Casey Coolidge

When I started: May 20th, 2019

Insider tip for visitors: The reading niches on the west and south sides of the Chazen building’s third floor are great spots to relax, contemplate, and watch campus moving all around you.

My hometown: Baraboo, Wisconsin! We’re famous for our circus (though I think I only went once) and Devil’s Lake (which to me feels most like home of any place on earth).

My Chazen moment: Getting to watch many of Alfred Hitchcock’s films on the big screen in the auditorium. It’s amazing what a difference collaboratively watching a film with a large audience can make; the silence of the tense moments is heavy and palpable, and the funny moments are even funnier with a full auditorium laughing along with you!

Person I’d most like to meet at the Chazen: Noam Chomsky

On Saturdays you’ll find me: Reading or working on projects at my favorite coffee shop, biking all over town, or cooking.

My favorite artwork at the Chazen: Meltdown by Ikeda Manabu! I love the intricacy, the tumorous artificial forms within the natural setting, and the tiny negative-space people abandoning ship on their paper-thin hang gliders.

Last job before the Chazen: Education Supervisor at Madison Children’s Museum—going from a “please touch and play with the exhibits” museum to a “please don’t touch” museum was a strange and interesting transition!

First job: Pianist at a small rural church.

My creative outlet: Poetry, ink drawing, electronic music, Chinese tea service, collaborative storytelling.