The Artists

In conducting our fieldwork we interviewed eleven different Duke students who are active in the arts community in different ways and to different extents. Below we have short introductions to most of the interviewees to give you a sense of the various communities and students which call Duke arts home. In addition, we have provided an image of their group, their groups work, or a place where they go to make art. If you are interested in viewing more of the art that our students produced during COVID, please visit the gallery. One student has requested to stay anonymous, so they are not included in the biographies below.

Alexa Burnston

Alexa is a junior in a self-designed Program II major called “Understanding the Concept of Value Through the Lens of Classical Musical Traditions.” Alexa is passionate about her involvement in duArts, Small Town Records, Duke Opera Theatre, and all things music/arts administration/music industry related.

Andrew Liu

Andrew is a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering and computer science. He has been singing in the Duke Chorale as a Bass II (the lowest voice part) since matriculating to Duke. He also personally enjoys singing in his dorm and playing the guitar.

Camille Wilder

Camille is a senior, majoring in Visual Arts. She practices painting, printmaking and sculpting. Camille is an employee at the East Campus coffeehouse – a hub for the arts at Duke.

Daniel Kim

Daniel is a senior majoring in theatre at Duke. He began pursuing theatre late in his Duke career after he discovered his passion for performing arts and acting, which eventually lead him to restart the Duke Asian American Theatre group, which performed a table reading of “The Two Kids That Blow Sh*t Up” by Carla Ching.

Being Involved

How can we categorize art groups at Duke?

In terms of analysis, looking at who the students themselves are and the groups that they are involved in brings to our attention the different categorizations of art “groups” at Duke, which leans heavily into how students navigate art as a community and access the production of art.

The three categorizations of art groups at Duke are generally as follows: 1) personal art, such as drawing or singing for personal pleasure and not as a member of a group, 2) as a member of a club or student group on campus, like an a cappella group or band, and finally 3) as a member of a group organized and run by Duke administration, for example the Duke Marching Band or Duke Chorale.

Being involved in one group naturally doesn’t exclude one from joining another, and it’s more common than not that students are involved in multiple. In addition, some groups walk the line between two categories, so these should be used more as guides than hard delimitations.

Hannah Homma Tong

Hannah is also a senior and came to Duke arts amidst the pandemic. Last year in lockdown she decided to pursue a combined major in Visual Arts and Arts History, focusing upon drawing as a practice of meditation for her senior capstone. Hannah has primarily carried this project out from a pillow on her living room floor.

Jordan Shapiro

Jordan is a senior, involved with the Inside Joke comedy group on campus and the Fluke Student News. Jordan also takes screenwriting classes and enjoys making his own short films.

accessing Art

Who is allowed to access art on campus?

Because of COVID, Duke as an institution can influence one’s ability to access and produce art in a group setting more than in a normal year. Naturally, Duke instituted a number of restrictions on group meetings to prevent the spread of COVID on campus, which affected groups’ abilities to meet in person. This, however, had less of an effect on personal engagement with art, as that could be done in one’s home or dorm. On the other side of the spectrum, being recognized as a group by Duke means that they have strong control over your ability to meet in person, meaning that many groups were unable to meet and rehearse.

However, groups that are more directly involved or closely connected to Duke as an institution were able to continue engaging with art to a greater extent, especially those groups connected to Duke Athletics like the Duke Marching Band. In sum, these categorizations show that being connected or recognized by Duke has in some cases prevented student groups from practicing the arts and in some cases allowed it to continue, despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Krishna Sinha

Krishna is a junior studying neuroscience on the pre-med track. He has been involved in duArts, Duke’s umbrella arts organization, since his first-year and now serves as Co-President. He continues his passion for piano by taking piano lessons through the Duke Music Department and playing for Hoof n’ Horn, Duke’s musical theatre company.

Lucy Zheng

Lucy Zheng is a graduating senior majoring in biology planning on attending medical school. She has been involved in Lady Blue, a Duke a cappella group, as well as Duke Asian American Theatre. In addition, she personally does visual arts and graphic design, which she uses to help design merchandise and graphics for various groups at Duke.

Max Hofstetter

Max is a junior passionate about marine biology and music. Along with his friend, Max created the band W4VE where he plays guitar, song-writes, and performs. You can check out their instagram @w4ve.band

Pavel Pivarshev

Pavel is a senior at Duke University. He is a painter and Visual Arts major. During COVID, Pavel has essentially converted his apartment into a gallery by covering the walls with his artwork. Pavel fosters an art community amongst his friends through this living space.