Center for Politics and the People to host panel on art and politics Sept. 22

“Art as Action: Politics and the Creative Impulse” will be discussed by three artists Friday, Sept. 22, at Ripon College. Brandon Bauer, Jenie Gao and Tylonn Sawyer will discuss art as a political tool starting at 4 p.m. in Kresge Little Theatre, East Hall. Associate Professor of Art Rafael Salas will moderate the panel, which is sponsored by the Center for Politics and the People.

Bauer holds an MA and MFA in intermedia art from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is currently an associate professor of art at St. Norbert College in De Pere. His work focuses on social justice, democracy, war and as an exploration of embedded critical histories.

Gao holds a BFA in printmaking/drawing from Washington University in St. Louis and works as an independent curator, artist and educator. Gao uses her cross-cultural background as tool to teach about health, equality, ethics and economics of the communities of which we are a part.

Sawyer s a figurative painter who focuses on identity and race. His work has been exhibited nationally, and his work will be included in an exhibit at the Detroit Museum of Contemporary Art this fall. Sawyer holds and MFA from the New York Academy of Art and teaches at Oakland Community College and the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.

The Center for Politics and the People at Ripon College was created to promote constructive political debate, analyze public policy and foster the engagement of citizens and their government. Every year, the Center hosts speakers and panels to foster discussion surrounding current events and policy objectives.