Debe Sham

Describe your artistic interests and areas of focus.

I am a sculptor and an interdisciplinary artist, usually works with heavy material like glass and metal. The performative sculptures and site-specific installations that I have developed in the past several years have grown out of the artistic exploration of the role of public art. I focus on interactivity as a means of generating dialogue between art and its audience; the ambiguity of interpersonal communication in different social situations; and the history and culture of toys, games and playgrounds. 

Share a project you pursued during your Yale-China Fellowship. How were people involved in collaborating on your project?

I started a community art project entitled “New Haven Green and i" . This project was my response to the unique “town and gown” social situation in New Haven. As a venue, the park is especially symbolic.

Primary school students of various races were involved in collaborating on my project. The children always surprised me in the workshops supported by Eli Whitney Museum. They were divided into groups and each group would design a public artwork. I would then invite parents and teachers for experience sharing, where the children could talk about the ideas of their works. I was so happy to see that more than half of work models were centered around the topic of homeless people. What and whom they cared about were important to the conception of my final work for the International Festival of Arts & Ideas.

How has the Fellowship experience (the place, the people, the schools, the Festival, etc.) stayed with you today? How does it shape your perspective?

It has been a vehicle for a woman from a very different urban culture on the other side of the world, to introduce myself to and into the space and culture of the city of New Haven.  Second, my project has been crafted as a way for children in New Haven schools to discover the places and culture of their own city. Place-based participatory project in a workshop format is a time-honored approach for me as a public artist. These two experiences are close to the mission and spirit of the Yale-China Fellowship programs, as they are particularly grounded in the Yale campus and community, and in the neighborhoods, schools and streets of New Haven.

What is one piece of advice for someone considering this Fellowship?

There is no doubt that the constraints of time, budget and technology were challenges throughout the several phases of realizing the project of the Yale-China Arts Fellowship. Do not forget to enjoy this voyage of discovery. It will be definitely a fruitful tributary for your future work.

Learn more about Debe at debesham.com.