ARTs + Change 2022: Ashley Campbell and Hannah Bell Discussion

ARTs + Change Conference, June 2-5, 2022
Title: Processing and Discussion
Artists: Ashley Campbell and Hannah Bell
Date: June 4, 2022

About the Conference:
ARTs + Change is a virtual conference hosted by the University of Rochester’s Institute for the Performing Arts, in partnership with the Office of Equity and Inclusion, the Paul J. Burgett Intercultural Center, 540 WMain, Inc., Create a Space Now, Eastman Institute for Music Leadership, the Warner School, and the Rochester Fringe Festival. With nearly 40 presenters, this conference provided opportunities for artists of all disciplines, educators, community members, and community organizations to come together for the sharing of work, participatory workshops, panel discussions, research presentations, performances, guided discussions, and more. This was the second year we held this conference, and it provided a great way to engage with both UR artists and the greater performing arts community.

About The Artists:
Dr. Ashley N. Campbell is a culture and social impact strategist with more than ten years of progressive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) higher education, not-for-profit, and entrepreneurial experience. Her diverse experiences in multicultural programming, organizational development, and data analysis have positioned her to create transformative change. This session examines complex narratives of socio-cultural identities portrayed on screen and its relationship to socio-historical perspectives as it relates to cultural rootedness; envisioning alternative narratives on screen; and the possibility of progress in America. It creates opportunities for participants to collectively reform our minds of the images portrayed on screen to transform our lived experiences.

Hannah is originally from Canada, where she spent her childhood living in the South Pacific, giving her a love for travel and deep appreciation for other cultures. Her current artistic practice focuses on commissioned portraits of pets and people; which gives her the opportunity to explore the beauty, variety, and value of individuals in her community. Drawing on the historic use of portraiture as an expression of the status and importance of the individual portrayed, the Say Her Name portrait series aims to value, study, commemorate, and portray the faces of Black women and girls who have suffered and died because of the prevalent discrimination against people of color in our country, specifically by police.