What’s New Nostalgia?
by Sindey Amar ‘24
The theme of the 2022 Arts Festival is New Nostalgia, but what does that mean? For us at the Arts Council, it means paying homage to tradition and innovation as we move forward in a new and ever expanding world. The arts have been central to processing the feelings of instability that have come the past few years, and they create new ways of being and understanding. This year, experience Arts Fest renewed.
To commemorate the artsmanship alive at Boston College, the Arts Council would like to announce the winners of the 2022 Arts Awards: the Screaming Eagles Marching Band, the Vandy Quartet, Patrick Beck, Lauren Burd, Kaylee Drew, Michael Pelosi, Xinying Wang, and Yifan Wang! These groups and artists will be sharing their experiences at Boston College during Arts Fest at the award ceremony and will be interviewed for the Arts Journal.
But first, let’s hear what some of them have to say about New Nostalgia!
Arts Fest 2021 Poster
Charlotte White ‘23 (English, Chinese, and Environmental Studies)
I think [New Nostalgia] comes in terms of being older and becoming mentors. Going into college, I was very worried about finding a social group. This may sound very cliche, but joining Orchestra was my social outlet, and I looked up to the seniors who seemed really close to each other and all on eboard. Now three of us [in the Vandy Quartet] are on E-board, and we have become these mentors (I hope) for these freshmen. I've had conversations with them and their worries about finding social groups and coming out of COVID—how that's going to work out—, but I think the fact that we’ve experienced the beginning of the end and we’re also experiencing the end of it shows that it'll all work out in the end.
Arts Fest 2019 Poster
Arts Fest 2022 Poster
What does “New Nostalgia” mean to you? How has your artistic expression evolved since coming to BC?
Yifan Wang ‘22 (Art History and Finance)
New Nostalgia for me as a senior will mean leaving BC. I just began to realize that I have only 5 weeks left on this campus, and I really appreciate every moment that I’ve spent with the people here on campus. That's probably New Nostalgia when I think about it. It's all the memories and time and moments that I've spent here on this campus. I've learned so much and I've grown so much as an individual, becoming more independent and certain about myself.
Arts Fest 2020 Poster
Kaylee Drew ‘24 (Music and Applied Psychology)
I think we are at a turning point in a weird way. Last year, everything was online and we were doing things in a way we never thought of before, like virtual rehearsals for Chorale, putting together virtual videos; it wasn’t like anything anyone in Chorale could have anticipated we would be doing. So now being back in person again, it feels like a return to what is most comfortable to us and what the essence of the group really feels like it is—being in person with people, making music together. I think we’ve taken a lot of lessons from the pandemic and we’re a more depthful group because of it. I think we're more appreciative of the fact that we can be in person because we've had this experience where we haven't been.
With campus coming to life again this Spring and looking at a brighter future, we hope the towering white tents of Arts Fest will rejuvenate all students after an uncertain winter, ignite a newfound spirit on the Heights, and inspire more artwork for years to come.
Edited by: Sindey Amar 24’