INTERVIEW: LYDIA GLOMSKI
Summer of 2023, Lydia Glomski (12) attended the summer fellowship of Contemporary Arts Memphis (CAM). During this four week program, 30 selected artists from the Memphis area engaged in college-level art courses and built connections through the Memphis art community. This culminated in a trip to New York City to explore career opportunities in art. A month after the program’s close, the Brooks Museum displayed fellows’ art in an art show.
I sat down with Lydia to discuss the details of this program and the impact it has had on their life.
By Elizabeth MacQueen (Editor-in-Chief)
"Victory Alone" (acrylic and molding paste on canvas)
ELIZABETH: TELL ME ABOUT THIS SUMMER PROGRAM YOU ATTENDED.
Lydia: It was a fellowship with Contemporary Arts Memphis, and some other St. Mary's people had done it the year before. It was their second year. So it's very… brand new. Personally, [it was a] life-changing experience for me. First three weeks we stayed at Saint Columba and went to classes at [Univeristy of Memphis] and we had all sorts of field trips…to…different art shows and even went to [a] festival. Really cool opportunity. Learned a lot of stuff, and we got college credit for the drawing class. And then the last week we got to go to New York, and again we got to see a bunch of galleries and museums and got to go visit a bunch of artists’ studios, which was really cool because these are like up-there artists. We got to see the process behind all their stuff, all their art…That was…just inspiring.
ELIZABETH: WHAT WAS IT LIKE VISITING NEW YORK?
Lydia: New York was absolutely insane because…I feel like I'm just like an average high schooler or whatever, and the fact that all thirty of us got to go to New York for free, and we…made all these connections with different people like art collectors in Brooklyn and Manhattan and got to meet these really accredited artists, and not even just meeting people, but also being able to experience their art and experience the art world basically first hand was absolutely insane. It was very inspiring. It really put into perspective that this is possible.
"Descent" (print on mat board)
"Wad of Gum" (charcoal on toned paper)
ELIZABETH: WHAT DID IT FEEL LIKE HAVING YOUR ART EXHIBITED?
LYDIA: Honestly, a little bit unreal. Because I grew up going to my dad's shows where his art was up and…I was like, wow, that's so cool. And I really never expected my own art to be put up somewhere like the Brooks…It was just crazy because I grew up going to the Brooks Museum, [and] looking at all these super cool artists and feeling like, wow, that's so amazing. And then the fact that my own pieces were put up in the same building is: I don't even know, I have no words
ELIZABETH: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF ART YOU HAVE MADE?
Lydia: Honestly…my favorite is the one that was in the Brooks, the painting that I did. Because before I got into CAM, the way I thought about art was entirely different. And the whole point of doing the painting the month after we got out of CAM was to really display our growth as artists, and I feel like that painting was a turning point for me. It's called “Idol.” That was definitely a turning point in my art.
"Idol" (acrylic on canvas)
"Persephone" (acrylic on canvas)
ELIZABETH: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN CAM?
Lydia: I would say absolutely apply because…you might be worried and think, oh, I'm not really an artist, like I don't know if this is for me. I think if you are even remotely interested, put together a portfolio, talk to your teacher, and submit it because worst case scenario, you don't get in, but you still have the experience of submitting a portfolio, [and] especially if you're trying to pursue art in college, that experience is good…and if you do get in, it's genuinely…I have no words. It was super life-changing for me as an artist because I personally didn't really feel like an artist until after CAM, so it really helped me grow.
"Hemlock" (charcoal)
Those interested in the fellowship opportunity at Contemporary Arts Memphis (CAM) should reach out to Mrs. Fletcher.
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