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Lauren Arena graduated from St. John Fisher University in 2025. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. She hopes to be a crime analyst.<\/p>\n
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[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/projects.sjf.edu\/angles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/04\/Lauren-Arena.jpg” alt=”FA 9 Pic” title_text=”Lauren Arena” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”right” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left” animation_duration=”500ms” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” sticky=”on”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_divider disabled_on=”on|on|off” _builder_version=”3.2″]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”6720,6719,6718,6717,6716,6715,6714,6713,6711″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” transform_scale=”100%|100%” animation_style=”zoom”][\/et_pb_gallery][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n
INTERVIEW w\/ LAUREN ARENA
by Sophia King<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
SK: What inspires you most as an artist?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n LA: I\u2019m most inspired by art that makes me think or even become uncomfortable with the themes associated with it. I really resonate with complex ideas and works that combine social issues and the use of the human body. As a woman, I have my own self issue with my body, so seeing different perspectives about the body it really inspires my work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n SK: What common themes do you often express in your work?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n LA: I really look at a lot of themes or whatever just gives me inspiration. Most commonly though, bodies and serious social events are the largest themes I try to express in my work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n SK: What do you hope viewers take away from your work?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n LA: I just want people to find a piece that they can resonate with or at least tell someone that they saw something really interesting. I want conversations to occur that people may never have had.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n SK:What is something you are genuinely passionate about, and does that passion reflect in your art?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n LA: I am passionate about social issues. My generation has been apart of so many major life events, I think we can be the voice in sharing our stories with others and show how even young generations can be affected by the events and choices. I would like my work to be the start of conversations about specific topics that many may not be comfortable with talking about.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n SK: \u201dWhat advice would you give to aspiring artists?<\/span><\/p>\n LA: Find a media that inspires you. I didn\u2019t realize until really getting into collaging that it was my favorite form of media. Once you find it, use it as a way to find some break within your day. Just keep with it and learn about different styles that resonate with you and have fun at the end of the day. For me art is an escape from being a college student who doesn\u2019t get to be creative.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left” animation_duration=”500ms” animation_intensity_slide=”10%”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lauren Arena graduated from St. John Fisher University in 2025. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. She hopes to be a crime analyst. Poetry Art Cover- Bodies, Bodies, Bodies Art #13 Featured Artist- revolution of identity Art #4 Art #7 Prose- Echoes of a Pandemic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":6735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" ANGLES: <\/b>How does your gender identity interact with your identity as a student\/ member of a college campus?<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Britt Bender: <\/b>Recently I\u2019ve discovered that I wish to identify as gender fluid, an interesting discovery as I near the very edge of my college career. So, as a student and someone within the Fisher community (while also being away from it as a commuter) it has not been an easy thing. My gender identity felt a little all over the place, but the ways it was helped was through programs and acceptance of expression and gender brought on by people like Jenna Weintraub from student life.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> ANGLES: <\/b>What does feminism mean to you?<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> BB: <\/b>Feminism to me means that equality, true equality, comes through the lifting of others with one\u2019s own privilege so that everyone has the ability to stand on equal grounds. When I don\u2019t experience the same oppression as someone else, it doesn\u2019t mean I go for answers from that group, it means I do my part as an ally and look for them and advocate for those people on my own and make sure others do the same. Feminism isn\u2019t a way of life to be showcased entirely in the face of the world, it is something often done through less shown and less glamorous methods.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> ANGLES: <\/b>Why did you become a feminist?<\/p> \u00a0<\/b><\/p> BB: <\/b>I think all along I was a feminist in my childhood but toxic social beliefs and a conservative christian past made it hard to acknowledge. Once I got to college, after being exposed in high school to thoughts on feminism, I expanded my views when I took a Women and Gender studies class. Often fear, and especially bigoted fear, comes from a line of silence and lack of knowledge. So, I became a feminist because I truly started to understood more about the foundational pieces of inequality around me and things clicked. When I realized more about ways I was privileged or how I internalized misogyny in my own life, the more my past actions made sense.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> ANGLES: <\/b>Is there any difference between feminism and women empowerment to you?<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> BB: <\/b>There is a difference between women empowerment and feminism to me. Feminism extends itself beyond the foundations of women empowerment in a way that includes trans individuals and intersex people. Not to say that women empowerment is something to strive for, but instead it is more of a way of <\/i>progress within feminism itself.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> ANGLES: <\/b>What is the best way to assess gender imbalance in education and the workplace and in your opinion what can be done to combat it?<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> BB: <\/b>To look at imbalance in the workplace and educational institutions begins with looking at the facts of the environment like how many women, people of color, people with disabilities, neurodivergent, and more are involved there. From that point forward it remains important to open up opportunities and lift people out of the restrictions placed on those without given privileges. It is on higher ups to be held accountable and for people witnessing this to point it out and not blend in with the status quo or any organization that excludes.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> ANGLES: <\/b>In your opinion, what is the most important challenge that women face today?<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> BB: <\/b>The most important challenge I believe women face today is the continuing inner sexist and misogynistic beliefs that can go unnoticed. Because they go unseen or ignored, women often hurt one another in the process. If women lift one another up and see the wrongs how society pits them against one another in many ways, then true progress can continue for feminism as a whole.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> ANGLES: <\/b>In your opinion, What needs to change in the next 10 years?<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> BB: <\/b>Honestly a lot needs to change in the next 10 years, but in reality only so much can be done because things sadly take time. I think an allowance of generations such as Gen Z and millennials need to be given the space to make these changes and step up into institutional roles so that the world makes progress. This will not only help individual countries, but will help global issues such as climate change. Climate change is one of the biggest threats currently, and without a healthy Earth there\u2019s little hope to progress on other issues. But also while things like climate change are worked on, that doesn\u2019t mean progress is halted on social issues and gender equality, it just means we can\u2019t afford to ignore this one among all the others.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> ANGLES: <\/b>What advice would you give to young women today?<\/p> BB: <\/b>A large piece of advice I would give to young women today is that owning and loving your body is a difficult process because there\u2019s a lot being pushed against that love by society. Once you begin to see how that world affects you, only then can you start to heal in a way that helps you own not only your gender identity but also your sexuality, whether asexual, pansexual, or anything in between. Being kind to yourself is one of the hardest but most rewarding things you can do.<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[328,324],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.sjf.edu\/angles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6737"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.sjf.edu\/angles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.sjf.edu\/angles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.sjf.edu\/angles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.sjf.edu\/angles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6737"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/projects.sjf.edu\/angles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6867,"href":"https:\/\/projects.sjf.edu\/angles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6737\/revisions\/6867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.sjf.edu\/angles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.sjf.edu\/angles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.sjf.edu\/angles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.sjf.edu\/angles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}