Broad and High by WOSU features Members who Built Bridges with Artists in Cuba

We love WOSU and their coverage of art in Columbus, and they seem to love us too! In a new longer format video, they cover how art can build bridges between people as a fountain of communication and connection that supersedes language barriers; an experience that was shared by many who returned to Havana, Cuba earlier this year. Our members who went on this trip experienced exactly that, and share their experience during interviews in this video.

Karen Albanese Campbell shares her thoughts as an artist who is used to being in a shared space, like here at Phoenix. Her experience in Cuba brought into a new light while working in the shared studios in Cuba, how everyone is so warm, friendly, and relies on that space for human connection simply by making art together. “I had to ask myself… am I going to the same level that these artists are supporting each other?… I think that American community is all “on my terms” with caller ID, I can choose to not talk to someone… and [with] the Cuban artists together, its like there’s no barriers between them, they’re just all together spending time making art, and spending time and very energetic, and watching the way they laughed with each other. You’d never know that Cuba has some of the financial kinds of struggles that it does by watching these artists you’d think that everything is great in the world when you watch the way they enjoy being with each other.” – Karen Albanese Campbell

Christine D’Epiro Abbott discusses her time through the lens of shared conversation, sparked by world renowned Cuban Artist, Abel Barroso. She and other artists on the trip were challenged to use a motif of the boomerang, often used by Abel, representing a journey, leaving and returning . Like a boomerang, their travels both expand to where they go but also where they return to, and  what they may gather along the way, ” it all being a dialogue between home and Cuba.”

“It was a special experience to take that experience home in order to bring it to a resolve,  and I think that’s something that’s really special about this trip, is when you’re thinking about ideas in your home studio, and how other artists respond to it, what it means in a totally different country, what it means to develop ideas there and bring it home and then bring it to fruition was a really important part of the trip.” -Christine D’Epiro Abbott

Many clips feature our members as well as friends of Phoenix Rising Printmaking like Char Norman, Helen Holfelt, and Meryl Engler in this dynamically collaborative studio and community. Printmaking draws artists together to share, to inspire, to collaborate and we’re lucky to have our community here in Ohio and have members leave Ohio to share and collaborate and return newly inspired and enriched.

Thank you to WOSU for covering such a community focused story, and showing the strength of art beyond barriers and boarders! Make sure you watch the whole video and share with your friends! https://video.wosu.org/video/building-bridges-with-art-ityivp/