Byline: Mercy Calvo-Cruz and Brenda Sanchez Barrera.
The Fluidity of Art is a podcast that highlighted student creatives and artists that exist in CSUDH. The series consisted of five episodes where artists were able to talk and share their creations. Throughout the semester, we interviewed poets, artists, musicians, and cinematographers.
The idea of the Fluidity of Art blossomed after the publishing of “Art Saves And Heals; Celebrating Black Student Artists.” As directors and producers, our goal was to expand the voices of Toro creatives, so we decided to continue it as a column, eventually evolving into a podcast series.
LESSONS AND CHALLENGES
Brenda Sanchez
Writing a column was definitely a learning experience for myself, it was the first time I had collaborated with someone on a project like this. As a naturally shy and quiet person, I was challenged to break out of my shell and approach students on campus to ask them about their art. The most difficult part was when we transitioned from articles to podcasts. I had little to no experience with recording or conducting interviews, so recording a podcast interview felt a bit foreign to me. However, I felt myself feeling more comfortable as time went on.
Mercy Calvo
When we started the column, we had the opportunity to interview several talented individuals. In the conversations, there seemed to be a special sense of emotion and passion in what the artists had to say. I found transforming the column into a podcast format to be great. The podcast allowed us to showcase that emotion and passion to the audience from the source. It was interesting to record an interview-style podcast, as my prior experience focused more on entertainment.
Mercy Calvo-Cruz and Brenda Sanchez Barrera:
Mercy Calvo
From the moment I set foot on CSUDH back in 2019, I had the pleasure to be able to interacting with several creative and talented individuals on campus. Starting the series we were able to give those students a platform to be able to speak about their passion for their individual arts. In creating the podcast I was able to learn and reflect about the different communities that exist on campus. By bringing attention to the art community on campus, I hoped that students who are not yet familiar with the art culture, could find a place of belonging within the community that interests them the most, whether it is the poets, writers, singers, or painters. We also hoped to highlight the students’ talents and showcase their work.
Brenda SanchezFrom the beginning, the Fluidity of Art was meant to highlight the many talented students on campus. We felt that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the way creatives on campus interacted with each other, as well as how much exposure their art received. Various creatives that we spoke with mentioned that the pandemic made it difficult for them to stay motivated or to connect with others, so our goal with the column was to create a space for creatives to express themselves and their art. In addition to this, we hoped that the audience would learn more about what it is like to be a creative on campus.
Although we don’t know if it’s the end of series like the fluidity of art at CSUDH, it is the end of our series “The Fluidity of Art.” We also hope people feel and continue to feel inspired, by the voices featured, to follow their own creative desires. As we sign out for the semester, we also hope the CSUDH community continues to recognize the talent among our fellow Toros.
Listen to our final podcast episode of “The Fluidity of Art,” linked on the csudhbulletin.com where we recap our series.
