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Study Abroad

During Early Fall Start 2023, I studied abroad in Denmark with the Honors Program, learning about Colonialism, Culture, and Public Art Activism. As a part of our program, we were tasked with creating blog posts about our time abroad. This page of my portfolio is organized like a blog, where older posts are at the bottom and newer posts are at the top. The main key artifact I chose to include from this experience was my final presentation, where we were asked to present our reflections and share what we observed, learned, and discussed. We were encouraged to think about what bubbled up for us and why. What drew our attention (activated us), what continues to bother us, what makes us uncomfortable? My presentation was titled "Embracing Complexities: The Need for Nuanced Education." 

End of Program Reflection

I don’t think I’ll ever look at a piece of art the same. While I’ve always enjoyed art in museums or on street corners, I used to rarely stop to think much beyond the thought: Oh, that’s beautiful, or hm, how interesting. Throughout this program, I have learned to view art as a reflection of society, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. Through our regular practice of zooming in and out throughout this program, I learned how observing art creates new meanings, narratives, and perspectives. One piece of art that has really been on my mind ever since we watched Helle Stenum’s film, We Carry It Within Us, is Lunch at Christiansburg.

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This piece depicts sexualized African women serving distinguished white men. La Vaughn Belle commented on this piece saying she wouldn’t want her daughter to see it as it would damage her sense of self. Art has a power, a voice, an influence. As Julianna would always say, art activates us. This specific piece left me angry, frustrated, and disgusted, calling me to challenge the way the African women were depicted. Through this program, I could have never anticipated how the art we saw would activate me. Not only to consider the program topics, but also to consider my own past and growth.

Art has a power, a voice, an influence. As Julianna would always say, art activates us.

 

Throughout this program, my learning has been a constant process of applying our program topics in new contexts. During Week 1, I was left with these initial thoughts: art can be a tool to both suppress and activate stories and truths, there is nuance to every narrative, power and money influence what stories are told, interpretation of art can provide new meanings, truth is rarely absolute, and exceptionalist thinking is not productive. These thoughts seemed to guide the next three weeks of the program for me. I felt frustrated learning whose voices were often absent and whose access was limited, but I was in awe seeing how art can highlight these narratives. One example of this is the Voices in the Shadows of Monuments walking tour. While most people will just walk past without a second thought, the walking tour highlights the evidence of past and current colonialism in everyday places. While the Voices from the Colonies exhibit at the National Museum contained no voices from the colonies, the walking tour weaved together voices from the colonies, everyday example of colonialism, and art. Just like Julianna always reminded us: once you know, you cannot not know. Having this tour during Week 1 really guided my focus and how critical I was of future exhibits in their discussions of colonialism. Whose voices are heard? Whose voices are absent? Whose voices are louder?

I felt frustrated learning whose voices were often absent and whose access was limited, but I was in awe seeing how art can highlight these narratives.

 

Continuing with these questions, I’ve been reflecting a lot on Barly’s art on water. Barly was well-spoken about his struggles fleeing the Congo for Europe. He creates art to highlight the forgotten narratives of those who struggle with global migration. While these voices are often absent or silenced, Barly’s work highlights his and others' unique narratives. I remember when the news was flooded with stories about the submersible and how several billionaires died trying to see the Titanic through a screen (Regan et al., 2023). While this news was tragic, it overshadowed the hundreds of global migrants who went missing or died in the Mediterranean Sea (Silva, 2023). I remember after this news, I was thinking about whose life is more valuable? Whose death was more tragic? Whose voice is louder? This tragedy seems to be a perfect example of Barly’s work. Art highlights these stories that mainstream news ignores. Art calls people to question whose voices they’re listening to and whose voices are speaking over others.

 

In addition to whose voice is louder, I’ve been reflecting a lot on access. While access to knowledge is extremely valuable, who is doing the teaching is pivotal. In Florida, the anti-LGBTQIA+ curriculum laws censor teachers, meaning right-wing politics is doing the teaching. In my opinion, this type of censorship in the US is done to promote a Christian-centered, whitewashed way of life. This was intentionally done at schools because education is a powerful tool. While I was not educated in schools with these laws, I was also not educated on the topics of sexuality or gender. I grew up in what I like to call the middle of nowhere, USA (also known as western Nebraska). I went to a small, forever-falling-apart K-12 school where there was only 1 class per grade level. Due to the school and the area’s white, Christian values, my education was dominated by white, Christian values. I think it's important to acknowledge that freedom of speech sometimes also means choosing a lack of speech. In my own experience, schools in these conservative areas were likely already not educating on sexuality and gender unless forced to, since they want their education to encourage their own world views. Education is valuable, but when it’s based on one narrative, its lack of nuance and perspective teaches students to reduce humanity to stereotypes and labels. Who has the power to tell the story? Who has the power to leave details out of the story? Who should make these decisions?

 

Education is valuable, but when it’s based on one narrative, its lack of nuance and perspective teaches students to reduce humanity to stereotypes and labels.

This topic of access is where a lot of my discomfort comes in. Being educated repeatedly on the USA being the land of the free and a place to be proud of did not prepare me for the conversations I would have when I moved to Seattle. I distinctly remember several high school class discussions on the topic of race where I felt like the dumbest person in the room and decided to keep quiet. My education had not prepared me to discuss race, slavery, or nuance in figures and narratives. When confronted with these topics, I shut down and sat in my own discomfort in silence. This program gave me the unique opportunity to explore my own discomforts through reflection and conversation. This is the area I have grown the most in. I am left with lingering questions about my own discomforts: As a privileged university student who is not Danish, why did I have this opportunity to debate and learn about Danish colonialism? Who should be learning about this topic? Who makes these decisions? Why is it often well-off white people sitting in a room debating racism? How do well-intentioned white scholars often speak for historical figures of color? These are the questions that have been uncomfortable for me and forced me to look inward and consider my own privileges.

 

This program gave me the unique opportunity to explore my own discomfort through reflection and conversation. This is the area I have grown the most in.

With this new knowledge and self-reflection, I hope to be more critical of the truths I’m told and seek nuance in every narrative. At UW, I am a leader for the Registered Student Organization called Grey Matters, a neuroscience journal passionate about accessible and easily understood STEM education and outreach. We often say, historically, STEM was produced, consumed, and participated in by only white, upper-class men, and we are fighting to increase the diversity and reach of neuroscience. This mission reminds me of our program topics. White, cisgender, heterosexual, and upper-class men often write the narratives, painting white people as heroes, such as Peter von Scholten. This reminds me of the quote at the Caste Museum, saying “Until the lion has their historian, the hunter will always be a hero.” I’ve been thinking a lot about how adding nuance to the narrative often emphasizes how people are similar rather than different. The lines between the hunter and the lion might be more blurred than we anticipate. Historians consider multiple narratives, looking for the ones that need to be amplified. Research and history are similar in this way, becoming dynamic as new truths arise. Having access to read and participate in research helps improve scientific accuracy, like how including the voices of the marginalized puts together multiple truths to create a more complete account. However, when research is based on one study or history is based on one narrative, there are often missing pieces, steps, or perspectives that have the power to flip everything or paint it in a new light.

 

“Until the lion has their historian, the hunter will always be a hero.”

After the program ended, I went to visit Amsterdam, Munich, and Salzburg, where I realized my new critical lens in action. While at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, I was struck by how emotional everything was. I was left with the thought that having an individual tell their own story is more impactful. Anne's writing in her diary, which her father later published, allowed her to be the narrator of the tragedy. When the person impacted has the loudest voice, it is more influential and more activating. The museum ended with a translated quote from Anne’s father, Otto Frank,  that said, “We cannot change what happened anymore. The only thing we can do is to learn from the past and to realize what discrimination and persecution of innocent people means.” I was left thinking this is the role of art: to activate new narratives or perspectives from the past and to call people to realize and act. When visiting the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, I was very intrigued by how they displayed old art and new questions. The museum had received feedback that a whole museum on Van Gogh lacked diversity and context. To account for this, the museum had plaques near the pieces prompting the viewer to zoom in and zoom out, just like what we did as a part of our program. One art piece titled, Profile of a Woman, by Arnold Koning, depicted a side profile portrait of a black woman. The note next to this piece was titled Unknown Stories and stated,

 

“You almost never see a painting of a Black woman without a problematic colonial context. Also, religions other than Christianity are not often depicted. It’s great that the museum shows these works, but we think it needs to provide background info: Who are the people in the pictures? Why did the artist paint them? What was their position in society in those days?”

 

This reminded me of Quinn and Ashley’s presentation at the SMK on Rose Laying the Table by Astrid Holm. Quinn and Ashley connected this piece of a woman from the West Indies to our conversations about the We Carry It Within Us documentary, where we discussed the power of images and who creates them to tell whose story. Who is the woman depicted? Why did the artist choose to portray her? Who decides who is depicted?

 

I am already seeing the world around me through a different lens. I am being more critical, especially of single stories. Going forward with my future career in medicine, I hope to continue encouraging diversity, nuancing narratives, and promoting access to knowledge. Just like the light interweaved at Weaving the Light by Kimsooja at Cisternerne, all truths and stories interweave. One source can be perceived through many different lenses, creating new pictures and truths that, when zooming in, create the whole picture. There is no single story, account, or image that encapsulates colonialism or any other truth, but the interweaving of each narrative creates complexities we must embrace to properly engage.

Going forward with my future career in medicine, I hope to continue encouraging diversity, nuancing narratives, and promoting access to knowledge.

09/08/2023 Blog Post

Public Art as Activism with Jens Galschiøt

Jens Galschiøt described art as non-reality, a space to explain perceptions of the world. In this way, art is created from responses within the artist, activating the viewers. Displaying art of human rights violations can call for international action. For example, a sculpture crucifying a pregnant woman points out the hypocrisy within the Christian church and their lack of education on sex and contraception. This image is meant to be unsettling to urge viewers to perceive the world through this lens and learn about the suffering of these women. Crucifixion in the Bible is the way Jesus innocently died, emphasizing that these women were innocent. This reminds me of the fight now in the US with Roe v. Wade. Access to proper sex education and healthcare is becoming more and more of a challenge. This doesn't hurt people of upper class who can afford to travel to get the care and education they need, but it drastically alters the lives of the lower class. Due to systemic racism in the US, class and race or ethnicity are often closely linked, meaning limiting access to healthcare and education becomes systemically racist, classist, and a massive violation of human rights.

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The way he discussed his role in his art reminded me of Barly from our first week. He views art as a means to amplify voices and spread knowledge, similar to Barly's work on water. This reminded me of our conversation on the role of the artist in their art. Barly personally experienced what he is amplifying, whereas Jens Galschiøt's change of scenery as a young adult also changed his perspective, leading him to realize he was better off than he thought and he had a role to play to amplify this experience. These two contrasting experiences that led to similar art activism reminded me that the artist plays a role, but different artists can arrive at similar messages.

09/06/2023 Blog Post

Week 2 Reflection: "Public" Art & Nationalism

This week, we dived deeper into colonial narratives by analyzing nationalism, exceptionalism, and privilege in several different contexts. We started the week with a visit to a social work house in Copenhagen.

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Social workers Susanne Exner and Tina Thaning gave us a tour of the spaces created by and for vulnerable individuals. I was struck by the mural going up the stairs, which was stenciled by an artist and painted in by users of the house. This collaborative effort seemed like a metaphor for how the house operated. People come and go as needed, participating in creativity, counseling, and fulfilling their physical and mental needs. Seeing the house and hearing the stories of its users filled me with so much hope of how creative, beautiful, and supportive a social work house could be. I was also struck by how Suzanne would discuss social welfare in Denmark and struggle to translate specific opportunities into English. We concluded this was because this type of social welfare does not exist in the US, an interesting and unfortunate thought. I was disheartened hearing Suzanne discuss struggles with funding, reminding me that social work struggles to be properly supported by any government system. When thinking about our program topics, this visit reminded me of our definition of public. Do houseless people count as public? Do you need an address to be considered public? How can art be an outlet for the artist? How accessible is art to the users of this house? Connecting to last week, this also reminded me of our discussion with Barly on the role of the artists in their art. I left the social work house feeling hopeful, but disheartened by the idea that these individuals are often left out of the definition of public.

 

As a neuroscience and pre-medical student interested in healthcare and mental illness, this visit to the social work house was very valuable to me. While neither the US nor Denmark has a perfect social welfare system, Denmark’s social work houses attempt to meet the needs of the people, providing free therapy and spaces for vulnerable populations. In the US, access to therapy is often reserved for those who can pay out of pocket, as even health insurance can rarely apply to therapy expenses. It all comes back to access. I’ve always wondered: Why do wealthier people have such easy access to therapy and healthcare while those struggling to make ends meet experience such a lack of support? Was therapy always meant to serve and be available to only the upper class? It all reminds me of a quote from my friend told me who grew up in Ukrainian poverty: “Why should I care about racism and sexism and whatever ism when I just needed food and a roof.” It’s always been interesting to me who has access to these resources, but also who has access to discuss and learn about topics such as racism and colonialism. As a privileged university student who is not Danish, why did I have this opportunity to debate and learn about Danish colonialism? Who should be learning about this topic? Who makes these decisions? Easy access to education, therapy, and healthcare are pivotal, but often not provided in the US. In my own experience attempting to expand the reach of STEM education, I have seen the struggles between going to a wealthy school that will donate to our cause, allowing us to continue our events vs going to a less wealthy and more diverse school that has less access to STEM to achieve our mission. This struggle seems to be mirrored in what Suzanne said about social work and also relates to our program topic of access. Even when expanded access is the goal, funds are often needed to continue this goal and are hard to find for social work and education causes.

 

This clash with the Danish exceptionalist narrative was continued in our Tour of 1700s Copenhagen with Morten. As we saw in A Royal Affair, Johann Struensee was a very complicated man who, despite his efforts to appear as a common man of the public, was celebratorily executed at the hands of the public. He was painted simultaneously as both a hero and a villain, emphasizing the nuance of the narrative. When Johann Struensee and King Christian VII instated freedom of speech, it meant the affair between Struensee and the queen became public debate, ultimately leading to Struensee's death and Caroline losing her children. In this way, freedom of speech allows for discourse that can find and amplify truths, but also gives the public more power and influence. In the 1700s, Struensee believed he was instating enlightenment policies to help the public, yet he never asked the public what they wanted. His own exceptionalist thinking led to his demise. I think this is a powerful story to remind Denmark to consider: Who is in power? Who is making decisions that affect the public? How are the public and the public’s needs represented? I found it interesting learning about the start of free speech in Denmark and comparing it to the free speech debates we’re learning about today, such as the burning of the Quran where the discourse has been about freedom of speech and religious texts instead of the impact on the Muslim community in Denmark. Exceptionalist thinking seems to focus on trends, policies, and news instead of the people.

 

This emphasis on the people was echoed in We Carry It Within Us, Helle Stenum’s film on colonialism in the West Indies/Virgin Islands. La Vaughn Belle emphasized that it should not be about the land or resources, but about people. When you center conversations about colonialism around people, you want to apologize and open up discussion. When you focus on numbers playing the comparison game with other colonial powers or think of your nation as the “benevolent colonizer,” you want to shove any contradicting evidence under the rug. While discussing the reactions to the film with Dr. Helle Stenum, we noted the many attempts, including recently, where the Danish have protected their nationalism over their people, such as the lack of discourse on the impact of the Quran burnings on the Danish Muslim community. In the movie, Chenoa Lee, Temi Odumosu, La Vaughn Belle, Tiphanie Yanique, and Tami Navarro all describe the disconnect in the colonial narratives between the Virgin Islands/West Indies and Denmark. The Danish believe a sympathetic Dane, Peter von Scholten, freed the slaves, while the Virgin Islanders recognize General Buddhoe as the leader of a revolt that freed the slaves.

 

The documentary also touches on the power of imagery in storytelling. Chenoa Lee discusses how slaves were drawn as detailed people in slave ship depictions, but Temi Odumosu points out the lack of humanity given to Virgin Islanders and African women in art from the time. These images highlight the horrors in thinking and reality of the time. Temi goes on to describe that art, literature, and philosophy constructed slaves as non-human and meant for labor as an attempt to justify slavery. However, this contrasts with the slave ship packing depiction, which Chenoa describes as the artist bothering to draw them as human, but treating them as commodities. I left the movie feeling very frustrated with the contrasting narratives, but also reminded of how these sorts of narratives also exist in the US. People are often told slaves in the US were a part of the family, which, to me, seems like a convenient way to sugarcoat slavery in hopes of never having to confront its horrors and dehumanization.

 

One key part of this week that stood out to me was The Danish Design Museum, which had a quote from Verner Panton, stating, “You’re more comfortable when you’re sitting in a color you like.”

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The Design Museum contained lots of upper-class Danish culture, portraying a very privileged perspective. With my head filled with thoughts on the social work house and Danish exceptionalism, I critically analyzed the Design Museum exhibits. The museum proudly displayed a cow intestine lamp as a new, innovative use of cow intestines, without acknowledging the indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people using seal and whale guts as a waterproofing material for centuries. While this approach may be new to Denmark, these kinds of sustainable practices and designs are not new to indigenous people. Additionally, in Trine Helle’s Wonder exhibit, we saw a Danish porcelain polar bear, acknowledging Denmark as an Arctic nation due to its relationship with Greenland, which is unique language to describe this complicated history. The Design Museum also contained bits of humor when learning the behind-the-scenes work of a curator, such as placing the items in a way to depict a bird drinking from a bowl or impressing other curators with surprises. I left this museum thinking of the many chairs we saw, but also the privilege displayed without acknowledging the related classism or history.

 

Related to this privilege, the Danish idea of hygge is very intriguing to me. It emphasizes that Denmark is relaxation, comforting, and happy. This idea contrasts conflict. I believe this is why the Danes view themselves as exceptional, but how can colonial truths be brought to life without the potential for conflicting opinions? How can narratives contrast each other in a meaningful discussion if conflict is discouraged?

09/06/2023 Blog Post

Aarhus Current Event

Hej! I was tasked to report on a recent current event in Denmark. In Aarhus, we all noticed the art, music, and crowds this week. While the lively atmosphere has certainly kept us up at night, this excitement is the Aarhus Festuge, or the Aarhus Festival Week! It runs from August 25 - September 3, overlapping with our excursion in Aarhus. This festival includes all kinds of public art, such as live music, theater, food, art creation, and art observation. This festival was held for the first time in 1965 as an experiment to present Aarhus culture and innovations on a more global scale. Now, the event is one of the largest cultural festivals in Northern Europe, with over 1,000 events happening in 10 days. The theme for this year’s festival was “Mind the Gap,” emphasizing how we must respect each other’s differences and also ensure they do not divide us. The festival occurs annually starting on the last Friday in August and lasting for 10 days.

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This festival reminds me of our public art program topic, especially when considering who the public is. This festival has free entry with opportunities to observe, interact with, and create art. This is true public art since it is made by, interacted with, and observed by the public. This festival is also a unique way to highlight local artists and culture to ensure more voices are heard and accessible to the general public. The international scale of the festival encourages greater participation, expanding the definition of public. Additionally, the art at the festival is meant to challenge norms and unite cultures and traditions, really tying into our program themes of art as activation and activism. Today is the last day of the festival, so be sure to check it out for opportunities to observe, engage with, and create activating art!

 

References

Experience Aarhus Festuge. Aarhus Inside. (2023, August). https://aarhusinside.dk/event/aarhus-festuge/

What is Aarhus Festival Week?. Aarhus Festuge. (n.d.). https://www.aarhusfestuge.dk/om-festugen/hvad-er-aarhus-festuge

09/06/2023 Blog Post

Brielle Reporting Live from Copenhagen...

Hej! I was the program reporter on Tuesday and Wednesday (August 29 & 30) of our second week in Copenhagen. As we continue to explore Danish culture, museums, and art, we’ve kept our critical lenses on to look for connections to last week, neglected narratives, and who is doing the storytelling. This week, we dived into discussions on Denmark’s strong sense of white nationalism, which greatly contributes to the forgotten narratives from the colonies and the general unawareness of colonial realities among the Danish people.

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Tuesday, August 29
Guest Speaker and Director Dr. Helle Stenum of We Carry It Within Us
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Dr. Helle Stenum screened her film, We Carry It Within Us, presenting voices from the US Virgin Islands on colonialism. Chenoa Lee, Temi Odumosu, La Vaughn Belle, Tiphanie Yanique, and Tami Navarro all describe the disconnect in the colonial narratives between the Virgin Islands/West Indies and Denmark. The Danish believe a sympathetic Dane, Peter von Scholten, freed the slaves, while the Virgin Islanders recognize General Buddhoe as the leader of a revolt that freed the slaves. The documentary also touches on the power of imagery in storytelling. Chenoa Lee discusses how slaves were drawn as detailed people in slave ship depictions, but Temi Odumosu points out the lack of humanity given to Virgin Islanders and African women in art from the time. These images highlight the horrors in thinking and reality of the time. Temi goes on to describe that art, literature, and philosophy constructed slaves as non-human and meant for labor as an attempt to justify slavery. However, this contrasts with the slave ship packing depiction, which Chenoa describes as the artist bothering to draw them as human, but treating them as commodities. When discussing the reactions to the film with Dr. Helle Stenum, we noted the many attempts, including recently, where the Danish have protected their nationalism over their people. This is especially evident with the recent Quran burning where the discourse has been about freedom of speech and religious texts instead of the impact on the Muslim community in Denmark.

Visit to Danish Design Museum with Guest Speaker and Museum Curator, Trine Helle

Filled with many chairs and everyday, historical artifacts used by the upper class, the guided tour of several exhibits in the Design Museum activated our critical lenses when making connections to colonial narratives. The museum proudly displayed a cow intestine lamp as a new, innovative use of cow intestines, without acknowledging the indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people using seal and whale guts as a waterproofing material for centuries. While this approach may be new to Denmark, these kinds of sustainable practices and designs are not new to indigenous people.

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Additionally, in Trine Helle’s Wonder exhibit, we saw a Danish porcelain polar bear, acknowledging Denmark as an Arctic nation due to its relationship with Greenland, which is unique language to describe this history.

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The Design Museum also contained bits of humor when learning the behind-the-scenes work of a curator, such as placing the items in a way to depict a bird drinking from a bowl or impressing other curators with surprises. I left this museum thinking of the many chairs we saw, but also the privilege displayed without acknowledging the related classism or history.

Wednesday, August 30
SMK Museum

At the SMK, we were tasked to find one piece from any exhibit to present to the group. Riley and Julia started us off strong with a presentation on Jessie Kleemann’s exhibit, Running Time, where Kleemann explores her struggles with her Greenlandic and Danish identities, including a lack of control, identity, and power. Meheq and Casey presented on A Stretch of Coast in Greenland. Midnight by Jens Erik Carl Rasmussen, a Danish painter. Their critical lens noticed it was the only piece depicting Greenland in a room full of Denmark landscapes and close to the sculpture, A Victorious Danish Soldier. The contrasting identities in this room emphasize the power of who is telling whose history. Nearby, Allie and I presented a classical Danish art piece called The Greek Poet Sappho and the Girl from Mytilene by Nicolai Abildgaard. We noticed it was the only artwork in its showroom where women were present in the absence of men. The artist was viewed as a social critic, leading him to experience rejection and censorship. The piece Allie and I chose depicted love between two women, likely a controversial Danish painting for 1809. Maya presented a piece created by a student of Nicolai Abildgaard, Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg. The piece was a model ship, which despite its lack of proper shipbuilding technique, shows detailed sails and fine carpenter work. Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, “the father of Danish painting,” loved to sail and paint seascapes. In contrast to the many paintings of upper-class Danish life, Jamie picked a rural piece more personal to her Danish ancestry of farming. The piece was titled Harvest by Laurits Andersen Ring, and depicted a farmer harvesting corn. Ring, an atheist, intentionally placed the horizon very high on the canvas in an attempt to keep humanity grounded. Jamie noted the themes of life vs. death in the Ring showroom. Lastly, we took a journey to the modern art exhibit of a piece titled Rose Laying the Table by Astrid Holm. Quinn and Ashley connected this piece of a woman from the West Indies to our conversations about the We Carry It Within Us documentary where we discussed the power of images and who creates them to tell whose story. In summary, the SMK Museum contained pieces to be critical of, such as A Stretch of Coast in Greenland. Midnight and Rose Laying the Table, but also pieces that emphasize our discussions of the voices from the colonies such as Jesse Kleemann’s exhibit.

 

Wrap Up

Now that we know aspects of Denmark’s colonial narrative, we can no longer not know. We have been using this knowledge to poke holes in the narratives we’re being told or shown in exhibits, discourse, and art. While the past two days contained many, many Danish chairs, they also contained discussions on the power of storytelling and imagery, pivotal topics to our program themes of colonialism and art activism.

08/27/2023 Blog Post

Week 1 Reflection: Colonial Narratives

Velkommen til København!

Our first week in cobblestoned Copenhagen began with a guided neighborhood tour of Vesterbro led by Morten. This included a glimpse into Vesterbro’s past as Copenhagen’s red-light district. Throughout the city, buildings are covered in beautiful murals, a true example of free, accessible public art. Exploring this week, we have seen more of these murals with varying styles and messages in addition to public statues, graffiti, and other street art. This free art that people can enjoy while waiting for a bus, walking, or commuting seems to be in contrast with the art kept in museums that have an entrance fee. What do the words “access” and “public” really mean? How can art be weaponized to suppress and hide the stories of the marginalized? 


We explored the meaning of “public” further with our first class at the University of Copenhagen, which was filled with discussions of what public art is, the value of public art in the absence of observation and interpretation, and who has the power to both create and observe art. When considering the sinking of the Frederick V bust and the backlash it created, power and money become an obvious influence on who is allowed to participate in art. While the head of the Art Academy department, Katrine Dirckink-Holmfeld, saw an opportunity to start a conversation about colonialism, the high-level stakeholders clung to Danish exceptionalism, suppressing discourse on colonial pasts. Powerful entities silence those challenging the benevolent narrative. Temi Odumosu, Lill-Ann Körber, and the “Whiteness and Postcolonialism in the Nordic Region” paper’s insights highlighted how Danes perceive their colonial history as benevolent, which is similar to regional justifications within the US. As an elementary student in the Midwest US, I learned that slaves in the North were treated better than slaves in the South. This changes the focus allowing the country to blame individuals to avoid guilt and responsibility. I also notice this tactic in the fight for climate change. Corporations often talk about our own individual carbon footprints, when in reality, an individual is powerless to stop climate change and it must come from the corporation or country level to create change.


I believe being a colonial power makes Denmark guilty and playing the comparison game seems like a tactic to protect their exceptionalist narrative and delay truth and freedom. Our reading on “Beyond Guilt Trips” resonates with this idea as well. Guilt is the first step to acknowledging colonialism, but we must also push past the guilt to conversations and reflection. I believe this exceptionalist thinking only delays and avoids these discussions. 


Barly Ihirba Tshibanda and Nanna Elvin Hansen from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts also provided perspectives on the Frederick V art happening, in addition to sharing how they weave activism and art together to encourage discussions about colonialism. Their walking tour, “In the Shadow of the Monuments,” helps people find the presence of colonialism in everyday architecture and art. Once they pointed out the presence of colonialism in everyday scenes, I started seeing and thinking about it everywhere. Barly’s personal journey from Congo to Denmark emerged in his art, echoing global migration struggles. I thought it was especially interesting how his piece included many empty life vests, emphasizing the immense death and trauma. His story reminded me of the struggles happening at the US-Mexico border, where families are separated and people are constantly dehumanized and detained. Barly talked about how he did not understand why border control does not value human lives, and this really resonated with what I understand of the US-Mexico border. It also comes back to the definition of “public.” Are visitors considered the public? What about refugees and migrants? Barly’s story also highlights the role of the artist in their art: Whose story is being told? What does their choice of motif emphasize? 


Our next class at the University of Copenhagen was a guest lecture from Dr. Karen Siberstein. She pushed us to add complexity to the colonial narrative, by informing us that it is not as black and white as the colonized and colonizers. The Danes created the system, but non-colonial powers such as the Irish and Scottish benefited by being given power, plantations, and resources. I found it interesting how she emphasized that the slave trade would have failed if Africans had not sold other Africans into slavery. This led me to wonder: Was it the European influence that led Africans to sell other Africans into slavery? Dr. Siberstein also emphasized thinking of slavery from the bottom-up perspective. There’s a notion that the oppressed and enslaved lost everything, but when we look at culture, this is not the case. Is this a way to protect and whitewash the narrative of the oppressed? A thought I’ve had since we arrived is how we remember and study the work of Kings, Queens, and those in power, but we visit and see the work of slaves via castles, historical buildings, and culture. 


Dr. Siberstein cautioned against destroying statues or you’re “doomed to repeat” the erased history. This contradicted Dr. Henrik Holm’s message at the Royal Cast Museum that any statue is replaceable, but the choice to recast is dependent on the politics associated with the statue. Dr. Holm left me feeling frustrated about the world when considering the large influence of money and power. The idea that the colonial people in charge sit in a room, pardoning each other, and watching ship after ship full of slaves roll in made me sick. Learning that “I Am Queen Mary” could be fixed within the month if politics would allow it and how Neo-Nazis are using the empty platform to shout that they have no reason to feel guilty made the world seem like a place that encourages and enables hate. Especially when also considering that this week, Trump’s mug shot is trending while he is running for president. It is unfortunate how the world seems to always have a platform where hate and racist thinking thrive. This makes me feel called to encourage discussions such as the ones we’ve had this week to help people realize their reality is constructed by those who were historically in power, leaving the stories of the marginalized to often be hidden from the public view. We must think critically and poke holes in narratives that seem too good or convenient to be true. 


Our visit to the National Museum “Voices from the Colonies'' exhibit was disappointing to me compared to the walking tour with Barly and Nanna and the visit to the Cast Museum. The National Museum also had a video on the US Virgin Islands that painted the islands as more progressive and free under Danish rule, but criticized the US for restricting and exploiting the islands by not allowing them to vote. Both colonial powers restricted and exploited the islands, and this comparison game is an effort to cover up Danish colonialism. The disappointment I felt also emphasized to me what public art should be vs. what it is. The “Voices from the Colonies” exhibit did not include actual accounts from the colonies, but the walking tour and cast museum contained history and voices that had been suppressed and silenced. Dr. Holm himself being silenced was so crazily upsetting to me since he has a vast knowledge of history and how museums are curated, but I loved his emphasis that every museum contains evidence of imperialism, even when the museum tries to hide it.


We ended the week with a tour of the Copenhagen City Museum, Worker’s Museum, and Cisterne, which all seemed much lighter compared to the blunt truths we learned earlier in the week. While exploring light as art in the Cisterne, we saw how light can weave and move to create an image, just like all the contrasting accounts of colonialism. There might not be one clear truth, just like how the light art did not have one “correct” image, but when it moves and interacts, it can create and bring about new stories and images. 


After this first week, I feel frustrated, inspired, and curious. Reflecting on this first week of learning about colonial narratives and museum curations, I am left with these concluding thoughts: art can be a tool to both suppress and activate stories and truths, there is nuance to every narrative, power and money influence what stories are told, interpretation of art can provide new meanings, truth is rarely absolute, and exceptionalist thinking is not productive.

08/27/2023 Blog Post

Being a Reflective Traveler

Today, I went to The Lakes in central Copenhagen to read, journal, and reflect on my surroundings. I have been to this place several times to read, run, walk, and enjoy the scenery. Today, I noticed lots of people sitting at the steps near the planetarium to enjoy lunch with friends and colleagues. I was surrounded by the sounds of bicycles, walking and running feet, conversations, and the ducks quacking in the lakes.

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As I walk around the lakes, I notice the demographics of this area: young adults, kids, babies, elderly, women wearing headscarves, men in suits, active people, tourists, commuters, and people speaking different languages including what I believe to be English, Danish, French, and Spanish. I was happy to see how many different people use this space to be active, talk with friends, grab lunch, walk their dogs, and commute. The lake was calming and peaceful while also bustling with activity and people. I found myself appreciating the nature around me such as the willow trees and the way they barely touch the water's surface.

Within my time at the lake, I centered myself on the nature, especially the water. This reminded me of Barly's artwork from last week. He described water as both dangerous and freeing, but as I was sitting at the lake, I also saw water supporting life as an ecosystem for so many animals. I saw ducks diving for food, landing, flying away, swimming, and interacting with each other and other animals. As I was sitting and reflecting, it started to rain. I saw the ripples in the water before feeling the droplets on my skin. I saw umbrellas go up and people put on their rain jackets. The storm clouds rolled over and darkened the sky. Water moves and changes with the weather, emphasizing nature's dynamic capabilities that Barly highlighted in his piece.

As I continued walking around the lakes, I saw many benches for people to sit, but one in particular stood out to me. It was much, much taller than the others and had a unique plaque with Danish text. Using Google Translate, the message read: "Flooding happens every day if we don't do something about the climate. According to the UN's climate report, water levels will rise by up to 1 meter before 2100 if global warming continues." If I had just walked by this bench, I would not have known it was a call to action with great imagery on the reality of the climate crisis. To those who do not interact with it, they may assume it was silly or a joke at how Scandinavian people are taller on average. However, interacting with this art is what gives it its call to action. I hope to continue taking the time to interact and reflect on public art and my surroundings as I explore Denmark.

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08/15/2023 Blog Post

Velkommen!

Or Welcome! My name is Brielle (she/her) and I am a third year at UW studying Neuroscience as a part of the Interdisciplinary Honors Program. This summer, I am studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark to learn about the interplay between Colonialism, Culture, and Public Art Activism. Follow along to see my journey and discoveries! 

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