Semester 4

Arts TRYathlon #1: Choose Your Own Adventure

Febuary 8th, 2026, Busboys and Poets, Celebrating a Birthday

#food #community #visualart #interiordesign

Prompt 4: How does this event illustrate the ways art can function as a mechanism for building community?

On February 8th, I joined my boyfriend and his family at Busboys and Poets to celebrate my boyfriend's 20th birthday together and explore this unique artistic venue. The food was amazing and the fancy mocktails we ordered were very rejuvenating and fun. As a whole, Busboys and Poets felt like a town cornerstone, a community building location for bringing people together. The servers were kind and upbeat, they checked in on us periodically and even more than that made friendly conversation like we were regulars despite it being our first time there. They made everything feel welcoming and inviting. Furthermore, the art installations on the walls and ceiling sparked in depth conversations between the family and the ceiling medallions in particular connected with me and reminded me of my family because my grandfather was a medallion craftsman who taught my dad the family business when he was my age. Although I never learned the trade, the sight of the medallions sparked a nostalgia in me. I watched as families and friends gathered around the building, one group congratulating their friend on having a baby, others chatting and watching the Olympics, and my own group celebrating a birthday with the whole family. Seeing all of these connections in such an open, inviting, creative atmosphere solidified Busboys and Poets as a mechanism for fostering and building community by being a space to simply exist, ponder, and connect.

Arts TRYathlon #2: Choose Your Own Adventure

March 7th, 2026, Annapolis Area Christian School, Hadestown

#music, #theater

Prompt 4: How does this event illustrate the ways art can function as a mechanism for building community?

I viewed the play Hadestown with my boyfriend and his family in support of his sister who was acting as one of the fates depicted in the photo above. This performance was one of the most beautiful and well done theater performances I have ever seen. I had listened to the soundtrack before but never had a proper understanding of the story until I saw it live and was in awe of the visuals and talent shown by the school. Another thing that inspired me about the performance was the community that surrounded it and those who came to support it. Despite being an understudies performance, the show was sold out and every seat was filled. My boyfriend recognized nearly all the people in the audience as family, friends, and distant relatives. Friends and family who knew performers in the show or who all came in support of his sister could offer so much care just by showing up, just as the performers showed their passion through their songs and talent. This showed to me just how unifying theater can be, it is a way for those acting in a play to connect with their peers, their family, and strangers alike to inspire and draw people together with a story and a song, fostering connections new and old between many types of people. Seeing this play and meeting so many family and friends reminded me of my shared experiences viewing shows with my fellow art scholars members. Watching and discussing music, theater, empathy, and symbolisms in art brought me closer to my peers and introduced me to some of my lifelong friends in scholars just as it brought me closer to my boyfriend's family and gave me deeper understanding into their passions.

Arts TRYathlon #3: Arts Scholars Event

March 6th, 2026, Art Scholars Maker Mixer, Stick With Me

#visualart, #DIY

Prompt 1: In what ways did this event challenge and/or affirm your definitions of what counts as art?

For my Maker Mixer I attended Stick With Me with TA Vanessa. At this event we learned how to make stickers out of any flat image like drawings and magazine clippings with just parchment paper, clear tape, and an image. This event influenced what I consider art by opening my eyes to this art form I never considered before. I usually just think of sticker making as a mass produced machine made item, I could enjoy looking at stickers but never properly considered them an art form nor the process of how to make them. However learning to make them myself did show to me just how much of an artistic activity the process and outcome is. Additionally, this idea was reaffirmed by my workshop this semester, The Not So Fine Art of Fine Art. This workshop is all about engaging with art forms considered lesser than high fine art pieces you would see in art museums and galleries and demonstrating how they are all beautiful and important art forms in their own right and for everyday consumption and enjoyment. Sticker making reflects this form of “Low Art” in how it is a casual form of art seen anywhere and accessible to everyone, but it is also this fact that makes it valuable to know and engage with because it is a form of art we take advantage of.

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