ArtCon, Duke’s student-led arts and creativity summit, was held Friday and Saturday of last week. More than 45 industry professionals visited campus to speak about their careers, as well as how Duke students can pursue art before and after graduation.
“The purpose of ArtCon is to give students the ability to connect with recent grads and industry professionals working in the arts, in order to make art a normal pathway instead of an abnormal pathway at Duke,” said duARTS President Anshu Vipparla, a senior.
Like DEMAN weekend, which took place last year in November, ArtCon was created to allow student exploration into how an interest in the arts on campus can translate into a career after graduation.
“Unlike DEMAN Arts and Media Weekend in the Fall, which features amazing alumni from creative industries based across the country, ArtCon is focused on non-alumni professionals in creative industries based in the Durham area,” said Amy Unell, alumna in residence at Duke Career Center.
From music performance to arts entrepreneurship, ArtCon sparked conversations on a variety of arts topics of interest to students. Here are just a few.
For the writers: Digital Journalism: Writing, Reporting and Publishing
Students and industry professionals discussed the paths leading to a career in journalism, as well as what a journalist's life is really like. Including journalists such as Steven Petrow, a columnist for the Washington Post and USA Today, and Blayne Alexander, an anchor for the 11Alive News Atlanta, the session focused on a variety of media forms from print news to podcasting.
For the Durhamites: Coffee Chats
During the first day of ArtCon, students were invited to speak with the industry professionals in a relaxed, informal setting. As many of the professionals came from Durham, conversations started about the state of arts in Durham and how students can get involved.
“If you’re an artist, Durham and the Triangle is becoming one of the hotspots of the country,” said Talya Klein, Trinity '02 and a Durham-based director and photographer of the Durham Doll. “It’s staggering when you think of it, but there’s so much growth here."
The Durham Doll, named Dahlia, travels around landmarks of Durham and is photographed every day wearing a thematic-appropriate outfit to inspire a creative Instagram project.
For the planners: The Arts Beyond Duke: Preparing for a Career in the Arts, Media and Entertainment Industry
As described by many Duke alumni at ArtCon, the University has only recently provided opportunities for students to learn how to link the arts to a career through events like ArtCon and DEMAN. This session included questions regarding the support students receive to pursue the arts after graduation, as well as what other resources should be made available to help promote the arts even further.
For the storytellers: TV, Film and Documentary Storytelling
In this session, industry representatives spoke about the creation of their stories—from networking to get into the field to the editing of projects.
“I always like talking to students,” said Nadjib Assani, a multidisciplinary artist who spoke at the session. “When I teach, I like showing students a different dimension in terms of art and how they can explore their craft and get better. I know some of the information is hard to obtain.”
For the scientists: Arts in Science: Beyond Hobbies
Breaking the misconception that arts and sciences are completely separate, this session explored how the two fields overlap more than most people expect.
“We had a faculty professor present how she incorporated art into her scientific work,” Vipparla said.
The session also discussed the importance of creativity in careers, as well as creativity’s relevance at Duke.
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