We recently connected with Ann LePore and have shared our conversation below.
Ann, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I’m an artist and educator who works with performance, animation and technology.
I used to be an introvert. I puzzled over what I was capable of and worried that my fears were an indication that I was less capable than the bold, loud attention-grabbing folks around me. From 3rd grade onward, educators always told me I was not living up to my potential. I didn’t know how to use that style of criticism. But when I was in high school I observed something magical. I watched my mother completely redefine herself. She finished her Bachelor’s degree, and got her Master’s Degree all while being a single parent. We would sometimes talk late at night about the different kinds of careers she could have. I knew absolutely and without a doubt that she was capable of anything. Slowly, I started to realize that I could also be secretly bold- or even powerful!
When I moved to college, I tried to leave behind old ideas of myself. Perhaps a new environment could transform me into someone brave, social, and proud of my skills. It would be required for my survival as an artist. This new landscape, these buildings and art studios provided an energy for me to fake my confidence at first, before I eventually grew into it. Every now and then when my energy dissipates, I need to feel seen, and then the awareness energizes me, the reminder that I am not defined by my fears, but instead by how I communicate, navigate, help, create and inspire. To feel understood feels immensely successful. To help others to feel understood grows that feeling of success into something beyond the personal.
It feels strange to quantify myself in such positive terms. As a young person it was expected that I was to be above all else, polite and as such, to demure in the face of accolades, to lower myself in order to maintain the social comfort of others. But I’m not young anymore. I’m very good at what I do, and being proud of my accomplishments has helped me to succeed in my field, and to pull others up along with me.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Part of being a divergent thinker means there are always multiple projects going on simultaneously, for better or for worse. I’m a Professor at a liberal arts college in NJ where I teach Electronic Art and Animation.
Right now I’m in the animation phase of Food Store(y) a public art project where I drag my kitchen table to public spaces, feed strangers, record their stories, and then animate their gestures as part of a repository for getting to know strangers. It’s a placemaking performance-animation artwork that makes use of my maternal instincts to foster dialog and try to activate public spaces with empathy.
I’m also getting ready to present an animation to the cross-modal neuroscience community at Oxford University. I have synesthesia, a cross- wiring of the senses, and learning about it through the international communities of the AISAS as well as the UK and American Synesthesia Associations has made me aware that talking about unusual sensory experiences can be difficult. We don’t have shared language for these unusual sights, sounds or other sensations, which makes the work of artists and musicians pretty important. I’ve begun translating some of my friend Geri Hahn’s visual experiences using CG animation and AR to allow neuroscientists to better understand what she sees when she listens to a particular piece of music.
I’m very pleased to be part of a team that has just received a large grant from the Department Of Education to lead faculty development in climate change for K-12 educators. I’ve cooked up a lot of lessons that help teachers to involve art, film, dance, animation, public projects and environmental justice when talking about climate action to different grade levels.
There is a public art commission dear to my heart which is top-secret right now, but will be revealed when the contracts are done.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The things that have served me the best were:
-To be unabashedly proud of my accomplishments
-To always be making art, whether in public, in galleries, in my studio or in my sketchbook
-To be of service whenever possible
For young people who are creative but lack confidence, I would suggest:
-Take the focus off of yourself. Use your skills to help others. It might make it easier to be proud of yourself when you see the value your skills have to others.
-Keep doing your creative thing no matter what other people say- even if you don’t have support, do your creative thing on the side. Never abandon it.
-Grow your community. If you don’t have a supportive group at your school, workplace, or house of worship, start one- even if you start it unofficially.
-Learn to take a compliment. When your skills or your work are complimented, never demure them, just smile and say “Thank you.”
-The name of your degree will never be effective enough to communicate what your skills are. Practice telling people what you’re good at and why that’s valuable. They can’t help you if you’re not willing to advocate for yourself.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Collaborating with people whose skill sets differ from mine, like scientists and musicians, has always been rewarding. My favorite so far was being the sole artist aboard the research vessel Sea Wolf. There’s someone who keeps asking me to animate Dave Grohl’s synesthesia, but Dave and I haven’t actually met yet. (Call me?) It would be really fun to work with the folks at CERN or even Bell Labs. As a former shy person it’s also surprising to find that I really enjoy public speaking and my audiences seem to enjoy it too! If you want to work with me, or invite me to speak, you can reach out via my website, annlepore.com
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.annlepore.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leporeann/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-lepore-15652b3/
