The Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy at K-State has some upcoming events that will promote conversations and the acceptance of varied perspectives. Director and Associate Professor of Communications, Dr. Colene Lind talks about an event on Wednesday.
They’ve also collaborated with the Beach Museum in Manhattan to bring a new exhibit Do you see what I see? to patrons. The museum is known for making art interactive, and this exhibition will foster important conversations.
The exhibit will be introduced officially to the public by a panel of twelve, many of which are K-State communications students, on Thursday November 3rd. The panel will share their perspectives on selected exhibit pieces. It will be live-streamed as space is limited. There’s an in-museum and an on-line moderator for the public to participate. The students are also leading after-school conversations about Art as part of the Deep Dive Club of the Boys and Girls Club. They will participate with middle and high school students using the visual thinking conversation strategy. Museum Curator Aileen June Wang talks about the purpose of the pieces chosen for this exhibit.
Lind says it’s important for students and really anybody, to understand their perspective isn’t the only perspective, and there’s no one right perspective.
Wang says, Do you see what I see? aligns with the Beach Museum’s tradition of presenting Art for all the senses. Their intention is to highlight the fact that people perceive the same object or symbol differently than other’s do.
Lind says both students and the public will benefit from the conversations Thursday.
Wang says they hope to bring other people’s views of these works to the forefront. They want to show how Art can help people think about difficult topics and talk about tricky topics, to gain better understanding that people have different perspectives, and that’s okay. The presentation is Thursday at 5:30 p.m. For more information or to register, go to: beach.k-state.edu
