Interdisciplinary Studies faculty and First Year Experience program coordinator Mike Sonksen was featured on-air for KCET’s radio show, “SoCal Updateâ€� to discuss his article about the group “Vigilant Love.” As Sonksen explains, “Vigilant Love is an inter-spiritual and multi-generational advocacy group of artists, activists, healers, and writers who come together to dismantle systemic Islamophobia, work towards new futures of shared health and safety, and build long-term relationships among Muslim and Japanese American young people. Rooted in deep cross-cultural friendships, the Vigilant Love team perennially presents a model for reciprocal solidarity between groups through the arts.â€� Listen to the radio interview and
Professor Sonksen is a regular contributor to KCET’s Artbound culture column. In a recent article, he reviews 12 Southern California public art projects that explore race and marginalized histories. This type of artistic expression, he explains, can “play a significant role presenting an alternative and more equitable history.â€� Sonksen points out how public art like murals are “new monuments rooted in inclusivity that can help right the wrongs of history.â€� Âé¶¹ÉçÇøapp professor Dr. Amy Converse concurs. “Many monuments are intentionally constructed as incarnations of power,â€� she writes in the article, “and in highlighting the history of the powerful, there are other histories of the marginalized and disenfranchised that get overlooked or forgotten.â€� Converse is part of a team that will bring public art projects to Woodbury’s campus.
Sonksen’s article can also serve as a driving guide to some of the city’s important public art sites.Â
Last Updated on October 11, 2021.Â