A Look Back at The Festival of New!
Last month The New School celebrated its centennial year with a week long Festival of New, which featured performances, workshops, screenings and exhibitions and for students, alumni, faculty and the public. Many BPATS faculty hosted events and were pleased to see a strong turnout of enthusiastic students. ready for thoughtful discussions. It was an incredible week and we can continue to benefit from what we learned.
Like many students, Amber Wright was inspired by the wealth of topics and high-profile speakers. “The subject matter and the guest speakers really drew me in for productive discussion and [to hear] other viewpoints.” One takeaway for Wright was “Empathy and self-compassion are super important and it’s also important to not be silent in the face of injustice.” The week’s diverse range of programs included social activists, artists, a former director of the FBI, and sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Here are a few excerpts from discussions with Tarana Burke, Naomi Wadler, and Elaine Welteroth.
Tarana Burke, leader of the MeToo movement, spoke at “A New Safe World” about how the last decade created the space for MeToo to go viral. “We have been…coming back to a time when people are realizing … things are mucked up and we have to be active about it.” The movement “gives people the courage to keep the conversation going.” Burke noted that this movement is fighting “systemic injustice.” Even though it affects millions of people, “[sexual violence] is the only social justice issue that we put back on the victim for them to deal with by themselves…We have to shift that dramatically. It’s appalling.” To hear the full discussion, check out this video of her conversation with Executive Editor of Teen Vogue Samhita Mukhopadhyay.
Naomi Wadler, a twelve-year-old youth activist, and Elaine Welteroth, editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue magazine, discussed the power of youth advocacy, leadership and how Wadler led a walk-out at her Virginia elementary school to honor the victims of the mass-killing there. The students’ message: The conversation around gun violence needs to change. Another important topic for Wadler is the self-image of black girls. “Talking to young black girls and teaching them how to love themselves is something that’s really important to me,” Wadler said. Welteworth agreed, adding that “for a black woman or girl to embrace her natural beauty is a form of activism.” You can view their entire conversation here.
Check out more the New School centennial programs here.