Creativity

Creativity: Illuminating Color and Culture

Perry Hall

September 18, 2019

Perry Hall is an associate professor in the Department of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. He researches how music and expressive culture emerging from grassroots African American spaces shape the American perspective.

Chad Stevens Heartwood

September 4, 2019

Chad Stevens Heartwood is an associate professor within the UNC School of Media and Journalism. As a documentary filmmaker and journalist, he researches the collision between human needs and the environment. His most recent project, “Farmsteaders,” follows a young family focused on resurrecting their late grandfather’s dairy farm.

Juan Carlos González Espitia

August 21, 2019

Juan Carlos González Espitia is an associate professor of Spanish in the Department of Romance Studies within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. In his historical study of syphilis in the Spanish-speaking world, he explores the ways the disease affects private and public life, literature, the arts, medical discourse, politics, and public policy.

A Dual Focus

August 20, 2019

After a 21-year career in the U.S. Army, John Bechtold is now a PhD student in UNC’s Department of American Studies, using photography as a means to discuss American public memory and cultural perceptions of war.

Tuned into Neuroscience

August 14, 2019

There are a host of ways neuroscientists can study the brain. Some analyze its chemistry, others its structure. UNC researcher Flavio Frohlich examines its electrical system, what he calls the "language of the brain," and investigates how miscommunication in these signals can play a role in psychiatric illnesses.

A Veteran’s View

June 8, 2019

During his deployments to Afghanistan in 2012 and 2014, Reuben Mabry relied on his artwork for respite. Now a master’s student in UNC’s studio art program, he uses his eight-year career in the U.S. Army as the foundation for his work, creating paintings about the indoctrination of military members.

Cross-Cultural Connections

May 15, 2019

Documentary filmmaker Julia Haslett tells stories that transcend borders, giving her audience a window into worlds they couldn’t have explored otherwise, and are already connected to in ways they couldn’t have imagined.

Artifacts of Alteration

May 9, 2019

Most visitors return from Jordan Lake with a tan, a photograph, or maybe a unique bird feather. Ayla Gizlice collects something else entirely — chunks of clay, plastic bags, rocks, and dead fish. The UNC senior incorporates these materials into an art project addressing how human actions shape the physical environment.

Horticulture, History, and Hurricanes

March 21, 2019

In starting a community garden, the Coharie tribe reclaim their autonomy in agriculture, transforming it into a place for healing and community. UNC senior Sierra Dunne records their story, learning about the deep-rooted connections among soil, sorghum syrup, and boundless generosity in the process.

Confronting Conflict with Creativity

March 7, 2019

From Chapel Hill to the Democratic Republic of Congo, music professor Chérie Rivers Ndaliko empowers students to come together and use creativity as a touchstone for social change.