CSW Hosts Visiting Artist Bryana Siobhan

Artist Bryana Siobhan was on campus this week developing and presenting a site-specific installation piece in the Installation Room of the Garthwaite Center for Science and Art. This particular performance included paper-making, foliage-collecting, sewing, sculpture, poetry, and reflective writing. In general, Bryana says the process of creating the work is more significant than the final piece itself.
 
Artist Bryana Siobhan was on campus this week developing and presenting a site-specific installation piece in the Installation Room of the Garthwaite Center for Science and Art. This particular performance included paper-making, foliage-collecting, sewing, sculpture, poetry, and reflective writing. In general, Bryana says the process of creating the work is more significant than the final piece itself.
 

She got her inspiration for the text in the performance while reading CSW’s book, Individuals in the Community, a book about the school’s first 100 years. In that book, Bryana discovered that CSW seniors in the 1890s were required to read “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” prescribed by the New England colleges for their admissions exams. She listened to the audio book, transcribed parts of it, and attempted to copy the text onto dissolvable paper.

This week marked a number of firsts for Bryana. This was her first time performing at a highschool; this week marked her very first artist in residence; and this was also her longest performance and installation. At her more traditional performances, Bryana spends about two hours performing, which is the main part of the event, and her final piece usually stays up for another two hours.

When asked what felt different about this experience in comparison to performances she has done in the past, Bryana said performing at CSW felt more participatory. She usually works and performs alone, but being at our school for four days allowed her to immerse herself in the community. She was able to critique students on their artwork, and students and community members also got to visit her in the Installation Room and ask her questions.

“The labor of doing and telling is more important than the final product,” she says.”

To learn more about her previous work visi Bryana's website.

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CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.