I visited the SMFA campus for the second time a week after the presidential election in November. I had booked this visit, because the first time I visited the SMFA campus in the summer it was under construction, so my tour only remained in certain hallways.
I remember finally being able to see the building in its entirety and being so amazed. The walls painted in the Tufts blue color, and in the middle there was a staircase, which captured thoughts and built up anger from the students at SMFA after the election. The wall of the staircase was lined with white paper and on it were different handwritings releasing their disappointment and rage. I read, “not my president,” “we are strong,” and many other expressive thoughts. It was very comforting for me to know that my top choice reflected my values by allowing their students to voice their opinions.
Side note- at this time there was also a fundraising event where students, professors, and alumni put up a show of their works in hopes to sell their artwork. Artist gets to have 50% of the price and the rest goes to the school. It was so cool and exciting to see the success of all of these wonderful artists and I look forward to participating!
Anyways, I found these voices of SMFA to be incredibly strong, and it made me very eager to apply ED to Tufts. For me, my art is mostly political and I strive to communicate my opinion and problems I see in our world to the viewer. When I saw that the students in SMFA were actively fighting for what they believe in, it spoke to me. Being active in both social justice and art are what shape me and I loved seeing that at Tufts. The cover picture of this article is one of my pieces I created after the travel ban. It was a controversy at my high school whether or not I would be able to hang it up in the hallways, because of its content. This was very frustrating for me, but I know that during my career at Tufts, I won't be silenced.
I look forward to being a student of the 5 year program with SMFA to merge what I learn with how I wish to express my knowledge. Since I plan on majoring in Peace and Justice Studies, I can easily visualize myself taking the materials that I learn on the Medford campus and applying that to my work at the SMFA campus. It’s also comforting to know that my school won’t shut me down and there will be nothing but support (as I saw with the staircase).