On Wednesday I had the opportunity to listen to a lecture given by a self proclaimed artist and activist named Blithe Riley. For an hour and fifteen minutes she discussed her involvement in the “Occupy” movement. Much of her energy has been put into an organization known as “Occupy Museums.” As an artist, she shows particular distain for the actions that large museums make when much of their decisions are incentivized financially. I, however, had to search online to really discover what “Occupy Museums” as an organization believes in because the lecture was not very educational.
Ms. Riley discussed what measures the group has taken to promote their beliefs but never fully explained why they existed. Leaving the lecture, I questioned why the other attendees seemed to be impacted positively from the speech – a speech that contained multiple second hand accounts and seemed to run in circles. Those who share an interest for journalism would agree that if a source is not direct the information, despite its accuracy, is not credible. Much of my struggle stemmed from my lack of trust in her understanding of the “Occupy” movement as a whole. Many of her explanations contained gaps and seemed to be contradictory.
As disappointed as I was from the speech, it was clearly evident that Ms. Riley had a passion for what she does. I am thankful that I was able to attend because it is always enlightening to listen to people who are unlike you. I look forward to attending more lectures in the future and will actively continue to develop my ever-evolving outlook on the wide-ranging topics that concern each lecturer.
To form your own opinion of the "Occupy Museums" movement, please visit www.occupymuseums.org for more information.
You certainly have a point, thought I wish you had asked her to clarify during the Q&A. It's OK to challnege speakers - that's why we do Q&A. I think the primary value of such lecture is that it offers a perspective from someone who participated in the events that we only witness through the media. I'm sure that if this lecture was presented by a historian who wrote about OWS, it would have been much more coherent. But perhaps, something would have been lost.
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