Emma Lister '17

What kind of art experiences did you participate in during your time at Knox?

Knox provided me with quite a few art experiences outside of the classroom. Every spring, I've entered my pieces in the Al Young Annual Student Art Show. I won the Beverly Bender First Place Prize in Sculpture which, along with the prizes in other mediums, was awarded by a visiting juror (usually an artist/art professor from another institution) so it has been a great opportunity and honor to have my work showcased and recognized in this way.

I've also used my artistic abilities to become a capable and inspired set designer, technical director, and set and props painter for the Knox theatre department, which has offered me the opportunity to collaborate with other artists in the performance field.

How did your professors at Knox helped you embrace opportunities?

Thanks to the genuine attention to my art education I've received from two professors (Mark Holmes and Lynette Lombard), I was encouraged to apply for the Young Artists Residency at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York. This non-for-profit educational center hosts some of the world's most influential performers, researchers, politicians, artists, and activists for workshops, concerts, theatre productions, and a lecture series for the residency. I would never have found out about this excellent opportunity, nor would I have had the confidence and material to apply for it, without the help of my professors in the art department.

How did Knox helped you grow as an artist?

Knox has given me the tools (historical, literary, grammatical, critical) to understand what purposes my art can serve in the world and how I want to talk about and approach my art and to have the ability to discuss those possibilities as part of a larger dialogue with other people, not all of whom share my opinions or come from a similar background.