‘Abbott Elementary’ breaks boundaries at the 74th Emmys, wins three accolades

Photo courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Wikimedia Commons.
“Abbott Elementary,” a mockumentary-comedy in its second season, was awarded three Emmys.

By Oakley Marton ’25

Staff Writer

It’s rare that a show featuring a self-described “underfunded and poorly-managed public school in America” wins three Emmys. It’s even rarer that it’s a comedy show. Yet “Abbott Elementary” is quickly becoming one of America’s favorite shows, winning awards that have broken barriers for Black creators and actors last Monday, just before the show’s highly anticipated second season released on Wednesday, Sept. 21.

“Abbott Elementary” is a mockumentary-style workplace comedy about teachers at an underfunded, majority-Black elementary school in Philadelphia. The show has received rave reviews from critics like The Guardian and The New York Times, a 98 percent Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and an average of eight million viewers across all platforms. 

The show’s large fan following from teachers has been particularly heartwarming to the cast and crew. This relationship is exemplified by a resolution from Helen Gym — a former teacher and current city council member of Philadelphia — to honor Brunson for the creation of the show, according to the Philadelphia City Council Twitter. This week, the cast and crew found themselves celebrated in a new arena — the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Quinta Brunson — producer, lead actor and writer for “Abbott Elementary” — was nominated for three Emmys at the 74th Emmys on Sept. 12, becoming the first Black person to be nominated in three different comedy categories in the same year. 

“She’s a triple threat,” Warner Bros. TV chairman Channing Dungey said of Brunson in an interview with Variety. “There are very few people I would consider her peers.”

 Brunson was born in Philadelphia, where her mother worked as a teacher. She grew to internet fame by making viral comedy videos for Buzzfeed from 2014 to 2018. She then left to star on HBO’s “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” later beginning work on “Abbott Elementary.”

According to People, Brunson was inspired by her own experiences in her mother’s classroom and even named the show after Mrs. Abbott, her favorite teacher. The show’s majority-Black cast and its candid takes on public education are far from the norm in Hollywood, yet its authenticity and character-driven comedy put it among the most highly broadcast shows on television.

While its fanbase boomed, the show received seven Emmy nominations this year — including for Outstanding Comedy Series — and won for Outstanding Writing in A Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actress and Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series. Quinta Brunson was the second Black woman to win the writing category, the first being Lena Waithe in 2017 for Netflix’s “Master of None.” Sheryl Lee Ralph, the “Dreamgirls” star who plays the no-nonsense veteran teacher Barbara on “Abbott,” was the second Black woman to win in that category since Jackée Harry in 1987 for “227.” In her acceptance speech, Ralph sang an excerpt from “Endangered Species” by Dianne Reeves. “I’ve been singing that song for years because I think of myself as an artist, as a woman, especially as a woman of color — I’m an endangered species. I don’t sing any victim song. I’m a woman. I’m an artist and I know where my voice belongs,” she stated at the end of her speech. Harry tweeted to Ralph after her win, saying, “For 35 years I’ve been the only Black woman to win Outstanding Supporting Actresses in a Comedy Series. But that all changes tonight … and it’s come full circle!”

“I think of myself as an artist, as a woman, especially as a woman of color — I’m an endangered species. I don’t sing any victim song. I’m a woman. I’m an artist and I know where my voice belongs.”

— Sheryl Lee Ralph

In this emotionally-charged atmosphere that celebrated the talent of Black artists whom institutions like the Emmys rarely recognize, some were frustrated at Emmy host Jimmy Kimmel’s joke before Brunson’s win, wherein he pretended to be so inebriated that the category announcer had to drag him out from backstage. A controversy emerged, with concerned fans and stars, including Ralph, expressing that Brunson needing to step over his body to give her acceptance speech felt disrespectful and took away from the moment, according to HuffPost. 

After the show, Brunson commented, “I think in that moment, I was just really happy that it was Jimmy up there,” who she has described as a “comedy godfather” and one of the first to watch “Abbott.” She continued, “I don’t know, tomorrow maybe I’ll be mad at him. I’m gonna be on his show on Wednesday, so I might punch him in the face,”she joked. “I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”

That Wednesday, during his “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” monologue, Brunson “interrupted” Kimmel, walking onto the stage in a sparkling pink dress, Emmy in hand. “I have a little favor to ask, actually,” she said once the cheers for her had died down. “So you know how when you win an Emmy, you only have 45 seconds to do an acceptance speech, which is like, not that much time?” she asked him rhetorically, tampering down a grin. “Then you get less time, because someone does a dumb comedy bit that goes on a bit too long?”

“You know, I have heard of that happening in previous years,” Kimmel joked. 

“Right, right. Well, I was wondering — or more, demanding — if I could I have a couple of extra minutes to thank a couple of extra people I didn’t get to on Monday night,” Brunson continued. The crowd burst into cheers again as Kimmel exited and Bruson recreated her acceptance speech, thanking different comedy writers that inspired her: Channing Dungey, the first Black American president of a major broadcast TV network, “the internet for raising me and to all my ‘Abbott Elementary’ writers watching, I wouldn’t have this without you. Now, please go to bed. We have work tomorrow — even though you’re adults and I have no jurisdiction over when you sleep,” she finished, ending with a smile wrapped in the glow of the gold trophy she carried. 

Brunson’s comedic strengths and the power of her fans helped her steer the conversation back to the highly anticipated season two of Abbott Elementary, and the unique place it’s carving out on television right now. On the red carpet, the showrunner reflected on what it meant to her to write a show that resonated with so many, especially teachers. “My mom was a teacher. I was so close to it all my life. I was in my mom’s class. Schools like Abbott, with Black children and Black teachers who care about them, they’re very special places. Places of community and safety and morals and intense humor.” 

Abbott Elementary is a love letter to teachers, filtered through the intense humor Brunson and the cast cultivate so well. This season, the show will be diving into new storylines of characters like Barbara, the oldest teacher, learning how to make her class accessible to a student who uses a wheelchair; Melissa, a veteran teacher managing high class sizes and, of course, many will be watching closely to see if Gregory and Janine’s will-they-won’t-they grows into something more. Season two, episode two of “Abbott Elementary” premieres on ABC Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 9 p.m. EST.

‘Concourse: New Dances by Barbie Diewald and Shakia The Key’ debuts on campus, combines contemporary dance with hip-hop

Photo by Rosemery Geib ’23.
“Concourse: New Dances by Barbie Diewald and Shakia The Key,” combined parts of contemporary dance and hip-hop in appreciation of each genre.

By Jada Jackson ’26

Staff Writer

“Concourse: New Dances by Barbie Diewald and Shakia The Key,” which took place in the Kendall Sports & Dance Complex on Sept. 16 and 17, did exactly as its name suggests. By definition, a concourse is a coming together of two or more things, and the performance was just that: a breathtaking blend of both contemporary dance and hip-hop. The two styles of dance have been pitted against each other since their inception, yet their conjunction created an experience that made it hard to look away and showed love to both genres. 

The show began with a few moments of silence, allowing the audience to sit with each other before the dancing started. As the lights illuminated three of the dancers, Assistant Professor of Dance and “Concourse” choreographer Barbie Diewald revealed herself to the audience. Aside from the soft music playing — which almost controlled the dancers — all that could be heard in the theater was the movement of bare feet and the melodic voices of the performers. The dancers maneuvered with calculated steps around vases, which represented new beginnings. “Each time I found out a new friend was pregnant, I filled another vase,” Diewald explained in the program. Their movements were paired with soft harmonies and the squeaks of their soles. As the piece continued and the sound grew to an almost ear splitting volume, they began to sing. The performance became more fluid and less statuesque. They danced, “fluid[ly] with each other… kind of like supportiv[ly],” Cindy Palacios ’26 commented. 

As they danced, they held onto each other, pushed each other and caught each other. It appeared to be a tug of war between the performers. In the end, the dancers took their original form, mimicking the beginning of the performance. The music ended, the singing stopped and the dancers stilled. 

After a round of applause and a standing ovation, the room filled with music one would expect at a house party. The lights were no longer soft — they instead morphed into a dark red. The entire crowd had a different energy, a 180-degree shift from the still, focused tone during Diewald’s earlier performance. The dancers brought out an energy that contrasted yet complemented the prior part of the show. They physically supported each other just as much, though they were more vocal. The dancers acted as their own hype men, and the crowd joined in. Hip movements were prominent throughout this piece, displayed in its whining and twerking. Even the faces of the dancers brought high energy with tongues out and faces scrunched together. As the dancers came on and offstage, the audience was presented with entrancing movements once again before the tone shifted.

The audience was still hyped up. The live drums demanded attention, but the music shifted and only a single person, Amisi Nazaire-Hicks, stood onstage. The lights were no longer red but a sensual orange and purple. “The drum is our heartbeat,” the program reads — and in this piece it surely was. The music picked up and she danced. Her body moved in tandem with the music. The music was in her blood, except this time it wasn’t energizing hip-hop but sensual R&B and Afrobeats. Her form was focused but also free — she was free. 

The piece switched back to more energized music. It was loud again, but the lights were bright white. The dancers crept in and out as they danced, telling the same story but in different movements. A dance circle, again showing their support for one another, made the audience shimmy their shoulders along with the dancers on stage. 

The final piece — the true concourse — was a beautiful blend of both Diewald’s and Assistant Professor of Dance and “Concourse” choreographer Shakia “The Key” Barron’s forms of dance. Audience member Melanie Leriche ’26 felt empowered while watching the final piece. “There were no words, it was all based off of emotion and movement. They didn’t need any words. … It was very empowering… as a whole [to see] different [people] coming together to express a story,” she said.

“There were no words, it was all based off of emotion and movement. They didn’t need any words. … It was very empowering… as a whole [to see] different [people] coming together to express a story.”

— Melanie Leriche ’26

“Concourse” is an empowering work of art that combines two completely different yet inextricably intertwined genres in the name of empowerment, support and the importance of movement as a form of healing. Diewald and Barron put their very souls into the show and audiences left seeing both genres as companions rather than the enemies they are made out to be. Despite their differences, the necessity of dance is the same in both genres.

Metropolitan Museum of Art under scrutiny for possessing trafficked antiquities

Photo courtesy of Hugo Schneider via Creative Commons.
Pictured above, the Metropolitan Museum of Art entrance in Manhattan, New York City. The museum is repatriating 27 works of art — valued at over $13 million — back to Rome, Greece and Egypt.

Lily Hoffman Strickler ’23

Staff Writer

The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art has found itself in the international spotlight following the seizure of 27 works of art from its collections by investigators. Altogether, the pieces taken — which are reported to have been looted from ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt — are valued at over $13 million. 

The seizure was conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Antiquities Trafficking Unit. The group — which includes art experts, criminal investigators and prosecutors — tackles issues relating to the “elite” side of the New York art scene and the repatriation of looted artwork, according to The Atlantic. The methods by which The Met collects their art have been scrutinized by investigators over the past couple of decades, with many of their policies and procedures also under examination. The reclaimed art, which includes pieces such as the marble head of Greek goddess Athena and a bronze statuette depicting the Roman god Jupiter, will be returned to their places of origin in a repatriation ceremony, Smithsonian Magazine reported. 

This repossession has prompted discussion surrounding problems in the art acquisition processes used by museums and the increasing amount of art discovered to have been sold or obtained under illegal and unethical pretenses. According to The Atlantic, the Antiquities Trafficking Unit has impounded over 3,600 pieces of art over the past decade, culminating at around $200 million worth of art obtained through organized trafficking. 

When it comes to what the process of repatriation of art is like once it is in the possession of a museum — collector or auction house — Associate Curator of Visual and Material Culture and NAGPRA Coordinator at Mount Holyoke College Art Museum Aaron Miller is the one to ask. “Any institution that has taken federal funds is required to assess their collection, do an inventory and reach out to communities that are actually represented in the collection,” says Miller. Most of the decision-making power, he continued, resides on the side of the museum — not the government or state. 

This is not the first time the Metropolitan Museum of Art has come under scrutiny for unethical art acquisition. In 2019, the museum was under review and returned a looted coffin from Egypt, in 2021 returned two Nigerian artifacts and in August 2022 returned looted art from Nepal. It is necessary that establishments conduct the necessary review and research before they come into possession of art — especially when lack of money and resources do not pose an issue. “The numbers are rapidly adding up,” Tess Davis, the executive director of the Antiquities Coalition said in an interview with The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists regarding the seizures at the Met. “In what other context could you make headlines so often for holding stolen property and not face any consequences?” 

Miller does not believe this surge of investigations and seizures poses a threat to the museum industry. “It’s an interesting moment for institutions that have monumental works that they’re very much attached to, because these are often things that those source communities are also attached to getting back.”

The Antiquities Trafficking Unit has repeatedly investigated The Met closely regarding art trafficking, with the recent seizure creating widespread publicity when articles from The New York Times and NPR made their way to the Google trending page. Given recent movements for stolen art to be returned to its rightful owners — especially art from colonized countries — investigations like these ensure that pressure is building upon art collectors. This pressure requires collectors to rethink the fundamentals of buying art, and consider how it might be done so that not only the objects are protected, but the culture and history that created them.

Netflix’s ‘Heartstopper’ centers LGBTQ+ representation with queer love story

Graphic by Rose Cohen ’22.

By Rose Cohen ’22

Arts & Entertainment Editor

If you are looking for a heartfelt LGBTQ+ teen drama full of longing glances, moments of yearning and killer chemistry between its two leads, you might want to watch “Heartstopper,” a new Netflix original series about two students attending a British all-boys secondary school. While the romantic relationship that unfolds between the main characters may be unsurprising, viewers seeking shows that explore LGBTQ+ issues should not be bothered by this fact since there are only a number of shows on television featuring this type of queer relationship — one defined by innocence and love. 

Based on the Webtoon by English author and artist Alice Oseman, “Heartstopper” focuses on the blossoming romance between the empathetic, anxious Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and rugby king Nick Nelson (Kit Connor). In the first episode, which premiered on April 22, the two meet in secondary school when a teacher assigns the unlikely pair to sit next to each other. From their first encounter, Charlie and Nick form a strong bond, attending parties together, sending comforting messages to one another and meeting each other’s families. 

The type of love that unfolds between Charlie and Nick is predictable — early on in the series, Charlie, who is openly gay, develops a crush on Nick, who has never questioned his identity as a heterosexual man. When the pair begin spending more time together, Nick must grapple with his sexuality and come to terms with the nature of his feelings for Charlie. Some of the show’s best moments arrive as Nick struggles to figure out what Charlie means to him. When the two communicate via Instagram messaging, for example, and Nick offers Charlie a chance to talk about a difficult relationship in his life, it’s obvious how significant Charlie is to Nick. The amount of undeniable chemistry between Locke and Connor plays a major role in how realistic the relationship between Charlie and Nick seems. In one scene, an emotional Nick opens up his laptop and hesitatingly types “Am i gay?” into his Google search bar. In her review of the show for Cosmopolitan, Editorial Assistant and Junior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer Emily Gulla focused on the importance of this sequence, writing, “Reacting to the series online, fans have been busy discussing the moment, pointing out how relatable the Google search and subsequent ‘Am I gay?’ quizzes available online are for queer people, especially teens.” 

While Charlie and Nick are the key players in “Heartstopper,” it would be remiss to not mention the secondary characters who are friends with the two main teenagers. There’s Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell), a lesbian couple who attend an all-girls school and help the show provide a more inclusive portrayal of what LGBTQ+ relationships can look like. There’s also Elle (Yasmin Finney), who allows the show to explore what it means to be a transgender person of color during teenagehood. 

Though the show contains few surprises in its first season, the relationship between Nick and Charlie and the story arcs of the supporting characters make “Heartstopper” one to watch.

‘ua, ia + ed present: Juice Box Party The Gallery Show’ celebrates friendship

Photo by Ali Meizels ’23.
From left: professor of art Lisa Iglesias, Olivia Brandwein ’22, Rua McGarry ’22, Fred Bird ’23 and assistant professor of art Amanda Maciuba pose at the “Juice Box Party” gallery opening.

By Liz Lewis ’22

Managing Editor of Content

The drab white walls of the Blanchard Hall Gallery exploded with vibrant color on the evening of April 22. The opening reception of “ua, ia + ed Present: Juice Box Party The Gallery Show,” the collaborative senior showcase of art studio majors Olivia Brandwein ’22, Rua McGarry ’22 and Fred Bird ’23 began at 6 p.m. 

The showcase’s title was fittingly unconventional — both in its play on the last two letters of each artist’s first name and in the phrase “Juice Box Party.” To the immediate left of the gallery’s entrance, a display block turned makeshift table was nestled in the corner, bearing juice boxes, stacks of colorful party hats, stickers and a bowl of crayons. Many of the couple dozen attendees donned the sparkly hats as they milled around the exhibits. The unmistakable slurping noise of apple juice whizzing through a plastic straw punctuated conversation throughout the night. 

The far corners of the room were each plastered with brightly colored patterns in full scale installations. McGarry’s wallpapered dining room scene titled “Make yourself at home” stood in the back left corner. To the right was Bird’s “FREDSCAPE,” a neon maximalist splash of stenciled patterns on layered handmade paper. A dollhouse constructed by Brandwein out of cardboard and found materials stood on a platform against the left wall in front of McGarry’s installation. A short film of looping vignettes featuring Bird and Brandwein — dressed as a clown and a mime, respectively — was projected on the opposite wall. In between these pieces hung countless other works, including prints by all combinations of the three artists and selections from drawings that Brandwein created as a child. 

Bird, Brandwein and McGarry became friends and collaborators this year while working in the art studio department. Upon seeing common and complementary themes in their individual practices, they decided to work together on a final showcase. 

According to the gallery statement, “The work of these artists explore ideas of domesticity, identity and play through prints, installations, video and mixed-media sculptures. The show is a celebration of collaboration and friendship.” 

In “Juice Box Party The Gallery Show,” collaboration is everywhere, from a blind contour drawing etched into magic scratch paper by all three artists, to Bird and Brandwein’s short film, to a collaborative print layering a design of a shadow puppet rabbit by Brandwein and a living room scene by McGarry. 

“It was really joyous,” Bird said of the collaborative process. “I feel like all of our works … [are] talking about difficult things like consumerism and bodies and identity, but there’s these exciting moments of enthusiasm and joy, so the space coming together and then the party just really topped it off.” 

Brandwein sees the approachable, celebratory theme as a way into more serious topics, including embodied identity, commodification and domesticity. 

“I think the three of us use things like humor, color and pattern as ways to invite the viewer in and act as entry points for exploring deeper concepts,” she said. 

McGarry highlights repeating images

McGarry’s “Make yourself at home” follows this sentiment in the communication of its theme. The piece features a table, set for one, and a chair facing a mirror hanging on the wall. Viewers are invited to sit at the table themselves. During the gallery opening, several attendees took mirror selfies while seated in the chair. 

“Make yourself at home” leaves no surface blank. Everything from the chair’s legs to the checkerboarded floor is covered in a pattern which layers relief stamps of grapefruit and nude bodies. This pattern is built from a combination of two of McGarry’s previous works. 

One of them, titled “I have eight,” features stamps of a torso repeated in a pattern, taking after the pop art movement to comment on the commodification of bodies. “I was like, what if, instead of soup cans, it was my body?” McGarry explained. In the other piece, “so happy you’re here (queer)” McGarry photographed her friends eating fruit as a meditation on queerness, which she described as a “play on being ‘fruity.’” 

These ideas manifest in the grapefruit and body stamps which cover every inch of “Make yourself at home.” 

“I was thinking about … the commodification and hypersexualization and objectification of queer people — where does that come from? When did I first think about that? It was at the dining room table,” McGarry said. “I think that those things often do come from your house and growing up. Your parents need to be pretty intentional to not be enforcing those ideas.” 

“I wanted to create a scene where people are invited to sit at that table and be surrounded by this … encompassing, overwhelming feeling,” McGarry said. Due to the placement of the well-worn mirror on the other end of the table, McGarry’s piece also invites viewers to “[eat] with themself,” according to the artist statement, and potentially examine their own biases about queerness and commodification in the process. 

Bird showcases maximalist art

If McGarry’s piece implicitly invites the viewer into weighty themes through color and pattern, Bird’s “FREDSCAPE” does so as explicitly as possible. The words “COME ON IN,” written across the floor in neon yellow tape, point towards the artwork, all overlaid with a grid constructed out of the same tape and neon pink paint. 

“FREDSCAPE,” which is also Bird’s thesis project, is a site-specific installation crafted from handmade paper, acrylic paint and found objects such as yarn, toy cars and a toy cash register. The recurring motif throughout the work is a floral pattern made through repurposed stencils from “a 1970s do-it-at-home kit marketed toward housewives,” according to the gallery statement. Bird “distorted [the stencils’] original usage and created a rich pattern filled with colors that nod to traditional stereotypes of gender in the United States,” his gallery statement elaborates.

“My whole thesis is talking a lot about maximalism, and using maximalist aesthetics and color and different things to portray my trans identity and my gender identity in a very visual, kind of chaotic culmination,” Bird said. 

The taped grid is another key element of the piece’s commentary on gender. “[The grid is] a lot to do with the conceptual themes of like, containment and … ways in which that fails and succeeds or affects my trans identity,” Bird said. These themes extend beyond “FREDSCAPE,” also present in his hand-cut stencil piece “play the fool” and “Fool 4 U/Be Mime,” a screen-printed adaptation of a frame from the short film he created with Brandwein. 

“This is really the culmination of my time in the art program,” Bird said. “It’s been really emotional, but also really great to see all the work kind of come to fruition and be my capstone and ending place in the art community at Mount Holyoke.” 

Brandwein discusses collections

Brandwein’s artwork on display included “Blueprint #1,” a cyan ink print made by manipulating bubble wrap and netting, and “The Jean Herald Collection,” a site-specific sculpture of archival boxes, the contents of which viewers could only view by appointment. According to the gallery statement, this requirement commented on “the multiple barriers to accessing art in an institutional setting.” 

Her centerpiece project, however, is “Apartment 1B:” a dollhouse modeled as three floors of a New York apartment building. Brandwein spent the year researching the history of dollhouses, particularly as they pertain to concepts of girlhood, home ownership and the American dream. Having grown up in Brooklyn apartments rather than houses, she had a different experience playing with her own dollhouse as a child. 

“My brother and I, we had this dollhouse where the attic space was accessible without opening up the [bottom floors],” Brandwein said. “We had two characters, a Pee-wee Herman action figure and a Harry Potter action figure, whose name was Zed and was devoid of any Harry Potter associations. But those two, they were roommates, and they lived in the attic apartment of this house, and the Fisher Price family that came with this dollhouse were the landlords.” She continued, “A lot of the narrative was, like, them skateboarding around, and then the family downstairs being mad at them. And then Pee-wee Herman working for the Old MacDonald farmer next door to, like, make his rent. … I don't think a kid in the suburbs would maybe imagine that kind of dynamic.” 

Brandwein explained that each resident of “Apartment 1B” is a collector — the top floor houses an art collector, the middle floor an egg cup collector and the bottom floor a snow globe collector. Their collections are on full display on every floor. 

Each floor also features found objects repurposed into furniture, wall hangings and other knick knacks. A metrocard, a stamp and a queen of hearts card hang from the walls of the art collector. A basket filled with the toothpick umbrellas usually reserved for beachy cocktails stands in the corner of the first floor apartment. The middle apartment’s floor is checkered with lettered tiles from the word game Bananagrams. 

To Brandwein, the spirit of Juice Box Party — the juice, the hats, the crayons and the energy and color of the art itself — is connected to the playful freedom so many of us are pressured to grow out of as we age. 

“I think all of our work thematically has to do with childhood,” she said. “The Blanchard Gallery is like this white cube, essentially. And like those spaces can feel really sterile and really static and kind of unwelcoming. And we were like, it doesn’t have to be like that. We’re gonna have a party, like we’re gonna make people wear party hats.”

“So often … to be a serious artist one thinks that you have to kind of take away that fun and humor, but that’s like really not the case,” Brandwein said. “Why can’t we keep having fun like that? Why can't we keep on just playing?”

Drag Ball returns to Mount Holyoke after two years

Photos by Tzav Harrel ’24.

Left: Mickey Pope ’23 and Steph Maldonado ’23 speak at Drag Ball. Right: a group of dancers perform onstage. FAMILIA, a support network for LGBTQ+ students of color, held Drag Ball on April 23.

By Siona Ahuja ’24

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Drag Ball made a comeback on April 23 after two years of hiatus due to COVID-19. Hosted by FAMILIA, Mount Holyoke’s support network for LGBTQ+ people of color, Drag Ball 2022 and its theme, “Gods and Goddesses,” celebrated the rich tradition of drag as a means to cultivate a “safe space for queer youth of color,” as described by the blog All Gay Long. Drag queen Sophya Medina, a New York-based makeup artist who won Miss Mundo Latina USA 2021, opened and closed the performances. Other performers included University of Massachusetts Amherst’s fusion dance group Dhadak, along with Mount Holyoke’s Jhumka, Holy Street and Rainbow Jelly.

‘Crossing Cultures’ exhibition, featuring Nilou Moochhala ’94, premieres at A.P.E. Arts Gallery

By Rose Cohen ’22 & Siona Ahuja ’24

Arts & Entertainment Editors

Photo by Nilou Moochhala '94

Suitcase from Nilou Moochhala ‘94’s, “My Very Own Suitcase Series,” which represents stages of the artist’s life. This artwork, along with the eight other suitcases in Moochhala’s series, was displayed at the A.P.E. Gallery in Northampton, Massachusetts from March 9 to April 1.

The sound of waves crashing set to projected clips of the ocean. A collection of white paper boats made by gallery visitors. Collages of vintage family photographs. These were some of the pieces on display at the “Crossing Cultures” exhibition at the A.P.E. Arts Gallery in Northampton from March 9 to April 1. 

The six visual artists whose work made up “Crossing Cultures” used five different regions to help define the themes of the exhibit. Throughout their pieces, lens-based artist Astrid Reischwitz, Peruvian Latinx Curator Claudia Ruiz Gustafson, Professor at Lesley University Vivian Poey, Iranian artist Shabnam Jannesari, Multidisciplinary Artist Nicolas Hyacinthe and Nymdesign Art Director Nilou Moochhala ’94 explored issues of identity, immigration and displacement through a variety of mediums, such as paintings, collages, photographs, videos and 3D installations. 

Displayed in the center of the gallery, a set of 10 multicolored suitcases, installed by Moochhala, seemed to tie these different parts of the exhibit together. Each piece of baggage included in Moochhala’s portion of the exhibition, titled “My Very Own Suitcase Series,” tells a different story about the various stages of the artist’s life. For instance, “Choddna (Leave)” highlights her departure from her hometown of Mumbai to study art at Mount Holyoke. Using colorful string and passport photos of her parents and siblings, Moochhala maps out the migratory journeys of members of her family. 

 “So it’s this sort of duality, right, that rises out of not belonging in any place,” Moochhala said, reflecting on the meaning of “Choddna (Leave).”

 “We were all foreigners to our own country,” she continued.

Graduating from Mount Holyoke as a studio art major with a concentration in economics, Moochhala went on to complete a special master’s program in graphic design at the Yale University School of Art. She credited the late Mount Holyoke Art History Professor Robert Herbert in “changing [her] pathway and allowing [her] to be creative.” 

Walking around her exhibit, a package full of labels for her artwork in hand, Moochhala pointed to certain family memorabilia featured in her work. Fragments of handwritten letters, an altar dedicated to colored pencils, glass vials and a sewing kit adorned the interiors of these mismatched pieces of luggage. “One actual common thread between all of us is family,” she said, referring to the artists featured in “Crossing Cultures.”

Moochhala chose to use suitcases to convey the idea of the “ugly” emotional baggage we carry around. “Well, the idea of crossing cultures and obviously leaving home, you go from one place to the other, and at the least that’s the one thing you bring with you,” she said, further explaining her decision to utilize suitcases. “It seemed to perfectly fit with the show.”

To Moochhala, suitcases alluded to the inevitable challenges faced by herself and other immigrants. “You are also a transcriber of your culture in another place. … How do you carry that [culture] forward into the next generation?” Moochhala said. 

Unlike the artwork of Hyacinthe and Reischwitz, Moochhala described her portion of the exhibition as more textural. 

“Each [suitcase] has to evoke a different sort of feeling and sensation, whether it’s floaty, whether it’s prickly, whether it’s inviting, whether it’s blocked,” Moochhala said. 

Standing beside her portion of the exhibition, which stood at the forefront of the gallery, Moochhala defined what art means to her. As Moochhala tried to put the mode of creativity into words, she explained that she thinks of artists as cultural storytellers. 

“Whether you’re a writer, an artist, musician, whatever creative discipline you’re in, you’re almost reflecting on what is going on currently, at this point in time, to everybody around you,” Moochhala said. “That’s a separate sort of way of seeing, right, it’s a separate perspective. So if you can get people to understand that and see it, then you’ve done your job.”

Junior Art Studio exhibit explores inner growth and spatial importance

By Lily Hoffman Strickler ’23

Staff Writer

Photo by Jenny Yu ‘24

On March 25, 10 pieces of art created by the Spring 2022 Junior Art Studio class adorned the second floor gallery of Blanchard Hall. The show, titled “Evoking Reality: Space and Self,” ran until April 2 and included artwork featuring a wide variety of mediums, ranging from 3D sculptures to digital and acrylic paintings. 

According to Associate Professor of Art and Chair of Art Studio Ligia Bouton, the pieces featured in the exhibition took three weeks for the artists to complete, with some of the pieces being a mashup of previously completed art projects from earlier in the semester. The exhibition was a walkthrough of the significant aspects of life and creativity for each artist, covering subjects such as the sexualization of women of color, the impact of human life on certain communities and even an ode to a deceased horse. Each piece included a wide range of differing artistic mediums, creating an air of vibrancy and inventiveness that expressed the passion that went into creating each piece of art.

Regarding the process that went into creating the artwork, Bouton explained, “There was no prompt; students were encouraged to follow their own creative trajectories.” 

This encouragement of creative freedom was clearly reflected in the art. Each piece served as an in-depth look into the lives, morals and mindsets of the Junior Art Studio artists. 

The artwork by Sarah Miller-Bartley ’24, titled “Strawberry Milk,” featured pink-painted plastic cows which were hung loosely in the folds of an equally pink canvas, attached by the canvas’ own threads. As written in Miller-Bartley’s artist statement, it is through this inclusion of both artistic material and mass-produced objects that they explore the hierarchy of art materials, bringing into question the validity of such classification in artistic environments. 

Miller-Bartley reflected on what it meant to display artwork at an in-person exhibition after such a long time of not being able to do so because of COVID-19. “It was really exciting to see everyone’s work together, especially after a long period of remote work,” Miller-Bartley said. “It’s satisfying to display a piece in an intentional and more final way, for viewing beyond the classroom.” 

For Laura Hinojosa ’23, another Junior Art Studio student, the process of developing her artwork and interest in pop culture began during the pandemic, when she returned home to Lima, Peru. 

“Due to the limited ability to leave my apartment building, I used media to entertain myself: watching movies, reading comic books, scrolling through Instagram/Tiktok/Twitter,” Hinojosa recalled.

This increase in Hinojosa’s social media usage led her to begin the process of creating her piece “Olympus,” a mixed digital art piece featuring American singer Doja Cat. According to Hinojosa, the piece is reflective of the stereotyping of women of color in media, and how they have been reclaiming their sexuality over time. 

“I became curious once more about media consumption and pop culture when I realized I was engaging with it a lot less,” Hinojosa said.“And so, I began to explore the Pop Art movement — Keith Haring, Yayoi Kusama, Yoshitomo Nara and Andy Warhol.” This rediscovery of pop culture and media led Hinjosa to create an art piece reflective of this thought process. 

“Evolving Reality: Space and Self” served as a space for artists to reflect on themselves as individuals through their artwork in a time where much of the outside world and our own inner selves are changing or have changed drastically. It was a personal look into an aspect of life each artist finds significance in, whether it be outward or inward, widely discussed or intimately individualized, all through a largely vibrant and liberally creative atmosphere.

Dearest Gentle Reader, ‘Bridgerton’ has returned with improved representation

By Jendayi Leben-Martin ’24

Staff Writer

Graphic courtesy of Gabby Gagnon ‘24

At the beginning of 2021, I wrote a review of the first season of “Bridgerton” in which I expressed that I was less than impressed with the series. However, the recently released second season has flipped my perception of the show, so much so that I’ve even been recommending it to anyone I can. Set in the early 1810s of England’s Regency era, this season turns its focus from Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), the eldest sister of the Bridgterton family, to Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), the family’s eldest son. Through Anthony’s journey to wed, viewers are introduced to new characters and new schemes, all with the same “Bridgerton” magic.

This season approaches race differently than the last. The first season of “Bridgerton” used colorblind casting and relied on insufficient justifications to explain the historically inaccurate racial diversity of London’s wealthy social scene, as the show suggested that racism ended when the king married a Black woman, making her queen. The second season, however, takes more care in exploring the narratives of its characters of color. Enter Kate and Edwina Sharma (Simone Ashley and Charithra Chandran), two sisters from India who have come to London for the courting season in order to marry off the youngest sister to a “respectable” man. Though there are times when they express their distaste for London — often portrayed by Kate’s hatred for English tea — the show depicts the two girls and their mother using traditional South Asian practices, and the representation is refreshing.

 Maahi Jaiswal ’24 spoke highly of the portrayal of a traditional wedding practice called a Haldi Ceremony, in which women rub turmeric on their skin. 

“I definitely think in other media in the past, that’s made by Western directors, it’s portrayed as really messy and really dirty,” Maahi said, referring to the ceremony. “But I think the way they portrayed it was really nice because they were together as a family. … It seemed really beautiful and respectful.”

While I have no complaints about the racial diversity this season, the show’s creators seemed to have done away with what little LGBTQ+ representation they had. In the first season, Benedict (Luke Thompson), the second eldest Bridgerton brother, had an ambiguous relationship with a married, gay artist, which threw his morality into question. However, this storyline is completely ignored in the recently released episodes. Of course, it is not expected that every detail from one season follows into another, but this change feels purposeful and — similarly to how this storyline was dealt with in the first season — not very thoughtful.

The new episodes of “Bridgerton” are a much needed redemption from those of the last season. They give viewers the same slow-burn, period piece romance that was featured previously, but with a bit less of the hyped up horniness — a welcome change. While this season showed improvement in its handling of race, it’s still not enough to be the show’s main draw. If you’re looking for a love story with endless drama, unmatched chemistry and stunning wardrobes, this season of “Bridgerton” is a must-see.

‘Red Rainbow’ staged at Rooke Theatre

By Rowan Berstein ’22 & Rose Cohen ’22

Staff Writer | Arts & Entertainment Editor

Photo courtesy of Wei Shao ‘22

The show’s lighting was by Rori Haft ‘25, with set design by Wei Shao ‘22

Beginning on March 31 and running through April 3, Rooke Theatre staged the first live, in-person production of Azure D. Osborne-Lee’s new full-length play, “Red Rainbow.” The play, which has its characters embark on a fantastical journey through a strange world, was selected as a part of the film, media, theater department’s effort to center nonwhite narratives.

Photo courtesy of Wei Shao ‘22

Mount Holyoke student actors perform in the first live, in-production of Azure D. Osborne Lee’s new full-length play, “Red Rainbow,” which ran from March 31 to April 3

“Red Rainbow,” directed by Theatre Arts major Zoë Fieldman ’22, follows a young woman named Ixchel (Arianna Peña ’25) as she and her friend Nathaniel (Adjoa Baidoo ’24) are transported through a circle of mushrooms to a magical world. Along with strange beings, like a sentient network of mushrooms, Ixchel meets gods and humans who help her connect with her Mayan heritage. They also teach her how to give her abuelita, whose spirit is caught between life and death, a proper funeral — one appropriate to her culture. 

Ixchel shares her name with a Mayan goddess of healing and midwifery, a fact that was explained in an insert in the show’s program, which elaborated on some of the cultural details found in the play.

Georgia Rose ’25, who played Sunface or El Sol Sí Mismo , an antagonist who pursues the main characters on their journey, had a positive experience acting in the play. “What I loved so much about this production was that it was very collaborative,” Rose said. “Whenever we had an idea or a concern, [Fieldman] was so open and took our thoughts into consideration much more than any other production I’ve been in.” 

Maelyn Brade ’25, who took on the role of Officer, echoed what Rose said about being involved in “Red Rainbow.”

“My experience working on ‘Red Rainbow’ has been nothing but magical, in more ways than one,” Brade said. “Throughout the process I feel I got to know more about the theater department, while also bonding with some amazing people.” 

Fieldman found it important to foster this kind of environment during the duration of the play and the rehearsals leading up to it. “I am much more interested in experimental and non-traditional work … under which the role ‘director’ looks much different than as we learn about it to be,” they said. “I wanted to choose a cast that would work with me and be excited about collaborating on their performance.”

Part of this collaborative process included stage combat, choreographed by Assistant Professor of Film Media Theater Noah Ilya-Alexis Tuleja. Sunface wields an axe in the play, intending to participate in a ceremonial battle between the Sun and the Morning Star, or Venus, representing the eternal conflict of the two celestial bodies. This relationship becomes a problem for the protagonists, as Sunface expects Nathaniel to take on the role of his adversary. 

“My quarantine hobby was learning from lightsaber videos on TikTok,” Rose said, “so, I think I was well prepared to handle the axe.”

It’s fitting that Rose drew inspiration for the role from her time in quarantine, as “Red Rainbow” takes place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Feelings of isolation and a desire to escape influence the characters’ motivations throughout the play. In fact, their journey begins with Nathaniel trying to get Ixchel out of the house after months of isolation. Additionally, many moments of comedy come from references to the pandemic, like Ixchel and Nathaniel struggling to put on their gloves and face masks. 

In an unexpected moment during the Saturday evening performance, one of Nathaniel’s ear loops snapped as he attempted to put on his mask. Baidoo quickly recovered with an improvised line about always bringing a spare, and was met with laughter from members of the audience ⁠— it seemed that many could relate to the feeling of a mask mishap.

Fieldman commented on Baidoo’s improvisation, “I encouraged the cast to have some fun with the script and to improvise a bit — though not too much or else our stage manager would have difficulty calling the show — as an attempt to work with a script that was also still in process.” 

The script of “Red Rainbow” is described as a “living document” in Fieldman’s director’s note, and the production at Rooke Theatre was the first time the show was staged in person after it was written in 2020 and initially premiered over Zoom. 

“It was my intention to find a new play going into this process,” Fieldman said. “ I am more interested in process oriented art making versus a more final product focus.” Future productions of “Red Rainbow” will likely look quite different from this one, but Mount Holyoke had a unique opportunity to showcase the play so early in its life. 

Editor’s note: Arianna Peña ’25 is a member of Mount Holyoke News.

Indigenous artists in residence present ‘Ancestral Memories’

By Lucy Oster ’23

Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Ellen Alvord ‘89

At “Ancestral Memories: Artists in Conversation,” a team of Indigenous Australian artists stand in front of a sculpture by Hector Dionico Mendoza

The Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, in collaboration with the University of Melbourne and a team of Indigenous Australian artists, hosted an event on Thursday, April 7, called “Ancestral Memories: Artists in Conversation.” 

The artists, Maree Clarke (Mutti Mutti/Wamba Wamba/Yorta Yorta/Boonwurrung), Nicholas Hovington (Palawa), Kerri Clarke (Boonwurrung/Wemba Wemba), Mitch Mahoney (Boonwurrung/Wemba Wemba/Barkindji) and Molly Mahoney (Boonwurrung/Wemba Wemba/Barkindji), are currently in residence at Mount Holyoke as a part of Assistant Professor of Anthropology Sabra Thorner’s “Special Topics in Anthropology: Decolonizing Museums” seminar. The class has been focusing on centering Indigenous knowledge practices and art making over a more colonial lens. 

Associate Curator of Visual and Material Culture and Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Coordinator Aaron Miller and Thorner opened the Ancestral Memories event. Thorner gave an updated version of the usual Mount Holyoke College land acknowledgment, urging audience members to understand the history of the Nonotuck land that the College is situated on. 

“I encourage all of you to learn about and to amplify the contemporary work of the Indigenous nations whose land you’re on, and also endeavor to support Indigenous sovereignty in all the ways that you can,” she said.

Thorner also connected her land acknowledgment to the artists. “Your engagement with and your witnessing of the work of these artists is part of that process, so I extend my gratitude to you for coming here today,” she said. 

“My own use of my own land acknowledgment is going rogue, right? I used my own because I feel like it’s more meaningful and more impactful and more accurate and more thoughtful than the one that is being presented to us to offer up as the official body of the College,” Thorner later shared.

After Thorner’s statement, Maree Clarke, one of the visiting artists, took over. Maree Clarke gave a presentation about her work as an artist reviving cultural practices in Southeastern Australia. She described herself as an “independent multidisciplinary artist and curator with more than 30 years working with First Nations people.” She spoke about Aboriginal art practices and how they are connected to country, culture and place, and shared stories about taking the teeth out of kangaroo roadkill to make necklaces. 

“[Maree Clarke] described the PowerPoint she presented as her life’s work. … It was going through everything she had done artistically and it was really cool to see how it had changed over the years, but also how she had gotten more influence from her family,” ​​Domenica Guaman ’22, an anthropology and Spanish major who attended the event, said. Guaman is also a student in Thorner’s seminar. 

Ellen Alvord ’89, the associate director for engagement and Weatherbie curator of academic programs, shared a similar sentiment to Guaman. 

“Understanding the scope of what [Maree Clarke has] done in her lifetime, to bring those practices back in her research, and in her connection with her family, and bringing in new generations to take up that practice — I thought that was really inspiring,” she said. 

Much of Maree Clarke’s presentation heavily involved her family, who were also present at the Ancestral Memories event. They sat at a table next to where Maree Clarke presented, acting as a panel for the question and answer session that followed Maree Clarke’s presentation. 

Erin Foley ’24, an anthropology and political science major who attended the event, said, “It was … really cool to see a multigenerational family working together collectively as artists.” Foley asked a question during the question and answer session about how their community has changed over the years, to which Kerri Clarke mentioned feeling “secure” in passing on cultural practices to the younger members of the family, Mitch and Molly Mahoney. 

The final product of Thorner’s “Special Topics in Anthropology: Decolonizing Museums” seminar is a collaboratively-made possum skin cloak as a form of Indigenous knowledge transmission. The visiting artists are at Mount Holyoke, guiding and teaching the students in that class how to make the cloak. The cloak is not yet complete, but the MHCAM is looking to acquire it once it is. 

“We are planning on putting the work into a show for the fall that focuses on some broad themes and conversations around indigeneity,” Miller said.

“The cloak and the conversation about the project on campus and the work that [Maree Clarke] and her family are doing: that’s going to be one conversation in a broader exhibition. Thinking about place, thinking about how objects end up in museums and then go home again. This is about reclaiming traditional ways and sharing those with communities,” Miller added.

Community was a common theme at the event. “I think that for me, [the event] really became about not only having the artists speak to and reach a broader audience in this bigger context of decolonizing museums,” Thorner said. “It also became about a kind of mission for me, to be like, ‘this has been so hard. I am going to stand up and thank everyone.’ And part of that is about forging community. This is hard, we’re in a hard moment, but it can be done. And it is so necessary to be in community and in solidarity with each other.”

Alvord concluded, “There’s just so much meaning, and so to think about having Mount Holyoke students be a part of that process, and have something involved in storytelling that’s meaningful in this moment, to that group, is really exciting.”

‘The Batman’ is a promising new take on a classic character

Rowan Bernstein ’22

Staff Writer

Graphic by Sunny Wei ‘23

If you, like me, have grown tired of watching the same kind of superhero movies in recent years, Warner Bros.’ most recent DC film, “The Batman,” might be the breath of fresh air you need. “The Batman” takes a different direction from previous DC and Batman films, functioning primarily as a noir-style mystery that showcases the caped crusader’s detective skills alongside his physical prowess.

Though it is a reboot of sorts, “The Batman” is not an origin story. Instead, director Matt Reeves relies on audiences already being familiar with the character of Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman, thanks to numerous retellings on film and television throughout the years. Though Bruce’s iconic backstory ⁠— witnessing the murder of his wealthy parents at a very young age ⁠— is often referenced and plays a role in the film’s story, it is not fully rehashed. This decision pays off. In its three hour runtime, the film rarely drags, in part thanks to the omission of this already familiar information. We are introduced to a version of Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) already in his second year as a masked vigilante, investigating a serial killer known as the Riddler (Paul Dano). Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne, too, is still learning what it means to be his city’s protector. 

This interpretation of Bruce Wayne is considerably different from the playboy type seen in films like the earlier “The Dark Knight” trilogy. Rather than putting on a sociable public facing persona and brooding in private, this version of the character struggles to hide his angst, only making public appearances in his fictional home of Gotham City when absolutely necessary, such as a funeral for the mayor. As Batman, he is skilled in combat as well as deduction, directly assisting the police in investigating crime scenes. Robert Pattinson is a perfect fit for the role, nailing Bruce Wayne’s frenzied drive to solve the case at hand and stop the Riddler, even at the expense of his own health. 

Batman may be a skilled detective, but Dano’s Riddler is always two steps ahead of him. As he systematically takes out corrupt police officers and politicians, he leaves greeting cards addressed to Batman, filled with clues to deeper mystery surrounding his victims, which Batman must solve before he can get to the Riddler. A far cry from earlier, more cartoonish portrayals, like Jim Carrey in “Batman Forever,” this version of the character draws inspiration from the Zodiac Killer and his use of ciphers to communicate with the police. As he lurks in the shadows and stalks his prey, The Riddler makes for a terrifying and formidable foe.

Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), is another key player in the film. Bruce first encounters her while following a clue from the Riddler, investigating a young woman who works at a nightclub where Selina is also employed. This young woman turns out to be Selina’s roommate and partner, who soon goes missing. Thanks to her job in the club ⁠— and her skills as a burglar ⁠— Catwoman is able to assist Batman in his investigation, as well as seek out her own revenge. While there is a spark of attraction between her and Bruce, Selina’s personal motivations and role in the story are well fleshed out and always take precedence over romance.

Each of these characters, along with supporting figures like police commissioner James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), has a believable and vital connection to the plot, and every individual piece weaves together to tell a complex and engaging story supplemented by exciting action sequences. 

For instance, there’s a mid-movie car chase that showcases the Batmobile’s high tech capabilities and an exciting sequence illuminated by strobing nightclub lights. The fight choreography throughout the film is impressive and exciting to watch, with up close and brutal combat visually reminiscent of video game fights. 

“The Batman” also has the one thing I find most important in a superhero film: a clear love for the comics and interest in the characters as people. You don’t need to be a comic fan to enjoy the movie — I haven’t read many Batman comics myself yet — but it’s obvious that Reeves wanted to tell a story that could have come straight off of the page. This shows in the film’s sense of sincerity. Rather than wink and nod about the silliness of costumed vigilantes, the film treats its characters and their stories as worth taking seriously. There is plenty of comedy, but it never overshadows the story’s earnestness, and that is why it works.

Lucy Dacus brings ‘couch tour’ to Gateway City Arts

By Declan Langton ’22

Editor-in-Chief

Photo courtesy of Ali Meizels

Dressed in a jean jacket and bright red jumpsuit, singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus took to the Gateway City Arts stage on March 1 as a part of her spring “couch tour.” Rather than postpone the last portion of her North American tour due to two herniated discs, Dacus came up with a solution — bring a couch on stage and lay down while singing. 

At Gateway City Arts, Dacus continued the tour for her third album “Home Video” (2021). The show’s setup took place in front of a stream of home videos from Dacus’s own collection. On a screen behind the stage, clips played of her being held by her mother, performing in a school choir and showing off a scenic view in a rocky desert. Before the drums and mics were set up, two members of the stage crew carried out Dacus’s couch. As they placed it at the center of the stage, the crew was met by applause — and some chuckling — from members of the crowd. 

The room grew hot as the audience filed in during the opener, which featured addy, a musing folk rock band led by Adam Watkins, who, like Dacus, got their start in the Richmond, Virginia music scene. 

Laying on her couch bordered with a fake ivy vine, Dacus opened the show with “Triple Dog Dare,” the nearly eight minute album closer from “Home Video.” The song tells the dramatized story of a childhood friendship that borders on something more. “Triple Dog Dare” ends hauntingly, with the two girls running away together and later becoming missing “milk carton kids — ” their faces  plastered on the side of the beverage’s container. During this song, and the others she sang from the couch, Dacus’s voice seemingly emerged from nowhere. Her body was invisible to the majority of the crowd, blocked by those standing in the first few rows. Despite this, her sonic presence was dominating. 

Zoe Fieldman ’22, who attended the show, commented on this arrangement. 

“At first, I felt frustrated at not being able to see her. I had known she was injured, and expected the couch performance, but thought they would loft the sofa so that the audience might have a better view. This was not the case,” Fieldman explained. “However, I was incredibly impressed by their use of animation to supplement not being able to see the performer.”

Projected on the wall behind Dacus and her band were animations created specifically for each song. As she performed her song “Cartwheel” — about a childhood friend-turned-crush — the graphic featured children on a swing set, fireflies, a crescent moon and dark trees, mirroring the nostalgia of both the song and all of “Home Video.” 

“The animations were captivating and beautiful in addition to giving my eyes something to focus on without it distracting too much from the music itself. They also really captured the recurring themes of childhood, growing up,” Fieldman observed. 

At first, Dacus’s concealment seemingly caused a disconnect in the show. Two completely separate experiences were present in the room: one for those in the front row — nearly face to face with Dacus — and the rest of the room, who became reliant on the reactions of those sitting in the first row. 

Lucy James-Olson ’22, who attended the show alongside Fieldman, appreciated the setup, even if it was initially strange to adapt to. 

“It actually was kind of fun to not be able to see [Dacus] for the majority of the time — it encouraged me … to get immersed in the music and close my eyes and really listen, which was cool,” James-Olson said. 

Dacus’s lyrics are crafted, nostalgic storytelling, featuring vivid characters from friends to lovers to fathers. In her elegant voice, she flirts with inherent sadness and solitude, even when performing in front of a crowd humming and singing her words back toward the stage. 

Her song “Thumbs,” which Dacus released in two versions, is one of these songs built around characters. In the lyrics, Dacus tells the story of a dinner which she attends alongside her friend and her friend’s absent father. The twist: Dacus hates the father so violently that she spends a verse discussing how she would like to press her thumbs into his eyes “until they burst,” she sings. On March 1, she performed an alternate version of this song called “Thumbs Again” which came out a few months after the original version on “Home Video.” “Thumbs Again” replaces the droning synths of “Thumbs” with a pulsing, darker beat, adding layers to the frightening song, seemingly giving strength to the narrator. 

Photo courtesy of Ali Meizels

Despite limited visibility from the couch, Dacus continually addressed the members of the crowd she couldn’t see. “Hello, people I can’t see from my couch,” she said, the first time she sat up. Later, referencing the standing room only venue layout, she said, “I feel like I should stand more.” 

Stand more she did. Dacus’ March 1 performance was the first time she stood for three songs since injuring her back in early February. One of those songs was “Going Going Gone,” which she structured like a sing-along for the crowd. “Going gone, going going gone,” she sang along with members of the audience. 

Dacus’s setlist also featured well-known songs from her previous albums. From the 2016 album “No Burden,” Dacus delivered her song “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore.” 

“I wrote that when I was a teen,” Dacus told the crowd, smirking. 

From her second album, “Historian,” Dacus played “Yours & Mine” and “Addictions.” For “Addictions,” Dacus grabbed a guitar, playing it while continuing to lay on the couch — something you may expect to see in a living room kickback but was an exciting surprise at Gateway City Arts. 

“Yours & Mine” stunned Fieldman when Dacus performed it at the show. 

“I have not been able to stop listening to Yours & Mine since hearing it live. The performance was amazing and now it is one of my favorite songs,” Fieldman said.

“Night Shift,” the “Historian” opening track and one of Dacus’ most well-known songs, served as the show’s closer. The breakup ballad turned rock anthem is by far her most streamed song, amassing over 42 million streams on Spotify. 

With “Night Shift,” the energy at Gateway City Arts seemed to adjust. Members of the crowd moved closer to the stage and threw their hands into the air, dancing. Voices of those singing along started to become more clear, but Dacus’ powerful swell was never eclipsed as she led the room to the end of the night. 

Before leaving the stage, Dacus said, “This is a cool job, thank you for letting me have it.”

“Crossing Cultures: Family, Memory and Displacement,” arrives at APE Arts Gallery

By Rose Cohen ’22

Arts & Entertainment Editor 

Art to see in the area this week

The art exhibition “Crossing Cultures: Family, Memory and Displacement,” will take place at the A.P.E. Arts Gallery in Northampton until April 1. The show, which had its premiere on March 9, revolves around themes of family, memory, displacement and identity. The six visual artists whose work make up the exhibition — Nilou Moochhala ’94, Astrid Reischwitz, Claudia Ruiz Gustafson, Vivian Poey, Shabnam Jannesari and Nicolas Hyacinthe — use vintage family photographs and paintings, among other mediums, to examine what the idea of “home” means when many people are currently migrating from country to country.