About 30 people gathered in
the Earl V. Moore Building on
the University of Michigan’s
North Campus Monday evening
for a discussion-based event
hosted by TEDxUofM and
the School of Music, Theatre
& Dance’s EXCEL Lab. The
TEDxUofM
Salon
revolved
around the theme of activism
in the arts, approaching the
idea with an interactive event.
As opposed to the conference
hosted
by
TEDxUofM
in
February, the salons are meant
to be smaller and more intimate
discussions.
LSA senior Allison Radman
helped organize the event and
gave background on the purpose
of TEDxUofM.
“These salons are supposed
to be more discussion-based
events where we kind of bring
together the community and
talk about a specific topic,”
Radman said.
The events are supposed to
spark an interactive discussion
as well as highlight interesting
speakers and experiences.
“The arts as activism is …
such an interesting discussion
and that’s why TedxUofM is so
interested in having this kind of
event,” Radman said.
The event started with a
TEDx video featuring artist
and activist Marcus Ellsworth.
Following the video, attendees
split into small groups to discuss
reactions and the role art plays
in activism.
Melissa
Coppola
is
the
program
assistant
for
the
EXCEL Lab in the Music,
Theatre & Dance School. EXCEL
is a place for entrepreneurship,
leadership and career services
within the realm of performing
arts.
“In the School of Music,
Theatre & Dance the EXCEL
program is relatively new,”
Coppola said. “And one of the
things that we do is provide
funding for students with all
different sorts of projects, from
performance-based down to
things with much greater social
impact.”
Coppola hopes the EXCEL
Lab can help students who are
interested in both the arts and
activism, but who are unsure
about what that can look like.
“I think for a lot of students,
it’s really hard to understand
what that looks like because it
can take many different forms,
and today’s event I think is just
kind of getting people to think
about what the arts can look like
when you’re trying to make a
change in the community
you live in,” Coppola said.
The featured speaker
of the event was Deekah
Rox, program director
of Girls Rock Detroit and
founder of the Cosmic
Slop Music Festival. Rox
became
interested
in
rock music at a young age,
partially inspired by her
father’s love of music.
“My
dad
told
me
growing up that there’s a
song for every occasion,”
Rox said.
Rox
opened
the
event by describing her
childhood on the eastside
of Detroit with a loving
family.
She
described
feeling from a young age
as if she lived in between
two worlds because of her
music taste.
“It was very obvious
from an early age that I
was not necessarily into
the same stuff that the
rest of the kids in the
neighborhood were into,”
Rox said.
Rox remembers her music
interests
straying
from
what others thought of as
stereotypically Black.
“In
my
headphones,
the
music did not necessarily reflect
the environment that I lived
in, stereotypically,” Rox said.
“It made it very uncomfortable
because I always felt like I was
trying to be Black enough for
my Black friends, and trying to
calm down my Blackness for my
white friends.”
Rox
also
described
her
experience in theater as she was
young, saying it helped her learn
more about performance and
herself.
“It kind of helped me carve
out my place, or what felt like my
place, even though there were
some stereotypes that were
reinforced,” she said. “Because
I’m a loud Black chick, so I got
all the loud Black chick roles.”
Rox described her various
performance experiences, as
well as being part of a band.
Despite these experiences, she
still felt like she was in between
two worlds.
“I still felt like, every time I
showed up somewhere with this
guitar, uncomfortable,” she said.
One of the memories she looks
back on fondly is the creation of
the Cosmic Slop Music Festival,
a place for rock musicians of
color to come together. Most of
all, Rox and other Black Detroit-
based rock musicians created
the festival to be a safe space for
all people.
“You miss that feeling of being
in a room that is a safe space,”
Rox said. “Microaggressions
are everywhere. I just walked
away from a very, very good
paying job because I am not
going to be able to be the token
Black girl.”
QUIDDITCH TOURNAME NT
2 — Tuesday, March 26, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
KELSEY PEASE/Daily
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TUESDAY:
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Discussion-based event sponsored by EXCEL Lab included a speech from the Girls
Rock Detroit program director, Cosmic Slop Music Festival founder Deekah Rox
TEDxUofM Salon reflects on arts as activism
Dr. Joel Khan, University alum and
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is a week dedicated to showcasing the ethical, environmental and health benefits of a
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