[-empyre-] The global Trump effect

[Renate Terese Ferro]

Thanks William  for your perspectives from Barcelona.  I teach at Cornell University in upstate New York.  It is so true that in the course of a few weeks the “temperature” politically and socially has changed for not only citizens living within the United States but also globally.  That said I wanted to share a few of the personal instances where personal lives are affected.  At Cornell we have declared our university to be a safe space with many of the departments putting up statements on their websites.  In fact the art department posted this one about a month ago. Just under ABOUT US there you will find it.  http://aap.cornell.edu/academics/art/about

Working with students both undergraduate and graduate I find students daily whose parents are undocumented and are afraid of losing their support systems.  There are students and faculty from the international countries that have been targeted by the ban who are afraid that if they go to a conference outside of the states leaving Cornell or perhaps return to their homelands they will never be able to enter again.  Just last week at the grocery store I ran into a young academic who is a visiting scholar who was in near tears because her immediate travel plans had to be curtailed.  A new media theoretician from Turkey who lives in Canada just canceled her plans to attend an upcoming media conference in Chicago because she would have to cross the border.  And most dramatically the number of students applying to our BFA and MFA programs has been affected.  

I write these rather localized observations now because I believe that while we spend hours reading, listening, watching the news, lives are affected on a very localized and individual level where individuals, families, work is being directly affected.  I continue to be awed by the actions of so many in a positive movement that is growing.  Just last night artists, both faculty, mfa students, and alumni hosted a benefit exhibition where we raised a lot of money for local women’s groups who have been affected by some of the new changes in legislation. 

Also just yesterday the day without a woman strike on International Women’s Day was ceremoniously celebrated with both action and non-action.  My 85 year old mother decided she would stay home and not go get her groceries in response to the strike.  the https://www.womensmarch.com/womensday/ 

So William and those of you in Australia and London and China and Singapore and so many other places I would love to hear how artists and non-artists are responding to the global shift to the right.  How are you and your friends, peers responding to not only Trump per say but this general shift right.  

Thanks William for sharing I would love to know more.
Also thanks to Allan for pinch hitting while I was on strike yesterday.   

Warmly,  Renate





On 3/9/17, 4:41 AM, "empyre-bounces at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au on behalf of William Bain" <empyre-bounces at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au on behalf of willronb at yahoo.com> wrote:

>----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------