Fall is approaching, and so are fall concerts on Iowa State University’s campus. There is definitely no lack of artistic talent in Ames. If you’re looking for a fall activity, there is one very spectacular concert coming up in November.
Jennifer Rodgers, from the Iowa State choral department, has collaborated with Jennifer Drinkwater, a local Ames artist, and many others to formulate a unique display of art. The collaboration between Rodgers’ and Drinkwater’s art will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 3 at the Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall. The name given to this collaborative concert is “Regular Folk Giving Light” and involves both Lyrica and Cantamus vocal choirs.
“It came out of a lot of collaborations,” Rodgers said. “I have always been a person who likes to involve collaborative artists or community partners in my work, and this was the perfect opportunity to do that.”
Rodgers thinks of this concert as a different type of artistic experience than just an average choir concert. Rather than having one choir sing after another and a stage with an audience of chairs, Rodgers is creating a more interactive environment. Both choirs will perform interchangeably and the floor will be covered with pillows for spectators to come and enjoy, more like a “big story hour.”
When Rodgers stumbled into Drinkwater’s local art studio in Ames, her artistic vision began to blossom. Drinkwater’s art is based on real life people in Mississippi and Iowa communities. She asks people from those communities what is good about the simplicities of life where they live.
“What can we use that’s good and how can we use those things to solve issues?” Drinkwater said.
She has learned to approach life in a way that celebrates what’s good rather than focusing on what’s not. She used that idea to jumpstart her project that began in 2018. The What’s Good Project incorporates her paintings with stories of those in various communities and highlights the idea that the good things are what really matter.
For the upcoming concert, Drinkwater used fluorescent patterned cards in her art to display different patterns. Each of the students in the ISU choirs has chosen a pattern that they feel represents themselves to add to a collage that will be displayed amongst other various artwork at the concert. Along with this art, Rodgers has partnered with the Sing Me a Story Foundation and student composer Jarod Hart to tell the story of a family in the community and their journey with a cancer diagnosis through song.
In Rodgers’ words, the event is less of a concert and more of a storytelling “festival” to lift people up and celebrate what’s good in our community and world.
Tickets will be sold at the door of the venue for $5.
