Grant Dillard
Contributing Writer
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Murray State senior art major Eriko Whittaker has been accepted into the highly competitive Fulbright Student program to research in Germany next year. Whittaker was supposed to leave in September, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic she is now set to leave in January 2021.
During the application process last fall, Whittaker drafted her research proposal that she now gets to pursue in Berlin.
“For my research, I will be observing the cultural and social exchanges of refugees and the local German communities,” Whittaker said. “I am interested in how art is used as a vessel to express and communicate ideas.”
These ideas, she said, could range from the meaning of home, identity, language, religion and more. She views all forms of art, such as music, dance and film, as a way to be creative and as a documentation of the lived human experience.
When performing her research, Whittaker will be working with the organization Fasahat, a refugee home that focuses on art, community projects and creative workshops, which was designed to encourage self-expression and empowerment.
This part of her research was inspired by her growing concern of the refugee crisis in the United States and wanting to help refugees.
“I am troubled by the growing hate, apathy and neglect towards groups of people who may look different and speak a different language,” Whittaker said. “I always believed that we are far more alike than we are different.”
At the Fasahat workshops, refugees and the German community will create art, and Whittaker will participate and document what she’s observed through painting.
Her host institution will be Universität der Künste Berlin, or the University of Art Berlin.
“I will have a studio space there, and a mentor, where I can create more paintings and have somebody guide me during my research,” Whittaker said.
Although she is taking classes at the university, it will not be for a degree or grade since her program is for research. Whittaker will take classes to better socially integrate, make friends and because she enjoys learning.
Whittaker began the application process back in spring 2019, and she said it was a demanding and stressful process.
“It felt like I was doing three full-time jobs: being a student, the Fulbright application and the actual job that I had to support myself,” Whittaker said. “However, I also had such amazing help from professors and other MSU faculty. Without their expertise and guidance, I never would have been able to submit my application.”
Whittaker chose to study in Germany because she studied abroad in Regensburg, Germany, during the fall 2018 semester. During that stay, she went on a trip to Berlin for a week, and the experience deeply moved her.
“I was mesmerized by the art, especially the art available, such as galleries and museums, the history, cultural significance and overall life of the city,” Whitakker said. “After the trip, I knew that I wanted to go back.”
Whitaker was nervous that the program would be canceled, but after seeing her acceptance, she was relieved. She said she is looking forward to the future challenges and experiences.
“I have learned that I can only grow better as a person by listening to and observing the world around me with an open mind, and by being put in new and often challenging experiences,” Whittaker said. “While moving to a new, foreign city by myself is a little daunting, I am excited for the friends I’ll make and for the growth in my artistry.”