12:00: A contentious debate about two old school buildings, part 2
1:00: Ukrainian artists create beauty amid tragedy
Rochester City Council voted Tuesday night on what to do with two vacant city school district buildings — specifically, a proposal that would allow for the sale of two buildings to charter schools. We sit down with Council members Stanley Martin and Chiara "KeeKee" Smith to discuss their votes. In studio:
- Chiara "KeeKee" Smith, member of Rochester City Council
- Stanley Martin, member of Rochester City Council
Then in our second hour, "When war touches an artist’s life directly, how does it change what feels necessary to say or impossible to ignore?" That's a question local Ukrainian-born photographer Elena Dilai asked herself as she watched Russia's war tear her native country apart. She says she and her fellow Ukrainian artists didn't set out to make "war art," but as the fighting touched their families, their language, and their sense of home, they felt compelled to respond creatively. This hour, we sit down with Dilai and two of her colleagues to discuss how artists process war, the conflicting emotions that can come with creating beauty out of catastrophe, and what audiences can learn from art that's rooted in private emotion. In studio:
- Elena Dilai, fine art and portrait photographer and owner of Elena Dilai Photography, LLC
- Olena Kondrashova, Ukrainian artist and photographer
- Olena Prokopovych, Ph.D., associate professor of political science and director of the Political Science Undergraduate Program in History, Politics, and Law at Nazareth University
"Connections" is livestreamed each day on the WXXI News YouTube channel. Watch here.
