If you happened to check your Outlook the past couple of weeks, then you have likely seen the emails about the Visiting Artist Series and its most recent performance last Thursday night – The Doubleclicks. Now if you’re anything like me, you might be wondering what exactly the Visiting Artist Series is. How do they go about selecting the artists? What can we expect from the series in the future?
“The Visiting Artist Series is a fund that allows small and large artists to come to campus and perform a concert, as well as some kind of educational initiative that opens cultural opportunities for both campus and the community,” said Julia Phipps, the academic administrative coordinator for the Fine Arts Center. “We bring in anything from musicians to comedians, magicians, dance groups and even music and chamber ensembles.”
The Visiting Artist Series typically hosts two performances each semester, frequently featuring artists from various genres and disciplines. Last semester, the series welcomed two renowned artists to campus: Carrie Newcomer, a folk singer-songwriter and author, and Kristina Wong, a comedian and Pulitzer Prize finalist. Both performances drew considerable attendance, with Carrie Newcomer’s show nearly selling out and Kristina Wong attracting over 100 attendees.
This semester’s Visiting Artist Series kicked off last Thursday night when the series presented The Doubleclicks, a Billboard-charting folk-pop music duo. The second show of the semester will be on March 21, when the series will bring the band 9 Horses to Salter Hall.
The artists are chosen by a committee of various faculty members, each of whom serve for two years. Their first year on the committee is spent planning for the upcoming school year. This year’s planning committee is led by Professor Heidi Winters Vogel. The committee is currently reaching out to talent and booking agents to find artists for the 2024-25 school year.
“The only limit is our imagination, and, well, our budget,” said Professor Derek Mong, a member of the planning committee and chair of the English department. “Working on the committee is a positive experience.”
“The planning committee always tries to pick something that they think is interesting,” Phipps said. “It’s also important that they find something the students will like, and that we haven’t had in a while.”
During their second year, faculty become part of the implementation sub-committee.
“The way implementation works is that each faculty member who is on this committee takes on a selected artist as their event,” said Phipps. From there, the faculty will arrange the artist’s accommodations for their time on campus.
A typical trip for artists coming to the College starts with an overnight stay in one of Trippet Hall’s guest suites. The following day, the College hosts either a lunch talk, workshop or private lunch event with students.
“That’s something I love to set up,” explained Phipps. “It’s an opportunity for students to talk about what it is to be a performing artist and live that life. The students that attend are always able to walk away with something impactful.”
For the artists’ meals, Phipps believes that showcasing the culinary delights of Crawfordsville adds an extra dimension to the artists’ experience, fostering a deeper connection to the area’s culture and community.
“If they’re only here for one day, I like to give them some of Crawfordsville’s best food so that they can get a taste of the area that they’re living in for the day,” said Phipps.
“[The Visiting Artist Series] is an opportunity to bring culturally enriching experiences from across the country to our small campus,” said Mong.
Looking ahead, Phipps is excited for the future of the Visiting Artist Series and hopes that more students can come and experience such a unique opportunity.
“If students have any artists that they’re interested in having come to Wabash, don’t be afraid to contact the Fine Arts Center, and I can deliver it to the committee,” said Phipps. “The point of the Visiting Artist Series is for it to be more than a concert and more than an event. It’s supposed to be a time for you to connect with this artist in a way that you wouldn’t be able to if you just went and saw their concert.”