A visit to Miami will nurture students as they become ‘citizen artists’ | Opinion
This week, 120 teenage musicians, dancers, creative writers, filmmakers, and actors from Interlochen Arts Academy will travel to Miami to immerse themselves in the city’s cutting-edge arts ecosystem and bring pop-up concerts and exhibitions to the Frost School of Music, Live! Modern School of Music, public middle schools and other venues.
Their dynamic, eye-opening week will culminate in a vibrant multidisciplinary performance at the New World Center.
A residential arts boarding high school in northwest Michigan, Interlochen Arts Academy has a long and storied history of national and international tours. Last year, more than 100 young artists from Interlochen experienced an artistic rite of passage when they traveled to New York City to perform at Carnegie Hall and contemporary music trend-setter National Sawdust.
As we considered a destination for this year’s tour, we unanimously chose Miami, because our campus community of students, faculty and staff are deeply focused on what it means to be a citizen artist in the 21st century. We believe there is much to be learned from Miami’s bursting arts landscape. We knew that the Magic City would offer unparalleled insights into an emerging cultural capital.
Thanks to three extraordinary partner organizations in Miami, Interlochen students will learn from and perform side by side with leaders who exemplify our definition of citizen artistry by creating art that helps lift hearts and broaden minds.
Miami Music Project, Young Musicians Unite, and Guitars Over Guns each responded to a need in Miami’s arts community to make high-quality arts education accessible to students from all backgrounds. Embedded into the city’s thriving arts scene, they bring vital music education and mentorship directly into the communities that need it the most, transforming thousands of lives.
At Interlochen, we challenge students to listen deeply to the world around them and to create art that reflects and illuminates our modern world and catalyzes critical conversations. We encourage them to build long-term relationships with communities in such public spaces as hospitals and children’s museums, where we emphasize that human interaction, empathy and flexibility are creative skills that are equally important as artistic techniques. As students gradually broaden their mindsets from self-involvement and personal introspection to community responsibility, they become citizen artists poised to make meaningful contributions to society.
When artists serve their communities, everyone benefits. The Interlochen community has been immeasurably enriched by our partnership with Miami Music Project, which has brought dozens of students from underrepresented communities to Interlochen Arts Camp and Interlochen Arts Academy. This expansion of our community benefits all students, giving them opportunities to explore new ideas, forge new friendships, and reach new audiences.
When Interlochen and Miami Music Project students take the stage of the New World Center this Friday evening, they will model the universal language of art and its limitless power to connect people. “ONE,” a collaborative multidisciplinary performance, is derived from the idea of each student speaking with their unique voice, but also in collaboration with their community. Through orchestral music and original songs, poetry, spoken word, dance and film, students will use art to initiate reflection and conversation about topics that matter to them and their generation, such as climate change, gun violence, and immigration. Imbued throughout their work is a commitment to using art to be part of a community and make it better.
The remarkable vision and talent of these emerging citizen artists will be shaped this week by their experiences in Miami. I have no doubt that their time here will inspire them to contribute to future creative communities for years to come.
Trey Devey is president of Interlochen Center for the Arts.
This story was originally published March 1, 2020 at 12:00 PM.