By Roxcy Stanley (B.S. Design ‘22)
Zoom is awkward. We’re experiencing studio without any of the necessary body language and subtle facial cues, because we’re all floating heads on a screen, and usually those heads are a little bit blurry. Silences are longer, and sometimes internet connections just give up. However, through the awkwardness, our studio has experienced some of the huge benefits of Zoom University.
The first week of September we were able to hear from filmmaker Angelo Baca. Angelo is from San Juan County, Utah, and is currently a PhD candidate at NYU researching sociocultural anthropology. As the first studio guest we’d had who was able to speak on their own behalf rather than on behalf of an organization, Angelo was able to share his opinions and personal experiences, opening up doors for us in our research to look at the different emotions that are an important part of the Bears Ears region. Along with the personal experiences, he gave his perspective and knowledge as an academic, a filmmaker, and an activist working as the Cultural Resources Coordinator for Utah Diné Bikéyah. He shared UDB’s fantastic media sensitivity tool with us, giving the entire studio a framework to use when approaching rural communities as outsiders.
I’ve felt extremely lucky to be able to have these virtual conversations with incredible guest lecturers. Although we’re still getting used to it, Zoom has opened up a window for the studio to be able to hear from and ask pointed questions to people who aren’t physically in the same place as us, which will always be exciting.
See Roxcy’s project here.