The Department of Art and Public Policy is home to the M.A. in Arts Politics. These are the profiles of our first graduating class.
Camila Campelo Bechelany
Where you are from?
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
What was your background before attending this program?
I graduate in International Relations in Brazil and in Social Anthropology at EHESS, Paris. I’ve been researching on the internationalization of the visual arts and the reception of contemporary Brazilian art in Europe and the US. I also have a degree in arts Administration in Brazil where I’ve worked in the curatorial department at the Museu de Arte da Pampulha and in some other projects with young most of them in the public sector.
What interested you in the Arts Politics Program?
When I first read the program description, I felt it perfectly matched with my understanding and I that I finally founded the exact place I wanted to be and work. The fact that we are at Tisch, an Arts School and not in an arts administration or public policy school is what most attracted me. The open curriculum and the chance to be in contact with artists, scholars, and policy makers at once is very important and what makes the difference at this program.
Describe the work you have done while in the program.
While attending the program, my projects and field-work were focused in understanding the art museums in New York, their complexity and constraints as political spaces. I tried to develop a critical analysis of the museum and to think and propose strategies to more egalitarian and participative situations among artists, institutions, and audience. I’ve been working in individual and collaborative curatorial projects, activist and interventionist writing and action and building an underground archive of Brazilian art in the Museum of Modern Art of New York. Also, I have been working with 2 scholars in different researches that are interested in transnational exchanges in the arts.
Where do you see yourself going?
I am interested in continuing to develop a critical analysis as a scholar and also to work as an art curator in Brazil, NY and Paris. I will also develop a survey on cultural policies in Brazil and in the future I hope I can collaborate in building policies for the arts in the national and international levels, with international organizations.
Xia Fan M.A. Arts Politics - 2008
Where you are from?
China
What was your background before attending this program?
B.A. in International Studies in Peking University, Beijing, China
What interested you in the Arts Politics Program?
Thank for Tisch’s international reputation as a great “Film” school, I went to its website while looking for graduate schools to apply for, and this “Arts Politics” program popped into my eyes, and stayed there. I perceived it a perfect combination of my major background and long time interests, just from its unique (also confusing) name, and lucky for me, it doesn’t disappoint me. Actually, this one year studying here, has been one of the most treasurable time in my past 23 years life.
Describe the work you have done while in the program.
One of the most fabulous parts about this program is that we got the chance to kind of design everybody’s own program. I say so because we do have great flexibility in course selecting. NYU has tons of brilliant courses in the art field, inside and outside our department. Besides 2 required courses which are bases of Arts Politics study and are of great help in building up a brief perception theoretically, we are free to try any other thing we are attracted to. I would love to share the list of courses I take to give an idea about how much flexibility we enjoy: Art & Public Sphere, Art as Research, Issues in Arts Politics, Visual Art in the States and Europe, Art Activism, Producing Essentials, Photography, Fashion Photography, as well as the graduate colloquium where we got the chance to meet different guest speakers every week. Also, as required by the department, we are taking either internship or field study in this semester. I am working at both Christie’s the auction house and MET, the metropolitan museum of art. This is really a comparison, to work for them at the same time, but quite a good position also, to think about arts, in the public, social, and economic world outside.
Where do you see yourself going?
This is the most difficult question for me. I should apologize but I really can’t tell yet where I am heading off after graduation. I wish to stay in this program for ever if I could. Not kidding but it is really this lovely. But pathetically there is always a real world to be faced with. The bright side is, holding all the gains from this year at the Arts Politics, I am not afraid about going out anymore.
Danielle Evelyn Kline M.A. Arts Politics - 2008
Where are you from?
Chatham, New Jersey
What was your background before attending this program?
Before coming to Tisch, I worked as Economic Development and Special Projects Assistant to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in Washington, DC for more than three years. In this capacity, I helped arts and cultural organizations locate federal funding, explore partnerships with local economic development initiatives, and develop connections with other non-profits, universities, and businesses throughout New York.
What interested you in the Arts Politics program?
My professional work in Washington, DC was a defining experience, one that quickly began to help me change the ways I approached my work as an artist, my commitment to arts advocacy, and my understanding of the arts in relation to a democratic society. What first attracted me to this program was, quite literally, its name: Arts Politics. Though we are moving in the right direction, we live in a nation where interdisciplinary learning is still not quite where it could be. I was attracted to this department because it conveyed a willingness by Tisch School of the Arts to train leaders who have the willingness to ask: How can I move my artistic work into the political sphere? How can I convey my political work through an aesthetic lens? How does my interventionist work fit into these interdisciplinary frames of thinking in a practical and scholarly way?
Describe the work you have done while in the program.
In Issues in Arts Politics, I created a plan for a Congressional Fellowship Program for Artists which speaks to the need for an active space for artists in government. In Underground Archives, I constructed the framework for an archive of oral histories of those individuals who straddle the line between art and politics. In Seminar in Cultural Activism, I began a book of creative non-fiction, a long-standing project of mine, and in Interventionist Art — Strategies and Tactics, I put together a visual arts exhibit using photo montage. In addition, I had the opportunity to conduct research for and work with the playwright, Anna Deavere Smith, during the premiere of her new play.
Where do you see yourself going?
Immediately after this program ends, I will be taking the summer off to work on my new play. In the long-term, I see myself heading a large arts organization. Running for political office is not out of the question.
Jasmine Jamillah Mahmoud M.A. Arts Politics - 2008
Where you are from?
Irvine, CA
What was your background before attending this program?
I had been in New York City for three years, straddling my time between arts and politics. I initially worked at an entertainment public relations firm, and then worked for a public policy, good-government group. I am also a musician, and I gigged frequently with my band. Finally, I wrote (and still write for) a Brooklyn, NY-based arts-focused newspaper.
What interested you in the Arts Politics Program?
My interests were decidedly torn between art and politics. In college, I majored in Government and wrote about policy for the daily newspaper; I also organized performing arts events on campus. I was interested in the program because I wanted to become more aware of the links I could make between my two loves.
Describe the work you have done while in the program.
Issues in Arts Politics: I studied public funding at the local, state and national level. For the final project, I interviewed a handful of New York City art space owners and directors (gallery, music venue, theater, film, dance) and learned how the politics and economics of New York City have affected the arts they organize.
Anatomy of Difference: I'm not a film person, and in this class I learned about the "other" in film, as well as film basics (plot, storyline, character).
Performing Black Satire: Learned loads about American history through black comedic performance and satire: minstrel shows, Josephine Baker, Dick Gregory, Chris Rock, Kara Walker, Paul Beatty, Aaron McGruder.
Colloquium: Met with distinguished writers, historians, performers, theater directors, lawyers and artists.Modern African-American Theater: Learned the canon of black American theater over the last half-century. Researched the contemporary re-staging of modern classic black plays on the New York stage; and the effect of these revivals on what makes a "great black American play."
This semester my projects include a paper about the economics of Experimental Theater, a screenplay, an Interventionist project attempting to subvert the lack of diversity in fashion magazines and a business plan for an arts space I dream about opening.
Where do you see yourself going?
I would love to open a performing arts space that pays artists better wages for their work. I would also love to continue to write about the arts. I've gained a ton of knowledge that has already enhanced my writing.
Jackie Miller M.A. Arts Politics - 2008
Where are you from?
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
What was your background before attending this program?
I earned my B.F.A. in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts via the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Upon completing my undergraduate degree in 2002 I freelanced as a performing arts instructor for several arts organizations around the New York Metro area. From 2002-2006 I was a member of Real TheatreWorks, a company founded by Tisch School of the Arts alumni that was dedicated to providing a haven for the creation of new work and cultivating a diverse theatrical community whose social and political awareness informed its artistic endeavors. During this time I also accepted a position as Arts Coordinator for the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student life at NYU where I worked from 2004 until the spring of 2007.
What interested you in the Arts Politics program?
As Arts Coordinator for the Bronfman Center I was responsible for developing and implementing dynamic and engaging arts programs for not only NYU students but New York City’s greater downtown community as well. The social, religious and political interests and affiliations of the students and artists partaking in the programs I offered at the Bronfman Center varied greatly. My time at Bronfman Center in addition to my experience working with Real TheatreWorks inspired me to investigate further the ways in which performance can be used as a conduit for connecting people across social, ethnic and political divides. At this point I began looking for graduate programs that would help me achieve this goal which is what lead to my current position as a Masters student in the Arts Politics track at Tisch.
Describe the work you have done while in the program.
In this program I have been focusing on investigating the ways in which theatre created in a multi-ethnic collaborative context may encourage artists to explore their respective cultural differences. I am also interested in gauging the ability of theatre created in this way to draw multi-cultural audiences in order to examine the experiences it will provide them.
Where do you see yourself going?
In the future I hope to put these goals into practice either via traditional theatrical means or through similarly intentioned performance-based workshops.
