Another photo I really like is 'Dancers in Bahrain', a shot by Lizzie Breyer from her Global Business Experience. The photo depicts men in the middle of greeting one another--all that is visible is white flowing garments and the traditional red and white keffiyeh.
I was so moved by the exhibit, I decided to interview Chrissa to find out the inspiration behind it. Here is our conversation, roughly transcribed:
Where did you the idea for DART?
I was going crazy… I've wanted to bring more art to Darden ever since my first year because I saw so much talent and experience in our classmates. The truth is that we're such multi-dimensional people, and that doesn’t come out in the first year format. And frankly the bare walls made it look like a sanitarium--they were screaming to be filled--like a kid with a crayon. The artwork is a step above me taking a highlighter to the walls.
How difficult was it to get buy in?
It was easy because I made it easy, and the way I made it easy is that I had a clear plan, and aligned the purpose of the project with the Tayloe Murphy Center's mission of global education (Tayloe Murphy sponsored the exhibition). When you align things, things happen like a hot knife through butter.
Something I appreciated was everyone's enthusiasm to make the place [Darden] better. It was key that it was straight from the heart and there was a business plan behind it.
You wrote a business plan for this?
I wrote it as a final paper for Prof. Horniman's Leadership Learning Lab. [The paper outlined] mission and strategy, timeline, budget, org structure, talked about risks, and how it links to the community, which was an important part of it because of the SHE auction. (Each year the National Association of Women MBAs at Darden holds an auction to support the Shelter for Help in Emergency here in Charlottesville. SHE provides support to women threatened by domestic violence).
How does it link to SHE?
This is a temporary exhibit -- in the sense that new photos will be put up. Important to recognize that the Darden community revitalizes annually with new students, staff asnd faculty. And students head off as alumni into the world and have something new to offer that they didn't have at Darden. Every Spring the exhibit will come down and new photos will be solicited from the community here in Charlottesville and worldwide. The current photos will be sold at next year's SHE auction and all proceeds donated to SHE.
What struck you about the photos?
A staggering number of photos were submitted (400 photos, with roughly 100 unique submissions). Of those 400, twenty were selected, and of the twenty selected three were alumni. The rest were distributed among staff, students and faculty.
People's reaction was the most important experience -- peoples' happiness and surprise at the photos. It seemed to reawaken a part of their soul. Students who felt they were conforming to stereotype business expectations could express another side of themselves.
It was also a way for faculty and staff to connect with students, and important for staff to be seen in another light by students and their peers. It linked groups in new ways.
Why This Project?
Businesses are founded based on creativity and new ideas and inspiration; and inspiration comes from many sources and types of information. Yet you won't hear a CEO visiting Darden say he was inspired to found his business from his spreadsheet. You're inspired by customer needs, by gaps, by art, by traveling, casual observations in conversation. If I had to capture the whole thing, it's another way to insert inspiration into the school -- share experiences, connect people globally, to inspire and to be whole.
More photos to follow. If you were an DART finalist and would like your photo featured in this blog, please send them my way!
