Art in Color
Season 5
Art, Life, Resistance
Season 5, Introduction
Art does not simply “imitate” life. Art IS life, in its most unadulterated, unabridged forms. Our brightest moments of humanity and darkest hours of adversity are recorded, without fail, in a world full of color, language, movement, sound, taste, space, and time. From racial and social injustice to a world-altering pandemic, art became the life raft of many. Or, rather, it was exposed for what it always has been: a universal healing agent, a fearless tool of self-definition, an extension of our consciousness, and so much more. But how exactly does art make such an incredible impact on our individual human experiences and our capacity to grow, learn, endure, suffer, and love as a community? In Season 5 of Kinda Sorta Brown, we ask the big questions about art in our everyday lives and in times of immense turmoil. Tune in to this kick-off episode, and hear our hosts for the season (Narvella, Hope, Lena, Chase, and Nicole) discuss the transformative role of a major art form (from vocal performance to generational knowledge) in their lives!
This episode's hosts: Narvella Sefah, Hope Houston, Lena Diasti, Chase Leito, and Nicole Maria Mateo.
Comedy of Color: PWI-ing While Black.
Season 5, Mini Episode
Comedy is a vessel for the truth. Ever wondered why every great joke, every surprised laugh, feels like a realization? The art of laughing at oneself and the surrounding world, even when one might be more inclined to cry, is the art form by which movies like “Get Out” can elicit tears of laughter and sorrow, simultaneously. This is why the varied and many experiences of Black people in predominantly white societies, from driving while Black to exercising while Black, can be so tactfully spun into stories that get crowds out of their seats in an uproar, shocked by the humor inlaid in misfortune. Our own podcast team has quite a few of those stories, too, specifically about attending the University of Chicago. Join Lena in this episode as she introduces KSB’s own excursion into satirical comedy — our top 10 finalist submission to the spring 2021 NPR College Podcast Competition: “PWI-ing While Black”!
This episode's hosts: Lena Diasti, Hope Houston, Jon Brooks, Dinah Clottey, Chase Leito, and Daisy Okoye
White Out: Art History in Hue
Season 5, Episode 2
Countless artists of color have been erased from history books. In recent years, historians have been widening which artists receive their due recognition (like with Beethoven!), with many who work explicitly to fight whitewashed history. From composers of the classical era to iconic dancers of the 1900s, we’ll be taking a look at how artists have been forced to conceal their melanin - or how they have embraced and celebrated it in their art. In this episode, Narvella and Hope come to uncover the pure beauty of Black art and how Black and Brown folks have built the foundation of several art forms. In this episode, we are joined by our amazing guest Honey Crawford, a Collegiate Assistant Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies with the University of Chicago, with interests including global feminisms, critical race theory, public spectacle, and protest while centering her studies on the Afro Brazilian cultural performance. Tune in to hear more about the ways we can appreciate Black and Brown art, artists, and their history.
This episode's host: Narvella Sefah and Hope Houston
Policing Artistry
Season 5, Episode 3
Artists of color are constantly being told how they can and should engage with their art and consumers are always placing their own artistic expressions onto pieces that aren’t their own. But the real beauty of art is that art can be anything. And within its “anything-ness” art carries meaning, identity, and experience. But who gets to determine what one's art is? And how do BIPOC artists feel about others dictating what their art should be known as? What does it mean to police artistry?
This episode’s hosts: Nicole Maria Mateo and Chase Leito
Art Around the Block: A Student Creative Takeover
Season 5, Episode 4
In the finale for our fifth season “Art, Life, Resistance”, artists from all across the UChicago campus have partnered with the KSB Team to bring you an intimate look into what it means to create and share art for one’s self and in one’s community. This episode features breakdancers, sculptors, poets, and many more diverse artists who you won’t want to miss! For the KSB Team, it is an honor to feature all of these talented voices on the episode and we hope that this art exhibition delivered through your ears will make you feel the warmth, passion, drive, and artistry of stories and communities.
This is a very special episode for our team as we say bye (for now) to Daisy Okoye, our Lead Content Creator. Thank you Daisy for all of your dedication to the KSB Team and for giving life to the KSB mission each and every single season, and every single episode. The KSB Team and the KSFam will miss you immensely, but we wish you the best for your journey ahead!
This episode’s hosts: Hope and Daisy