Arts@LC’s Fall 2024Newsletter is out! Read on for more information (and pretty photos!) from the fall to see how Arts@LC “connects and amplifies the fine arts at Lewis & Clark: Music, Theatre, Dance, Art and Creative Writing.”
During homecoming weekend, four distinguished faculty members (Kim Stafford, Reiko Hillier, Mike Mirabile and Pauls Toutonghi) read from their respective published works within the last year, followed by a Q&A.
Rebecca Lingfelter and Katherine Fitzgibbon Credit: Nina Johnson
Letter from Arts@LC Co-Directors
Rebecca Lingafelter & Katherine FitzGibbon
As the semester comes to a close, the campus is lighting up with performances, art exhibits, final project presentations, and more! It is a glorious time of year to celebrate the arts as an integral part of the Lewis & Clark experience.Rebecca Lingafelter and Katherine FitzGibbon with Ask Dr. Carla at New Student Orientation Credit: Nina Johnson
This fall started off on a high note with a very special performance by our 2024-25 Native Artist/Scholar, Anthony Hudson, of “Ask Dr. Carla.” They performed as part of L’s New Student Orientation for an engaged and raucous group of first years, the event created an opportunity to reflect on the legacy of Lewis & Clark through sharp humor and phenomenal drag performance.
Anthony returned to present an excerpt of his upcoming memoir Looking for Tiger Lily at an intimate reading for students and the general public.
October saw the arts exploding around campus including a performance from In a Landscape:
Hunter Noack performing IN A LANDSCAPEClassical Music in the Wild, a truly extraordinary vent that brought together students, faculty, staff and the larger Portland community to experience the magic of Hunter Noack’s piano playing amidst the extraordinary beauty of the Estate Gardens.
Seeing our students, friends, and colleagues lying on the stage, putting their hands on Hunter’s exquisite grand piano to feel the vibrations of the music, is an image we will not soon forget. We’re also pleased that the event raised over $12,000 for Lewis & Clark’s Arts programs!
We also hosted our annual Arts@LC Tailgate, welcoming the community to create innovative signs and hats and sharing snacks and dance music) to support our football team in their Homecoming game. October also had the annual Rogers Concert and guest performances by jazz artists, the vocal groups In Mulieribus and Artemisia, and visiting writers Marlena Williams and Aamina Ahmad.Lewis & Clark Winter Choral Concert, directed by Katherine FitzGibbon Credit: Clair Agatep
November ushered in performances across campus including the Theatre and Music department’s production of the musical Into the Woods, student recital performances, and the opening of On Being a Porous Boundary at the Hoffman Gallery.
Lewis & Clark College presented Stephen Sondheim's musical “Into the Woods”in Fall 2024 Credit: Owen Carey 2024, all right reservedThe EAR Forest continued to be a source of inspiration for students, faculty, and visiting artists.
Artist John Niekrasz worked with classes across the arts departments and has been creating a new installation for the EAR Forest. The Cappella Nova choir students created and premiered, with the support of EAR Forest TA Anais Batiz-Fischetti ’25, a 10-minute EAR Forest installation interweaving the music and spoken word of the renowned African American women’s vocal group Sweet Honey in the Rock, who celebrated their 50th anniversary last season and visited campus to record material for the EAR Forest as part of the anniversary celebration. Additional LC classes are in the process of creating new installations, which will be made available to the general public soon via a new interactive sign that enables visitors to select installations on demand.
We also continued our Watzek First Friday series, including a choral and voice performance in October, a duet from Into the Woods in November, and finally a December demonstration of work from Eric Nordstrom’s contact improv class accompanied by a live cello performance.
Watching students enter Watzek with faces filled with final exam anxiety soften and smile at the sight of a group rolling, jumping, and tumbling through the library atrium was a reminder of what the arts are all about; taking a moment to wake us up to the everyday miracles that are occurring around us.
We are already looking ahead to the spring, planning a field trip for students to join Anthony Hudson at the Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center for his exhibit “Transgressors,” an
exhibit presenting now and future Indigiqueer ancestors who move beyond boundaries in life and art. The trip will include a tour of the exhibit and an artist talk.
We are also working with the Strategic Planning Committee to continue to consider the ways that the arts are woven into the vision for the future of the college. We value all of the ways the arts already touch so many areas of the college; we’re grateful for ongoing partnerships with Admissions, Advancement, Alumni and Parent Programs, the Arts Advocacy Council, Bates Center for Entrepreneurship, Campus Living, Career Center, Communications, Conferences & Events, the Dean of the College, Facilities, the Festival of Scholars and Artists, First-Year Experience and New Student Orientation, General Education, the Platteau, and Student Life, to name a few!
As the Co-Directors of the Arts@LC Initiative, we continued to be so inspired by the work that our students and colleagues create in all aspects of the arts. We see the arts building community, belonging, collaboration and creative vision around the future of our world and are deeply gratified to have the opportunity to support and uplift this work. We hope to see you soon at an arts event around campus!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Lingafelter,
Associate Professor of Theatre, Co-Director of Arts@LC
