In this Princeton course, close listening becomes a gateway to Trenton’s rich art scene
Students in the course “Arts in the Invisible City: Race, Policy, Performance” explored the vibrant arts scene in Trenton, New Jersey, through the lens of activism.
What does close listening mean? And can it, too, be a form of activism?
This spring, nine Princeton undergraduate students set out to answer those questions and others in a course that explored the vibrant arts scene in Trenton, New Jersey, through the lens of activism.
Students in “Arts in the Invisible City: Race, Policy, Performance” had the opportunity to see a performance of a documentary theater work, “The OK Trenton Project,” at Passage Theatre Company. They visited the studio of Tamara Torres, an Afro-Latina artist whose work addresses women’s rights and racial equity. They took a walking tour of Trenton murals with graffiti artist Leon Rainbow.
Students examined the historical and contemporary racism that has shaped Trenton — the so-called “invisible” city between New York and Philadelphia — in direct conversation with Trenton’s activists, policy makers, politicians and artists. For their final project, students conducted oral history interviews with a range of Trenton artists.
This team-taught course was led by D. Vance Smith, professor of English, and Nyssa Chow, an oral historian and lecturer in theater in the Lewis Center for the Arts and the Humanities Council. It was supported by the David A. Gardner ’69 Magic Project in the Humanities Council. Cross-listed in English, humanistic studies, theater and urban studies, the course is also part of the Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES).
Pictured: Artist Tamara Torres (center) engages students in an informal discussion in her studio. Seated to Torres’ right are the course’s co-instructors D. Vance Smith, professor of English, and Nyssa Chow, an oral historian and lecturer in theater in the Lewis Center for the Arts and the Humanities Council.