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Send Theresa to The Arctic Circle!

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Dearest Friends!

I've been selected to participate in an art & research residency in the Arctic through The Arctic Circle Organization

I'm an artist & researcher, and a huge portion of how I create new work is by participating in residencies. Residencies give me the time and space to explore a new idea, often in a brand new environment and alongside other researchers who challenge me with constructive feedback and collaboration. I am so excited to go to the Arctic, but I need some help to get there.

This residency is a huge step in my career, and a prestigious adventure. As you can imagine, traveling to the Arctic is expensive, and as a full-time freelancer & working artist, it will be difficult to pull this off without some extra help. This is where you come in!

What I Need:

The Arctic Circle Organization Residency Fees: $6,400
     (due March 2018)

Flights & Travel: $1,300

Cold Weather Gear: $2,500

Research Materials: $500

About the Residency:

"Artist & Scientist led, The Arctic Circle is an annual expeditionary residency  program. The Arctic Circle brings together international artists of all disciplines, scientists, architects, and educators who colectively explore remote and fascinating destinations abroad a specialy outfited sailing vesel.

The Arctic Circle is a nexus where art intersects science, architecture, education, and activism -an incubator for thought and experimentation for artists and innovators who seek out and foster areas of collaboration to engage in the central issues of our time."

For more info, please visit www.thearcticcircle.org


About my Project:

New Masculine Identity - Crisis in a Globalized World is a project that explores the identity crisis of masculinity in white millennial American men. This project is two-fold with anthropological research occurring in the rust belt region of the US and accompanying artwork and research in the Arctic Circle. Working in these vastly different places will allow me to examine the correlations between identity and climate change. I theorize that millennial American men are experiencing a crisis in masculine identity from the combined rise in popularity of green energy due to climate change, increased automation in manual labor work, and the promotion of a globalized cultural identity through social media. With the use of an allegorical grid, I will apply ethnography and visual analyses to understand the trajectories of the formation and perpetuation of normative American masculine identities, and how those narratives are being redefined. Upon completion, I will have writing for publication as well as a body of mixed digital media artwork for exhibition. I hope to answer questions about preserving culture in a digital age and understanding masculine identity in a globalized social economy during environmental change.

The goal of this project is to understand how culture develops through social media alongside environmental change. I hope to discover how industry’s effect on the environment contributes to the development of identity and vice versa. Understanding how masculine identities have formed since the industrial revolution can inform how our gendered identities will arise in the future. This is particularly important right now because of the conflict between environmental conservation and cultural identity in the United States. Governing policies are rarely changed without the changing of the culture first, therefore it is imperative that I produce work that critiques the development of a new masculine narrative openly and honestly. In the wake of the technological revolution, I am looking to present tangible solutions to the imbalance between the human journey and our natural world. My methodology for this project will consist of visual analysis, ethnographic observation, and an art practice that includes audio documentation and printmaking. I plan to produce writing for publication that contributes to the understanding of masculinity within the gender studies field, as well as a podcast that shares the process and data of visual analysis research, and a body of mixed digital media work that tells the story of identity crisis in influential figures amidst a fiercely changing world.

New Masculine Identity – Crisis in a Globalized World will contribute to the growing field of masculinity within gender studies by illuminating the millennial American masculine identity in relation to environmental and industrial change. The outcomes of this project will provide a space where audiences that don’t necessarily intersect can come together to discuss practical solutions centered on the reconciliation of human society and the natural world.

Thank you!

As a first generation college student in my family, this opportunity is something that I've worked really hard for, and one that wouldn't otherwise be available to me without help from my community. I sincerely appreciate every one who has given a donation or offered encouragement - it means the world to me! 100% of your donation is going directly towards this residency & research.  You can follow along my Arctic journey on Instagram @betweenvelvetsheets and on my website www.tbaughman.com

If you donate, please send me your address so that I can send you a personal thank you note.

Organiser

Theresa Baughman
Organiser
Pittsburgh, PA

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