This week, I interviewed three on-campus creatives to discuss their experiences creating and interacting with art. Jonathon Woolford-Hunt (senior, digital communications & global studies), a musician; Terika Williams (senior, English & Spanish), who runs a Bookstagram; and Valerie Akinyi (senior, political science), were kind enough to lend their time in discussing their processes and thoughts.
Jonathon, a musician, explained that he has been surrounded by music his entire life.
“Growing up, I was trained classically,” he told me. “I played violin for upwards of twelve years, double-bass for five years, and piano for ten years. I used to be oriented towards that kind of music, but as time progressed, I began to pivot into jazz.”
The dual-influence of his background is evident in his music: Jonathon’s songs tend to lean more jazz-fusion than anything—his YouTube channel sports a variety of jazz-classical mixes, jazz-rap mixes, even jazz-hymns. He tells me that his creative process is based heavily on the ‘feel’ for music that he developed over time.
“I usually play [the song] straight through first, the way it is written, before I record,” he says. “When I’m recording, I use jazz chords and jazz structures to make the song into something a little different. Since I was classically trained, often that’s ended up being classical music or hymns.”
Terika Williams, who additionally writes and knits, runs a small Bookstagram account in her free time.
“I don’t post all the time, but I do like to make pretty aesthetic photos for my books,” she says. “I like to rate them as well, which I usually post on my story. It’s a little harder to keep up with the reading during the semester, so then I like to do the books I’m reading for class.”
Her genres, she tells me, tend to skew towards literary fiction, contemporary fiction, and fantasy. Her preferences in the literary/contemporary fiction genre are often books that make up the ethnic canon; so, stories that center around people from all over the world and how they interact with a distinctly post-colonial reality.
She notes, “I’m pretty interested in colonialism/postcolonialism, from right when it was occurring up until now. Narratives about freedom have always been very interesting to me.”
Terika also enjoys reading what she calls ‘silly books,’ and recommends a few authors—Taylor Jenkins Reid is a name that stands out in particular. I ask her what she thinks makes a good book.
“For me? Plot. I am willing to overlook small issues with character development or prose if there’s a good plot. Of course, the other things are important too—characters that you see yourself in, beautiful language, those kinds of things.”
Meanwhile, Valerie Akinyi holds a particular interest in fashion—fashion publications, fashion discourse, the like. She frequents a range of fashion magazines—from i-D’s casual streetwear to Vogue’s high fashion to the middleman of The Cut.
“I tend to prefer i-D and The Cut, because they favor younger, up-and-coming fashion designers and models. Vogue is more about establishments, and while I think there’s a place for that in terms of finding and sourcing inspiration, newer things are more relatable and more applicable for me, as a young person.”
I ask Valerie what kind of things she thinks need to change about establishments, and what kinds of things don’t need to change.
“Well, it’s only been in the past couple of years that Black influencers and designers have been invited to the high-profile fashion events that occur every year (Paris Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, etc.). It’s always interesting to see who gets invited to what shows, and who gets posted onto their public social media. I think that’s something that needs to change—especially since recent big-brand designers have publicly stated that they took inspiration from traditional African clothes and culture. It’s a little odd that they would say these things and then invite very few Black designers and influencers to their shows.”
Since the month of February is Black History Month in the United States, I asked the creatives about how their racial identity affects their art or their appreciation of it.
“I think that two main things drive me [in that matter]: the representation of seeing others like you doing things that you want to do, and also the differences in sound and rhythm in African-American music have been a great inspiration for me,” Jonathon says.
For Terika, identity is an active part of how she curates books.
“For myself, I like to read about things that reflect my own experiences. I value people that write about whatever they are called to write about, but I do nonetheless feel that it’s important to read (and write) what you know.”
Valerie considers her identity to be a complex factor in how she regards clothes. While she wasn’t particularly outrightly restricted growing up, the influences of the social internet have certainly put pressure on how she feels in groups because of her identity.
“The things that you see [online] play a big role in how you feel included or excluded; the particular stories they want to tell that have a certain kind of ‘look’ to it. It doesn’t necessarily prevent me from being exposed to those things, but definitely does affect how likely I am to pursue them.”
Andrews’ campus holds many creative minds, and they are active in making and analyzing art. In this way, they are contributing to our life on campus, but also to a broad structure of knowledge that is becoming ever-increasingly accessible. Through their art, criticism, and thought, they are World Changers.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.