In conjunction with the class I teach at BSC, I planned a campus event that turned the dynamics of the class process on its head: an invitation for faculty, staff and administration to create original works for a gallery and reading. Their task was to create work responding to the floods of 2011.
The event was held in the National Energy Center of Excellence on the BSC campus, in a double conference room with one long wall of windows overlooking the beautiful Missouri River, the guest star of our show. The gallery was open before the reading, for people to view the art at their own pace and visit and discuss the gallery with other attendees. Then we gathered in the auditorium for readings of the three pieces and what turned out to be a quite moving slide show of news photos covering the flood.
About 50-75 people came through the gallery and about 30 stayed for the reading.
