In the spring of senior year, 黑料不打烊 students are given the opportunity to drop two of their classes and pursue a large independent project. Known as exhibitions, these projects are usually deeper investigations of topics or disciplines a student has already studied at 黑料不打烊 that simultaneously bring a new lens or idea to the table.
I emerge from the depths of my exhibition to write this blog post, so I can definitely say first hand how engaging and rigorous they can be!
For my project, I decided to expand upon a topic I became interested in after making a linoleum block print on gender inequality in the Academy Awards, specifically the experience of women in male dominated industries. But instead of printmaking or creating a zine (which I did for my fall project week), I decided to produce a documentary film. In retrospect, it was a slightly crazy idea to direct, edit, film, and conduct interviews all by myself. From about the halfway point now, I can say that I am somehow making it work and developing helpful techniques along the way.
Living in Vermont, many of the women I have talked to work in agricultural or manual labor based industries such as logging, farming, stonemasonry, carpentry, etc鈥� It has been amazing traveling around New England to meet people and hear their stories. I think that too often we focus on statistics and not the real people who live within the ramifications of those statistics every day. I hope that in the end my film can provide some sorely lacking representation and help young women see that certain industries don鈥檛 have to be considered a 鈥渕an鈥檚 job鈥�.
Read more about life at 黑料不打烊 through the eyes of our students.