We speak with Dr. Andrea Siegel and Michelle Vitale of Hudson County Community College about the ways they bring art into students’  everyday lives. They’ve assembled a multi-ethnic art collection which is displayed on rotation in the galleries and hallways. Living with art is new to many of the students, who are often the first generation in their families to go to college.  Our guests tell their own stories about their parents’ reactions to their choosing to become artists.

Overview

00:00-00:52 Intros

00:52-01:22 Hudson County Community College

01:22-02:02 HCCC students

02:03-03:29 Michelle Vitale’s work

03:30-04:12 Work with public schools

04:13-05:16 Impact of having been a public school teacher and accomplished artist

05:17-06:07 HCCC’s Foundation Art Collection

06:08-07:11 Building the collection with limited resources

07:12-09:00 Finding art that is relevant to students

09:01-10:38 When art work changes a student’s life

10:39-14:20 Art scene in Jersey City and Hudson County

14:21-16:09 Centre Pompidou

16:09-19:56 Students’ previous experience with arts in schools and in HCCC’s galleries

19:56-23:13 Ways the city, county, and state can support arts education and the arts

23:13-26:34 Parents’ reactions to their children becoming artists

26:34-30:03 Dreams for artists

30:03- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcript of this episode. 

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear 

Photo flickr.com/photos/hudsonccc