beliefs. But just like our detailed fingerprints, none of us are or look exactly the same. Maybe this is why we never truly feel content or accepted, because not one of us is the same and we are all wishing to be someone or something other than our true selves. But let me tell you something: it is a waste of effort and energy, because you are you and that is true. It is not going to change. We all must learn to love ourselves and the life we are living in the moment because that is the only way to truly be happy. It is the minute details that make our world and the people living in it ever so fascinating. We wish to be something other than what we are rather than being content. Let us make that our goal: contentedness. Easier said than done, I know. And sure, we can better ourselves and strive to be the best versions of who we truly are. But along the way of finding and creating the masterpiece of your life, you must realize: you will never be like him, I am not like you, and she is not like I am. So let us not try to be what we are not and start embracing all that we are. Human beings are so interesting. All of us living on one globe together, yet we are such different souls. Perhaps we are each our own little world. Sure, our worlds meet. But we will always be different worlds living under the same sun. Embrace it.

Media Arts Experience

Colbi Borland

The Pretender Kiersten Judy

The pretender a man with no heart who acts like he cares but does not He breaks me down piece by piece changing who I am making me feel like I don’t have a voice

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

The pretender a man who is as cold as ice who doesn’t treat me like a human being who does not know love and is a stranger to kindness who never sheds a single tear when I tell him how I feel The pretender the puppet master in the show who makes me want to rip out my strings and leave and go to the safe place my home sweet home The pretender whose voice is as sharp as knives it makes my blood boil and puts tears in my eyes When I stand up he pushes me down when I feel sad he tells me to stop being emotional EMOTIONAL

95 You cannot strip someone of who they are and this is a big part of who I am I’m sorry that I have feelings I’m sorry that I can be kind and can love people who love and care about me but I am not sorry about standing up for myself even when I’m scared and for always letting you know how I feel The pretender who might now understand how much his words attack me and bury me alive maybe now he will change his ways hopefully before I crack and leave in dismay The pretender

Media Arts Experience

emotional a 9-letter word with 4 syllables five vowels and four consonants a word that is and always will be a big part of me

A Leader Until Moira Elliot

I have been called a leader many times by many people throughout my life. I liked to think of myself as a leader, but I hadn’t had to go against others in order to accomplish a goal before. I believe a leader is someone who pushes people to be better. But most importantly, a leader is someone who leads the charge for change despite the challenges they may face.

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

Everyone wants leaders to be acknowledged so that they can know they have contributed to others’ growth and overall character. Everyone wants to be a leader when everything is going well and there are congratulations to be given. What about when it’s dead silent? When everyone wants quiet after a decision is made that they don’t agree with? What about when people try to push something out of the way in order to avoid attention? What do you do then? Do you shrink away and say that someone else can stick his neck out because that’s not your job? If everyone thought like that our world would not be what it is today. Everyone wants a leader until they don’t obey orders. Isn’t that an ironic statement? That the very premise of being a leader does not always mean making friends with everyone, but standing up for what they believe is right. Everyone wants a leader until they choose to speak their mind. Everyone wants a leader until it gets in the way of their goals. Everyone wants a leader until the leader does what real leaders do.

Understanding the Races Kenadi Stevens

Inspired by You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson and White Like Me by Tim Wise

Being treated like the “other”

The number one thing that

What does it mean to be white

Blackness becoming the

defines you

A member of the majority

number one thing that

How race shapes one’s life

To ignore how race shapes

defines you

Listening and accepting

one’s life

Blackness is not a monolith

preconceived notions

By listening to real black people

Accepting preconceived

Whites and people of color

whites could learn the truth

notions about you

could learn the truth

Experiences have to do with

Blackness is not a monolith

advantage and belonging

Characteristics to blackness

Born to belong

as dehumanizing people

Unlike people of color

Blackness is not a monolith

Born to belong

Damned if you do

Rarely had to prove ourselves

damned if you don’t,

Born to belong

as they say

Austen Bazemore

Untitled

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Untitled

Media Arts Experience

Rachel Robinson

100

Untitled, or Please Avoid Scrolling Down Tobias Kohut

This is based on the game Nier: Automata (2017). All applicable rights are owned by Square Enix, Platinum Games, and Yoko Taro. Please support the official release. Also, do not read this poem under any circumstances. If you have never played the game, you will not understand it, and if you have, you will hate it. Also, I’m not ripping off the erasure poem, I promise. Love, Tobias Kohut, a hack writer Pages 2017–18 Anthology

____________________________________________________________________________________ Please avoid scrolling down ____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________ I warned you ____________________________________________________________________________________ This cannot continue cannot continue continue cannot cannot cannot continue 2B as gods become as gods as gods as gods become Fear I taught them fear 2B nines Call me ma’am don’t call me nines ma’am I’m glad to be working with 2B nines A2 a traitor to the bunker bunker buster backdoor backdoor machines machines attack machine lifeforms Lifeforms not thinking not thinking not thinking not thinking you’re thinking thinking

101 Beautiful beautiful peaceful red death peaceful death sleep server sleep mode server traitor human server server server Error On the moon brave androids Think feel they think feel feel feel feel think why fight fight fight On the surface fighting fighting never stop fighting 14 wars 14 wars Killing each other other other machine android lifeforms think think why fight Why fight machines who have emotions emotions emotions are prohibited I love love love love love glory to Mankind Mankind is is is project YoRha is over. I love you 2B or 2B not 2E not 2E not 2E not human love you Adam brother only brother world world world is beautiful ove you Anemone and death love death death at Pearl Pearl Harbor ve you Popola Devola Popola failure failure failure Devola sister sister e you Uncle Pascal uncle uncle uncle never lie bad machines bad machines you traitor traitor red eye green eye god god god gods operator ou monster monster monster monster killed my brother brother u machine machine machine not human **** you nines… I’ll kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill machines every last machine every why why

Media Arts Experience

Thinking about how much you want to **** 2B now attack backdoor Backdoor love love glory glory to to 2B is not 2B 2E 2E backup backup to backdoor Her backdoor backup backup data to the bunker I love love Data data suggests flowers I love flowers it’s lonely up here up here but safe safe safe safe safe RED EYES fear hatred hatred hatred I taught them hatred I thought they would Learn fear fear fear fear always killing always killing each other other the other Traitor traitor you traitor operator operator to to be this operator operator traitors 6O 6O That’s not 6O…Thank you thank you thank you for the flowers Flowers flowers flowers I love flowers red flowers red eyes thank you for the Death gods become as gods flower that’s not the operator, it’s…

102

Untitled: A Found Poem Maggy Bolen

From Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

And there I was The Bastard Her Bastard A Bastard by the state of South Carolina RED Inked BLOCK Letters it read illegitimate ILLEgitimate ILLEGITIMATE The Stamp the Memory the Names Stamp Memory Names Burned Burned Burned her “This is how it’s got to be” established ESTAblished ESTABLISHED

103

I Am a Butterfly Mikayla Leaf

I am a butterfly Kind and soft spoken Fluttering through the world Letting my bright colors shine

Strong and proud Courageous and brave I am like a soldier Who never gives up With beautiful wings And happy spirits I bring kindness and beauty To the world As I watch the silent sun set I dream of many dreams Healed bruises Help me understand the world Around me I have confidence In everything I Do, think, and say With beautiful, bright, brilliant wings I flutter through life Bringing luminous light To all those who want to see Judge me if you want For I do not care What others think about me For I am a butterfly A butterfly I am

Media Arts Experience

Delighted by Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s views I gently glide through life Observing the world And its many wonders

104

Blackout Poem Eva Lauer

From Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Among the last prisoners Were faces who were willing and eager to sacrifice for their cause. There was a posse of pacifists in prison. The government wasted millions of taxpayer dollars prosecuting and locking up nonviolent protesters, But the political prisoners now had a community of likeminded folks. For hours on end, I longed for The tainted books. An inadequate excuse for a teacher; Threatening, abusing, Screaming, and ranting. He was trying to have Alice locked up. Sure enough, We heard the thud of heavy boots and the rattle of chains.

105

Untitled

Madelynn Longwell

Media Arts Experience

The fact is so clear now—no longer hidden in my mind. Okay, here’s the secret; it’s not really a secret, but I’ll frame it to you as one. The same people who despise you for being mixed? Those are the same people who when you do identify as black, despise you for not being black enough. It’s you: your very existence.

106

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Media Arts Experience

107

108

Live Your Life Shayne Smith

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

We all must come to the realization That life does not bear any guarantees. With hesitation, comes remorse. So, live with no Equivocation, indecision, or unwillingness, So that when you take your last breath, Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have no regrets.

109

Black

Camden Turner

Untitled Alyson Brown

After James Baldwin

Media Arts Experience

I cannot be that girl Who you tried to manipulate me into becoming. Take me as I am, or is that not good enough? Who we really are and who we feign to be can turn out to be distant realities, And now the memories of you and I have turned my world to black.

110

Through My Lens Julia Vang

Through my lens, I capture each man With their actions and expressions, Fighting through oppressions.

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I am the witness Who views the resistance, And leaves it for the world to see, All the damage and hope. I am the one who watches, The one who can make notches. Notches that are proof of this oppression, Of all this aggression. This may have become their obsession, Which has resulted in their succession That has led them to this design, And has left them to shine. Through my lens, I have captured men With their actions and expressions, Fighting through these oppressions.

111

Toilet Beat As I walked in I see she forgot to flush the toilet I looked at her pee It was the same as mine Sour yellow The smell of fresh urine punching my face How? She told me yesterday That we were different That my skin was dim My nose too broad Hair too coarse Lips too plump But I think we are the same We pee the same I smiled My pee makes the same beat Her pee does when it strikes the toilet water I can finally sleep tonight I know a secret The secret that we pee alike

Media Arts Experience

Bintou Fofana

112

Current Policy on the Bill Maryam Ali

There is a POLICY of oppression It lacks perspective and EXPERIENCE What is education but to teach the unknown.

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113

Untitled I am not American. Or at least that’s what I’m told to believe. I was born different just like the few others like me, African American. And you’d think that since the word “American” is there, this would automatically qualify me as an American, but that is not the case. You see, a “Full American” would have all of their rights. I do not. A “Full American” should be able to walk past a cop without fear of being stopped on the streets. I do not. I shouldn’t have to turn my head at the racist comment I heard my friend say and think to myself, “Should I correct them?” I am not American because I argue the points that an American would want to hear. I am not American because I don’t have the skin to show it. And before you say that I am American and that all I’ve said doesn’t make sense, then let me recall a memory from the previous year. When my friend who is a “Full American” told me that “Full Americans” are white.

Media Arts Experience

Micaiah Brown

114

All About Life Anna Hrinko

Life is fun and exciting, You don’t know what you are going to get. Pages 2017–18 Anthology

Life is scary and can haunt you, It may be a plan for something you’ll regret. Life is full of love and laughter, You may feel joy and happiness. Life could just be a disaster, It could just be a mess. Everyone experiences life in different ways. It can build you up or knock you down. Keep up with how fast life goes. Take a step back and look around.

115

The Gap Maryamo Ali

Speech came about as a way to bridge this gap A way for someone to directly tell you what they need to say Even so, words can be hard to form It’s difficult to voice your true feelings It can feel almost impossible to tell someone what you need How you need to solve your problems and what you need to thrive How do you do it? When your voice is stopped up And your words won’t come out It’s important to have another outlet A way to let your worries out Where speech won’t work well Art will excel Art is the culmination of humanity’s efforts to communicate with one another Maybe I can’t see the world exactly the way you do But you can show me through your art Maybe you won’t think the exact same way as me But I can show you through my art Art provides new perspectives While also giving the ability to see your world reflected back at you Art brings people closer together Helps to bridge the gap

Media Arts Experience

You can never truly understand another human being You don’t know how they feel (Without them telling you) You don’t know what they truly think (Without them telling you) There’s such a wide gap even between those that are closest to each other

116

Untitled Junior Bundu Jordan I am Jordan.

James I am Lebron.

I am the greatest. I am the chosen one. I strive to catch him every day.

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

I’ve always been loved by all, I am the face of basketball. I’m always trying to prove myself. We are nothing alike. I have mastered the mid-range game.

We are nothing alike. I am a physical force in the paint.

People love that I never lose when it counts. I have a killer instinct like no other. I lack taking over when needed. Losing is my driving force. I’ve always had great teammates. He has greatly helped the game, But I will never be caught!

My whole career has been defined by these 5 losses.

Losing is my driving force. My teammates have failed me before. I won’t stop trying, but he’ll never be caught!

117

Untitled Emily Garee

From But What If We’re Wrong? by Chuck Klosterman

Ideas accepted and internalized Engraved in the collective consciousness What if they’re potentially untrue? Aristotle Newton Galileo These are the big potatoes

Media Arts Experience

I’ve been wrong These failures are personal These failures don’t even surprise me Small potatoes

118

Untitled Katie Koch

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

I cried I pushed I hurried away The only ones always there for me Aunt Baba PLT Yet, I still feel alone Top of class Winner of writing competition Liked by schoolmates But I still sit in dried tears and dried blood

119

Untitled The woods thicken as I clamber to get out of them. More and more trees come into view as I pump my legs back and forth away from the darkness. They jump in my way, and it takes all of my energy to avoid them. Behind me the air gets colder, and the raspy breathing gets louder. I continue to sprint forward, not looking back for fear that if I do, I will never be able to look away. As I run, my legs begin to feel heavy, and I begin to slow down. Nevertheless, I continue to run on, hoping against hope that I will reach the end of these dark woods. The weight of my legs is quickly becoming too much for me to take. A yell of fear and pain escapes my lips as my legs give out and I hit the ground hard. Lifting my head, I can see the leaves being forced away from me by the howling wind now thundering in my ears. The overwhelming cold begins to overtake me, slowly creeping up my legs. Using my last morsels of strength, I try to crawl away, pulling myself with my arms. As fast as I try to escape, the cold is much faster. It finally bested me, and I was enveloped in cold. I screamed again because the cold was such that my legs began to crystallize, the way something does when it’s been in the freezer too long. With my legs all but gone, I dared to look behind me. The monster was upon me at last. It wore a long black cloak, tattered and torn around the bottom. Its fingers, which were long and bony, gripped a long scythe. Wings erupted from its back, and upon looking at them, I could tell that they caused the wind whenever they beat. I barely saw his face underneath the hood that was pulled over his head. I made out a pointed chin, the same as mine. A thin mouth, the same as mine. Deep brown eyes that hid secrets, the same as mine. The face was mine. “Who are you?! How do you have my face?!” I screamed at it. “I am Death. And to anyone who sees me, I have the face of anyone who killed them.”

Media Arts Experience

Jared Lance

120

Untitled Kaitlyn Sisk

Dear future students,

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

I went to Robert Frost Elementary School when I was your age. I had so many great teachers who inspired me. I started teaching as a student volunteer through a program called Junior Achievement. I taught first graders things that would prepare them for fifth-grade Biztown and for life outside of school in the future. I also got to teach American Sign Language to kindergarteners in my ASL 3 class. It was through these two programs that I learned I wanted to be an elementary school teacher in the future. I fell in love with the young students’ passion and devotion toward learning. They all had such a thirst for knowledge. I am so honored to have been accepted into The Ohio State University at Newark to study Early Childhood Education. I’m thrilled that one day I will be your teacher. I am so excited to get to know all of you. I want to inspire you like my teachers inspired me. I promise that no matter how many obstacles lay in the path of your education, I will give you the best education I can. I will see you in a few years. I hope you’re ready, because I know I am. With love, Kaitlyn Sisk

121

Untitled Nick Starling

In total darkness, fighting back fear Confusion and fear Will be his first reactions

Willpower cannot be generated

Media Arts Experience

Confusion and panic Overtake reasoning

122

MLKJR MX Will Steele

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

There is injustice in America There is injustice in America It must be fought It must be fought With love and killed I have a dream that No more blacks will be hurt No more blacks will be hurt After we separate The American public must be made aware The American public must be made aware That we are not objects to torment But brothers But brothers Who want to be treated as such This torment cannot continue Our message must be heard by force I don’t want to see my people hurt again I don’t want to see my people hurt again

123

Untitled Corey Talmadge

Hands up don’t shoot

Man he looks like a bad dude

I just want to make it out alive Hands up don’t shoot

It was a freak accident

Can’t we all get along

Hands up don’t shoot is a rallying cry

Let America be America again

Please, sir, I don’t want a rough ride

Hands up don’t shoot is based on a lie

Don’t worry man you’ll be alright

Man, I’m a father just like you

Please tell my kids I tried You should see this from my point of view

Media Arts Experience

Please I don’t want to die

124

Untitled Sara Story

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

125

Untitled

Media Arts Experience

Megan Zody

Untitled Alex Zury

America is a facade; gilded troubles make up the horrid actuality of the society within.

126

Untitled Caden Crist

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

127

Untitled To live is to actively create your own destiny. But life is intertwined with the twisting, sprawling, roots of Love, Depression, and Greatness. And Sorrow, Despair, and Pain are our poignant birthrights, but so are Beauty, Love, and Greatness. Thus We Bleed, Sweat, and Cry in order to become great. We sacrifice for Love. And we hold Anger in our hearts to kill others. This is humanity. This is our life.

Media Arts Experience

Joe Gardner

128

Running to Eternity Laila Guled

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

Heavy breathing, stomping footsteps Never-ending road winding on and on Soft glow of setting sun fading Sounds of shouts muted by wind Doubts and fears heavy Shoulders couldn’t lift the weight Doubt Fear Weightless head spinning Heavy heart aching Dark clouds entrenched in hate Looming over as if one’s judgment Hate Judgment Will it ever truly end?

129

Redemption of the Damned The stars are dripping white light over the endless expanse of the night sky, with the gleam of the cosmos and the novas. I feel free, free from the terrors of the natural world. It is an escape, a hideaway high above the misty clouds, enveloped within the tight folds of space. I dream of a way to reach this fate, a glorious fate, one that is out of reach from the horrors of the poison ground. Seeing is believing. I cannot see the great divine of heaven, but I believe it exists away from this, hidden amongst the starlight, drenched in eternal secrecy. Will I ever reach it, even after death? After death has lifted my sentence on this hell of a planet?

Media Arts Experience

Hunter Nearhood

130

Untitled Kate Smith

From “Immigration’s Border-Enforcement Myth” by Mae Ngai

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Dreamers. Family members, Undocumented, Mass deportations, An underclass of nonwhite people, Ineffectual as well as expensive. Americans. The history of immigration in the United States and Trump’s proposed wall along the United States–Mexico border: Radical, Ineffectual, as well as expensive.

131

Untitled Jason Bradshaw Birds can fly Birds can see Birds can try Birds can eat

Fish will swim Fish will breathe Fish will live Fish will see People don’t breathe They just waste oxygen People don’t see It’s all just an illusion… Bugs may hunt Bugs may climb Bugs may live Bugs may find People do find People do live But they also die And that’s about it… Mammals protect Mammals stay united Mammals learn As they evolve People don’t protect They stay divided People never learn And it’s why we won’t move forward…

Media Arts Experience

People will cry People won’t see People can try But that’s about it…

132

Untitled Hannah Cook

Pages 2017–18 Anthology

Chaotic Hectic Feeling the pressure of the world. Adults yelling “Do this, do that.” Make it big, Go down the right path. Yet you don’t know where the right path is or how to find it. Then, finally you get to a good spot, Nice job, good friends, a nice even ground. It feels wrong. It feels too good. It can’t be this good. You start spiraling Down Down Down. Suddenly, it gets better. You start building yourself back up. I ask myself, it does get better, right? Will it ever get better? Yes is whispered under breath. I start a new journey, one lighter than ever. Feel the weight drift off as you began to rise again.

Media Arts Experience

Untitled Nick Thompson

133

134

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

135 As the creative process is a focal point for the Pages program, we engage with numerous forms of art throughout the program year. Frequently, the work of students in Pages happens somewhere between their own English/language arts classrooms and various spaces beyond those classrooms. Accordingly, the works that appear in this section borrow from the sentiment (and sometimes the materials) of the art room or studio, while leveraging the abilities of the students, the willing support of the teachers, and the practices of our artists-in-residence. While the work on display here does not always follow the traditions and techniques of students training in the fine arts, in every case these pieces demonstrateâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; and take full advantage ofâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the Pages process of engaged, interdisciplinary thinking and making.

Visual Artwork

136 Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

We Warrant Change

Carolynn Bructo

137 Visual Artwork

clockwise from top left Heaven's Light The Little Things Hidden Treasures

Kaylee Swank

138 Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

clockwise from top left Foggy Night A Tree and the Moon Moon and Cloudbow Moonscape Fence Bleached Moon

Fiona Lariviere

139 Visual Artwork

Shadows Stamp of Life

Emily Kuederle

140

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Rachel Sherman

Untitled

141 Visual Artwork

Life is a Beach

Riley Tapper

142

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Matthew Hunt

Untitled

143 Visual Artwork

Persona Is... Zach Ryan

144

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Jarod Griffith

Untitled

145 Visual Artwork

Two musicians and two men fighting. What are they thinking? Are they aware of what is going on around them? Who knows.

Perspectives

Julia Vang, Stephen Kells, and Kimleng Sok

146

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Tasia Berry

Self Portrait

147 Visual Artwork

Creating Myself

Rosemarie Cundiff

148

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Tasia Berry

Untitled

149 Visual Artwork

Untitled

Rosemarie Cundiff

150

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Karen Tavarez

Untitled

151 Visual Artwork

A young black man is willing to serve his country even if there are some oppressing factors towards him in the country.

Untitled

Emanual Hunt

152

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Mitch Potterf

Untitled

153 Visual Artwork

Untitled

Connor Hite

154

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Nick Martz

Untitled

155 Visual Artwork

What can a smile say that I can't?

Kimmy Potter

156

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

157 Visual Artwork

Good Things Grow Here

Caroline Elicson

158

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Samantha Cox

Untitled

159 Visual Artwork

Untitled

Tydrea Martin

160

Pages 2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 Anthology

Angelo Sumerall

Untitled

161 Visual Artwork

Untitled

Tychee Tyler

162

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Taylor Pleasant

Untitled

163 Visual Artwork

Untitled

Kamar Mickens

© The Ohio State University Wexner Center for the Arts Individual projects © the authors Pages 2017–18 visual, media, and performing arts experience photos; artist-inresidence photos; and open mic photos: Katie Spengler. Additional visual arts experience photos: Cameron Granger. pp. 14–15, 134 | Teacher and teaching artist photos: Katie Spengler, Kimberly Cole, and Dionne Custer Edwards. p. 59 | Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #15, 1978. Gelatin silver print, 10 x 8 in. The Broad Art Foundation. Image courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York. p. 80 | James Baldwin, photo © 2012 Mark B. Anstendig. All rights reserved. Project Staff Dionne Custer Edwards, Educator and Manager, School Partnerships Kelly McNicholas, Graphic Designer, Creative Services Ryan Shafer, Publications Editor, Marketing/Communications Hannah Stephenson, Editor Isabel Ciminello and Rachel Howard, Education Interns Alex Getz, Graphic Design Intern, Creative Services Education Department Staff Shelly Casto, Director of Education Dionne Custer Edwards, Educator and Manager, School Partnerships Jo Anne Jenkins, Educational Purchasing Assistant Maria Joranko, Education Programs Coordinator Tracie McCambridge, Manager, Gallery Teaching and Engagement Jean Pitman, Manager, Youth and Community Programs Alana Ryder, Manager, University and Public Programs Elizabeth Sandoval, Graduate Associate