Long before paper and pen, poetry lived through the spoken word. It belonged to no one and everyone—sung and experienced together, regardless of who could read or write. It was a collective storytelling tradition that reached into the heart of human experience: myth, history, loss, and love.

Fortunately, poetry’s spoken origins remain deeply embedded in how we understand and engage with it today, even in written form. We hear a poem (or a story) as much as we read it.

Through my work with Arts Share, I’m committed to bringing poetry and literature beyond the classroom and into the wider community, honoring the tradition of words as a living, shared art form.

When the world feels unsteady, the simple act of listening in community becomes a grounding force that celebrates and reaffirms our connection to each other.

The artist cannot exist in a vacuum. It is their role to share their art with the world and allow the world to reflect it back. Community and connection are integral parts of the creative process, as they complete the process of artistic realization.

As an Arts Share assistant, I will help coordinate events in dance and other outreach experiences. We provide wonderful opportunities for artists of all forms to engage with the local community in Iowa.

My goal as an artist is to expose people to the fun and creativity present in art-making - to tap into that childlike sense of play and desire for expression.

Community engagement means bringing the arts to everybody, regardless of their background. It's all about making sure that everyone has the same resources and opportunities to engage with the arts, to hopefully inspire new musicians and artists to begin their journey. As an Arts Share assistant, my role is to coordinate musical performances all across Iowa, and it's great to see the joy that music brings to the communities!

As a cellist, I love to perform with my peers. I find that working with other musicians, creating something personal, and then sharing it with an audience is one of the most rewarding things a musician can do. It's a privilege to work with the talented people at the University of Iowa!

I’ve always been a big believer that everyone should take part in an art practice. Engaging in a creative practice links the body and mind to a place of enriching energy and grounding clarity. It weaves meaning and richness into our lives, and bridges us to one another.

As the Arts Share liaison for the School of Art, Art History and Design I look forward to connecting worlds between our skilled graduate students to the communities in Iowa City and beyond. Community engagement has much to offer in its encouragement of creative practices, by sharing inventiveness and strengthening relationships. Being a printmaker, I am familiar with the magic that is sparked when community joins in collaboration and explorative art making. The collective excitement of conversations and learnings that occur are powerful.

In my artistic practice, I investigate concepts of our personal existences, and how they are influenced from external resources. The time that we invest into sharing skills and ideas with one another inspires and enriches our local communities, ultimately fostering the creating and engaging we all can feel fulfilled from. 

Community engagement is about creating and fostering relationships. As a socially and culturally minded artist, I see community engagement as an essential part of the art itself.

In the theater, my hope is that the audience is more than a spectator but a witness to the struggles and triumphs that emerge onstage. Witnesses have a responsibility to testify and share what they have experienced. Community engagement is a crucial piece in establishing that relationship.

My role as an Arts Share Assistant is to build bridges between the Theatre Department and the broader university community. By creating opportunities for connection through workshops, facilitated discussions, and performances, we can better understand and uplift each other.

As a director, I view the world through the lens of many possibilities for connected storytelling and engaging moments. I have numerous questions that I seek to explore through my art in conversation and collaboration with the work of many other brilliant artists. The question itself is my guide to connected, dynamic work that satisfies my itch to make things.