One of Kelli Smith-Biwer's favorite experiences at Carolina was in the Beat Lab. "I held office hours and had a student at every single workstation in the room, asking me questions and doing something interesting and talking to each other," she said. (Jess Abel/UNC College of Arts and Sciences)
Kelli Smith-Biwer, a fourth-year doctoral student in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences' music department, is the inaugural Arts Everywhere Graduate Fellow in Music Technology. Her research delves into 1950s home audio advertisements, with a focus on the construction of gendered buying and listening practices in high fidelity culture. A vital aspect of her work hinges on community engagement and activism.
As part of her fellowship, Smith-Biwer works in both the Beat Lab – a studio with specialized recording and mixing equipment in the music department’s Hill Hall – and the Video Presentation Studio.
“It’s amazing to see how the Beat Lab has grown since the beginning of this project. At the beginning of my fellowship, I would come in for office hours and it would just be empty,” Smith-Biwer said. “I would stand in the hallway like a carnival barker trying to bring people in. And I feel like all that work is paying off. It also makes me really excited for the next Arts Everywhere Graduate Fellow in Music Technology.”
Read the full interview with Smith-Biwer and learn more about her work.