Created to honor the lived experiences and the myriad of ways in which students have navigated day-to-day since the onset of the pandemic, Yale Schwarzman Center (YSC) today presents off the grid: projects for the moment, a virtual gallery featuring digital work that speaks to space, change, social justice and truth during the pandemic. off the grid will be on virtual display through the summer.
The exhibit features student artists and collaborators who have blended thought-provoking music, film, photography, poetry, dance, and other genres of multimedia storytelling to create a collection of eight inspired pieces.
With the theme of Navigation in mind, YSC invited undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students to utilize the Storyboard platform on its website as a digital interactive space. The inaugural prompt invited Yale makers to consider the themes of “adapting,” “resisting,” “reflecting,” “re-energizing” and “re-imagining,” as grounding tenets for creative production. The exhibit includes works from student across Yale University including the Divinity School, School of Medicine, and School of Music/Institute of Sacred Music.
Carl Holvick, assistant director of stakeholder engagement at YSC highlights, “What’s striking about this exhibit is the wide diversity of artists and complexity of their experiences in this moment. The pieces in this exhibit are inspired, reflective, hopeful and thought-provoking in ways that are personal and universal at the same time.”
off the grid artists include:
Picket Fences: Black Covid-19 Recollections
By Knowa Know, Yale Divinity School, Class of 2023
Noah Humphrey, aka Knowa Know has been attending a Master of Divinity program at Yale virtually from his home in Honolulu, Hawaii. He recently graduated from Whittier College with a BA in Religious Studies and a minor in Holistic Care. He explains, “I use poetry as my second voice infusing all my experiences from South Central LA, being a Black neospirtualist Christian, and my environments to perceive my soul speaking into my poetry. Overall, I see that my words move me and others forward with the more I know and vice versa. Thus, the more you know: Knowa Know!”
Artistic Sketches During the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Chang Su, Yale School of Medicine, Class of 2021
Chang Su was born in Xi’an, China, and immigrated to Calgary, Canada in high school. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BSE in Bioengineering and a minor in Chemistry. At Yale, she is involved in mentorship, community service, and the arts, serving as the Arts Programs Student Leader for the Program for the Humanities in Medicine and a member of the Program for Art in Public Spaces committee. In her free time, she loves to travel, draw, visit art museums, watch musicals/plays, write a dessert blog, play the flute, and Hulusi.
Everything’s Fine: An Original Song
By Caleb Kim, Berkeley College, Class of 2021
Caleb Kim is a senior majoring in Psychology. In his own words, “I’ve been translating for all of my life: between family and friends, between poetry and music, and between English and Korean. Outside of academics, I sing with a Korean cappella group, play the jangu, and perform spoken word poetry.”
Passage of Time, Passage of Space: A Visual Art Piece
By Alice Mao, Morse College, Class of 2024
Alice Mao is a first-year undergrad studying art with a concentration in painting/printmaking. Find her online at alice-mao.com or on Instagram @alicemaoart.
Dido & Aeneas: An Opera-Film with Parallel Audio and Visual Narratives
By The Opera Theatre of Yale College, directed by Katharine Li, Benjamin Franklin College, Class of 2021 (Graduated December 2020)
Katharine Li grew up splitting time between Plainsboro, NJ and Beijing, China. She was an English major in Benjamin Franklin College. She is an opera singer, director, visual artist, and writer.
This is My Current Truth: Photos Taken During the Pandemic
By Nikki Whang, Yale School of Management, Class of 2022
Nikki Whang is a visual artist currently based in New Haven, Conn. Her work centers on aspects of her identity and often explores the intersection of Asian-American identity. Nikki’s past work included public and performative art.
“Poppies”: a Poem Born from Journal Writing in Spring 2020
By Makayla Conley, Benjamin Franklin College, Class of 2023
Makayla Conley is a rising junior in Benjamin Franklin college at Yale, where she studies neuroscience and Spanish. She started exploring her passion for poetry more formally at Yale and is excited to share her work with the community. She now lives with her family and chickens in central Tennessee.
Hear My Prayer: Engaging Dance & Choral Music
By Maura Tuffy, Yale School of Music/Institute of Sacred Music, Class of 2021/2022
Maura Tuffy is a soprano and conductor whose mission is to catalyze collaboration across all artistic fields. She holds degrees in vocal arts and choral music from the University of Southern California and is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Choral Conducting at the Yale School of Music/Institute of Sacred Music. Through her art, Maura aspires to cultivate progressive change in the arts and strengthen the ties of musicians to the communities they serve.