Arts, Media, & Culture
Artistic expression opens up the ability to examine humanity at its core. From documentary to paint, journalism to dance—all forms of art and media have the power to preserve and transform culture. The ways in which this may engage social change are endless. Storytelling has historically been used to convey realities and raise critical awareness. Mural paintings can serve as large-scale tools for advocacy and reclamation. Literature and music change the ways in which we share information and look at the world. As a common point of reference, arts, media, and culture ultimately bring people together in viewership, production, and experience and can serve as a critical avenue of social action and change.
Engaged Scholarship Opportunities
There are several ways to get involved with arts, media, and culture on Swarthmore’s campus outside of the classroom.
Arts in Action — A faculty-led initiative of the Lang Center, Arts in Action brings together artists, students, faculty, and staff to engage with the arts for building community and to explore creative and transformative possibilities at the individual and community level.
Swarthmore Film Club — If you are interested in screenwriting or filmmaking, try joining Swarthmore’s Film Club. Each semester the club writes, directs, and produces two short films that are premiered at the end of the semester. No experience is necessary, all are welcome to join.
Storyboard — If you have more experience in filmmaking, photography, and writing, consider joining the Storyboard team, a Project Pericles funded summer program that teaches high school students storytelling for social change.
Connect
Key Faculty & Staff
- Pallabi Chakravorty, Professor of Dance and Director of Arts in Action Program at the Lang Center
- Ron Tarver, Visiting Associate Professor of Studio Art
- Katie Price, Lang Center Point Person for Arts in Action
- Patricia White, Eugene Lang Research Professor and Department Chair of Film & Media Studies
- Rodney Evans, FMST Visiting Assistant Professor
- Syd Carpenter, Professor of Art
- Christopher Fraga, Latin American and Latino Studies Coordinator
- Edwin Mayorga, Assistant Professor of Educational Studies
- Paloma Checa-Gismero, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History
Centers
- List Gallery
- Kitao Gallery
- Olde Club (Venue)
- Media Center
Student Groups
- Film Club (Ariana Hoshino, ahosin1@swarthmore.edu)
- War News Radio (Juliane Ding, jding1@swarthmore.edu)
- Artists Striving to End Poverty (ASTEP)
- OASIS (Our Art Spoken in Soul, Swarthmore's spoken word poetry collective)
- Voices (Tiffany Wang, twang2@swarthmore.edu)
- Rhythm N Motion Dance Company (Julia Zimmerman jzimmer1@swarthmore.edu)
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WSRN (Tiffany Zheng, tzheng1@swarthmore.edu)
Learn
Act
On-Campus Opportunities
- Apply for a summer grant (each year, one or more students is awarded from the 1961 Fund for Arts and Social Change)
- Apply for an International Reporting Summer Fellowship
- VISIBILITY Magazine
- Write for the Arts Section of the Swarthmore Phoenix
- Write for Voices
- Write for the Swarthmore Review
Off-Campus Opportunities
- Asian Arts Initiative
- Bolivian Express
- Courtyard Dancers
- Dance for PD
- Wayfarer Entertainment
- Centro Arte para la Paz
- YoungArts
- Moving in the Spirit
- Not an Alternative
- NIA Center
- Anderson Sustainable Garden
- NARRATIVE 4
- First Person Arts
- Pig Iron Theatre
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- Chester Children’s Chorus
- Kimbell Art Museum
- Mural Arts Program
- Scribe Video Center Internships
- Village of Arts and Humanities
Projects
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Storyboard - Storyboard was founded by Rebecca Castillo, Ariana Hoshino, and Tiye Pulley in 2017. Funded by the Project Pericles grant, Storyboard offers affordable programs to underserved youth in urban areas. Throughout these programs, students will learn how to use photography, filmmaking, writing, and graphic design to share their stories and impact their communities by highlight important social justice issues.