Strained Relations Between Texas And Mexico Affect Mexican Independence Day Celebrations

The iconic Texas flag that covers the south side of the Texas State Capitol waved in the gentle breeze Monday evening; below it, in stark contrast, stood a sea of faces painted with the red, white and green of the Mexican flag.

A celebration for Mexican Independence Day occurred Monday, Sept. 15, on the South Steps of the Texas Capitol. Thousands of people, primarily of Hispanic-American descent, in the Austin area came out to commemorate the holiday and celebrate freedom in the United States. Given the recent tension between the Texan and Mexican governments, though, this celebration raised some controversy. Many attendees expressed wariness toward celebrating at the Capitol.

Blanton Museum’s Live Demonstration of Slow Ethnography: A Slow Process

I had the opportunity to attend a live demonstration of the artistic technique of slow ethnography in September. As it turns out, slow ethnography is telling of our culture.

One does not usually witness two women standing stock-still having an apparent staring contest upon walking into the Blanton Museum on a Saturday afternoon. But, that’s exactly what confronted unsuspecting visitors last weekend.

London-based artist and anthropologist Zoe Bray held an open art demonstration on Friday through Sunday to publicly depict her artistic, anthropological creative process. She illustrated the practice of slow ethnography, which is the study of the customs of individual peoples and culture as a whole, through the sketching of a live portrait. A roundtable discussion of the techniques and cultural implications of ethnography took place the following Monday. Bray’s purpose in the demonstration was to emphasize the importance of slow, detail-oriented process.

Welcome!

This is the online portfolio of Kirsten Kumar, where I will be posting projects that I accomplish in Journalism. The Home page displays my latest projects. Please look through the "Photo," "Audio," and "Video" tabs to view all my past work. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Texas 4000: Riding For A Cause

Texas 4000 is a bicycle tour that stretches from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska over each summer. The goal of the trek is to increase cancer awareness and raise funds for research. Each participant has a goal of how much money to raise and must meet it by a determined deadline. The riders train extensively to prepare their bodies and their minds for the 4,500-mile long atlas ride. We interviewed three participants. One, Brooke Willard, rode in the summer of 2012 and offered us an experienced perspective on the ride. The remaining two, Abz Zeitler and Tatiana Jessen, shared a hopeful outlook on their future journey.

Voices For Venezuela

This audio project involved interviewing two Venezuelan natives, Conchy Robledo and Victor Albornoz, about the effect that the political turmoil of the country has had on them and their families, along with the measures they have taken to cope with this turmoil. The interview was recorded in March 2014 in Austin, Texas.

By Kirsten Kumar and Rebeca Baptista