In this episode of 6.5 Minutes with C21, multimedia artist Amelia Bader reflects on art as a practice of identity, resistance, and community care. Working across painting, murals, Arabic calligraphy, and digital design, Bader understands her work as both deeply personal and collectively rooted. It is an expression of her identity as a Palestinian Muslim American woman and a way of creating space for others to see themselves reflected. Her practice moves between the intimate and the public, from detailed canvas work to large-scale murals that center visibility, unity, and cultural presence within Milwaukee's Muslim communities.

This special extended episode of 6.5 Minutes with C21 is co-hosted by Jamee Pritchard (C21 Graduate Fellow) and Anna Mansson McGinty (UWM Professor of Geography and Women's and Gender Studies/C21 Lead Faculty Advisor) in conversation with Milwaukee-based interdisciplinary artist Amal Azzam whose work moves across screen printing, fiber, photography, and found objects to explore identity, belonging, and creative freedom. The focus of the episode is the layered relationship between artistic practice and slow care. This conversation offers a thoughtful meditation on what it means to create, to belong, and to care, slowly, deliberately, and in relation to others. To view Azzam's work, visit https://www.amalazzam.com/    

In this episode of 6.5 Minutes with C21, graduate fellow Jamee Pritchard interviews Milwaukee-based sculptor and UW–Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts lecturer Mich Dillon. Dillon's artistic practice explores themes of memory, connection, and liberation through wood, rope, and found materials. In his work, wood symbolizes the human body, rope represents unseen tensions, and found objects speak to the cultural imprints carried through everyday life. To learn more about Mich Dillon's work, explore the links below. Portfolio: https://www.energysdomain.com/home Instagram: @energymadethisone  

In this episode of 6.5 Minutes with C21, graduate fellow Jamee Pritchard speaks with artist and professor Nathaniel Stern for a conversation on art, technology, and the practice of slowing down. Moving across historical and emerging technologies, from photography and print to artificial intelligence, Stern reflects on how creative tools shape, and are shaped by, human experience over time. Stern also gives listeners a preview of the collaborative exhibition with artist-poet Sasha Stiles, titled Generation to Generation: Conversing with Generative Technologies, which approaches AI not as a rupture, but as part of a long lineage of media experimentation. Through intergenerational storytelling, poetry, and interactive installations, the exhibition invites viewers to engage with technology with curiosity rather than fear. Learn more about Stern's work by visiting https://nathanielstern.com/.  The views, information, and opinions expressed on 6.5 Minutes with C21 are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of the Center for 21st Century Studies, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, or the University of Wisconsin System.

In this episode, Symphony Swan, a C21 Story Fellow, interdisciplinary artist, and archivist, discusses loss, grief, creativity, memory, and communities of care. After the loss of her parents in 2019 and 2022, her grief became the catalyst for building something transformative: The CR8TV House, a space dedicated to radical imagination and sustained support for Black and Brown artists. As she reflects on returning to her childhood home, Swan shares how memory, dreams, and personal artifacts revealed the house as more than a physical structure but an archive, a site of remembrance, and ultimately the foundation for a new kind of arts institution. Her practice of slow care includes writing things down, making art without urgency, spending time with loved ones, and revisiting family photographs with intention. This episode was recorded during a memory activation workshop at the CR8TV House in November 2025.  Upcoming event:  (W)rites of Spring with Symphony Swan on March 21, 12-2pm, at Havenwoods State Forest. Follow the link for details and registration: https://uwm.edu/c21/event/sc-writes-of-spring/  

In this episode of 6.5 Minutes, C21 Graduate Fellow Jamee Pritchard speaks with Dr. Kitonga Alexander, Milwaukee native, educator, community organizer, and Executive Director of the Bronzeville Histories Institute. Dr. Alexander's work centers on preserving Milwaukee's Black cultural heritage and supporting community members returning home after incarceration. He also coordinates the Welcome Home Project, created the Walk of Truth initiative, and teaches history and ethnic studies at UW-Milwaukee and Marquette University. He is a Positively Milwaukee Inspiring Teacher Award recipient. Dr. Alexander discusses his community-based initiatives aimed at reducing recidivism and promoting holistic slow care. After witnessing a disturbing incident at the Wisconsin State Fair, he founded United for Progress and Productivity to address systemic harm and create meaningful pathways for community change. The Welcome Home Project focuses on high-risk probationers ages 14–24, offering trauma-informed care, employment opportunities, housing support, and life-skills development. Dr. Alexander emphasizes a legacy of productivity, the idea that healing, stability, and community contributions can interrupt cycles of incarceration and build a future grounded in dignity. Learn more: Milwaukee Bronzeville Histories Positively Milwaukee: Kitonga Alexander UWM student 'brings his full brilliance, heart and soul' to community service An Inspiring Teacher Making a Difference 'We believe that they can come home and be a positive force for change:' How one program helps people transition out of incarceration

In the season premiere of 6.5 Minutes with C21, Jamee Pritchard talks with Milwaukee storyteller and community historian Adam Carr about what it means to practice slow care in a world that moves too fast. Reflecting on what he calls our "wounded landscape of care," Carr shares his walking practice, his weekly ritual of eating soup by the lake, and the quiet rebellion of being purposefully inefficient. Through these small acts of attention – walking, listening, pausing – he finds a balance between doing and being, reminding us that care begins when we slow down enough to notice what's around us. Drawing from his recent Story Cart: Attention workshop, known as Beach Class, Carr reflects on what the water teaches: "The lake is really good at what it does. We've stopped being good at what we do. We've become distracted, bad animals. We've only made it as animals to where we've gotten by our ability to form community, and we're so distracted we're really terrible at that right now. I thought the lake could just be a little bit of an antidote to the hurried mind." From his attention experiments to his reflections on storytelling, technology, and collective care, Carr invites listeners to rediscover the art of presence and the possibility of community that emerges when we move at the pace of being human.   Notes: Guest: Adam Carr — Independent writer, artist, journalist, and community historian based in Milwaukee; former Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Milwaukee Parks Foundation and longtime producer at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee. Host: Jamee Pritchard, Graduate Fellow, Center for 21st Century Studies (C21)

Jean Creighton, director of the Manfred Olson Planetarium, explores the concept of slow knowing by emphasizing the importance of making complex astronomical knowledge relatable by stripping down details, connecting concepts to daily life, and highlighting their cultural relevance. Her current work includes a program called "Scale of the Universe" that uses analogies to explain cosmic scales. She also collaborates with diverse cultures to explore celestial connections. For further exploration of the stars, explore UWM's Manfred Olson Planetarium website for upcoming events (https://uwm.edu/planetarium/) and the "Stars Have Stories" educational programming at https://uwm.edu/planetarium/astronomy-resources/stars-have-stories/  

In this episode of C21's "6.5 Minutes with…," graduate fellow Jamee Pritchard interviews Robert Smith, Director of the Center for Urban Research, Teaching, and Outreach (CURTO) at Marquette University. He discusses his journey in community-based research and engagement by emphasizing the importance of "slow knowing" in his work, which, he explains, involves deliberate reflection and sustained inquiry.   Smith highlights his projects, including a transatlantic study on legal activism against racial colonialism and a prison education program. He stresses the significance of local history and community engagement in shaping his research and teaching that are guided by initiatives like MKE Roots and the BLEST Hub, which focus on place-based learning and community-driven education. Media Recommendations (with links): Smith recommends a variety of media in understanding slow knowing, from the classroom to board games. He particularly mentions programs like CURTO's McNeely Prison Education Consortium, MKE Roots, and the BLEST Hub. For prison education, the medium is the classroom; for MKE Roots, it is Milwaukee; and for BLEST Hub, Smith says that the "medium is whatever the young people tell us the medium ought to be." McNeely Prison Education Consortium: "We're always welcoming the folks who are system impacted to become a part of our on campus courses, and then those who are inside facilities. We teach courses inside correctional facilities within a blended model, with our Marquette students as well. We're also looking for folks who want to be instructors in those classes too. These are transformational learning experiences, not just the students who are being transformed, but the instructors are being transformed as well." MKE Roots and BLEST Hub: "There's a civics lesson right down the street and around the corner from you" Smith continues. "You know that our city, cities in general, but particularly this city, has some important local history, some important lessons about the urban experience, the Midwestern experience, the immigrant experience, the industrial experience, there's some really great histories that are right here locally that with MKE roots, we're engaging with teachers to help our young people understand the importance of place, and the importance of local history helping to serve as a foundation, for our young folks who are making those jumps from high school to the workforce or high school to college, our BLEST Hub, we're looking to find you where you are." Board Games: Smith also suggests two board games: Chess and  Wingspan - a game about birds and all their splendor. He explains that they both have taught him patience and deliberation at very different moments of his life.

In this episode of C21's 6.5 Minutes With…, graduate fellow Jamee Pritchard interviews Samira Payne, an educator and outdoor enthusiast, who discusses her journey into hiking and her role as a volunteer leader for Outdoor Afro, a nonprofit organization that reconnects Black people to nature. She emphasizes the importance of slow care and defines it as being present and actively listening to one's surroundings. Payne highlights the benefits of nature for self-care, health, and community building, encouraging newcomers to start with simple outdoor activities and gradually engage in group hikes. You can find more information about Outdoor Afro by visiting outdoorafro.org or following the organization on Facebook and Instagram. Join one of Samira Payne's hikes by connecting with the local group via Facebook or Meetup. Additionally, if you are interested in Payne's other form of self-care, yarncrafting, visit her Instagram page @livelybysamira. She describes crocheting as a meditative activity that calms her anxiety: "I'm able to focus better because it's this repetitive behavior that calms my mind and helps me slow down and be more present to where I am in that moment. So I'm a better listener when I'm crocheting, I am less anxious when I'm crocheting because I'm not running through my to do list. I feel like I'm getting something accomplished." Samira's Book recommendation: Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World by Dr Rae Wynn-Grant In her memoir, Rae Wynn-Grant explores the relationship between humans, animals, and the earth through her personal journey to becoming a wildlife ecologist. The memoir follows Wynn-Grant on her adventures and explorations in some of the world's most remote locales. With a nearly twenty-year career in the wild, she's created a niche as one of very few Black female scientists and her story recounts the challenges she had to overcome, expectations she had to leave behind, and the many lessons she learned along the way. Spanning the Great Plains of North America to the rainforests of Madagascar, Wild Life sheds light on our pivotal relationship and responsibility to the natural world and the relatives―both human and otherwise―that we share it with.