Semester 4

Arts TRYathlon #1: Choose Your Own Adventure

13 February 2026, Driskell Center, America Will Be!

#visualart #presentation

Whilst I was browsing this exhibition, I realized that I had never really thought critically about the American Flag before. I knew it was a political symbol, and I could understand why it was political when used as a part of protest, but I never delved into how it was political. This exhibition changed that for me, as it challenged me to get out of my comfort zone and finally analyze that flag. It represents the values of the states but is always perceived to be in the hands of those who pervert those values. It made me feel really uncomfortable with how I had always paid no mind to when the flag was presented, as I only saw the symbol, not who was holding it, and who wasn’t allowed to hold it. This was a really valuable exercise of stepping out of my comfort zone because its making me more politically aware, which is definitely needed during this day and age. I feel like I can understand some protest art more thoroughly with this new understanding, which is really good considering I’m in a Protest Art workshop for art scholars. Like the exhibition, Art Scholars, and especially this workshop, have forced me to pay attention both to who can hold the brush, and who was never even allowed to touch it. It’s amazing how far uncomfortability can push our mindsets.

Arts TRYathlon #2: Choose Your Own Adventure

14 March 2026, Digital Clarice, Playing on Air: Disney/Fujikawa

#music #presentation.

I have been very busy lately. Not busy in the way where I have a schedule packed full of events to get to, but busy more in the way of I had a lot of things to get done with no direction of how I was going to get to it all. So, I was afraid that I wasn’t going to be able to get to an art event for this Tryathalon – that was, up until I realized that there were digital museums available for me to visit! I decided to look at the Digital Clarice, as I like looking at art from UMD, and I found that the only options available to me were audio experiences. How did this event challenge me? I rarely engage with audio formats for art, especially not podcasts, as I find that it’s hard for me to stay engaged when I’m just listening to people talking without any visual stimulation. It’s an art form that feels like it goes against my form of focus. But I still gave this audio stream a try! I sat down for it, and doodled in my notebook whilst I listened. Overall, I had a pretty great time. And that reminds me of the living learning community of art scholars: when you’re surrounded by fellow artists, sometimes you’re going to be faced with ideas for art that might be out of your comfort zone. What you can do, from what I’ve learned as my time as an Art Scholar, is to step into this idea that makes you uncomfortable with something that DOES make you comfortable, as that is how you grow as a person. The ultimate goal, of both art and being an Art Scholar, is growth.

Arts TRYathlon #3: Maker Mixer

19 February 2026, Bel Air Hall, Threads and Trinkets: Patchwork Keychains

#visualart

One of my favorite things to do with my clothing is to put patches onto it. One of my least favorite things to do is sew. I could never really figure out how to push the needle through the fabric without hurting my finger, even with the metal finger cap, so I’ve grown to avoid sewing as much as possible. This maker mixer didn’t allow me to do that: if I wanted to create the little keychain of my dreams, I would have to suck it up and do what I had been avoiding for an hour and a half. Though my experience sucked, I was happy with what came out: a little symbol from my favorite videogame. And that got me thinking, there are people out there who make these for a living! The little thing I could barely bother to do for an hour and a half is what gets the days by for someone else. I’ve always looked past people selling their little crafts – not always intentionally, but now with this boosted knowledge I’ll have more empathy towards them. And isn’t that what Art Scholars is all about? Learning about both the big ways art connects us, and all the little ways too? All of the people in my workshop are connected by our love of protest. All of the people in the maker mixer were connected by their love of little keychain art. Art scholars has constantly given us opportunities to connect with our peers based on interests that we hadn’t ever considered could be connected to others!

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