Shumate Council intern, 2021

Public and University Programs intern, Makayla Davis, spoke with Wex intern, Simone Robinson about what it’s like to remotely work at our campus-centered contemporary art institution amid a global pandemic. Here are two perspectives from our 2020-21 university interns. These interviews were edited for length and clarity. 

Are there any projects that you're currently looking forward to as an intern?

I just finished [an essay] about the arts within the prison systems. I heard a podcast… called Ear Hustle and the Power of Listening, and it was about people in prison, their lives behind bars, and their lives before they were locked up… I wrote about education in the prison system and how not many prisons have a really strong art education background. And so my mentor saw the paper, and she wants to publish it. So I'm working on that currently and getting that to be published and out to the public.

Working on this piece has taught me so much about what it means to be a free person in 2020. It taught me the privilege I have of being educated and having access to technology. Many people do not realize that prisons across the country have struggled academically during COVID-19, just like the rest of the country. Arguably, prisons have probably struggled the most due to a lack of access to technology such as computers, tablets, and laptops. This makes Zoom or online classes very difficult, and I feel like people should be aware.