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How are local church leaders responding to changes in the political climate?

Something in the water: Why have so many major artists gotten their big break after performing at Brandeis?

Public art, public visions: How Boston tells stories through murals and street art

On a quiet side street 10 minutes from Cambridge’s bustling Central Square, a vivid blue humpback whale and its soon-to-be dinner of solemn-faced krill is painted against a backdrop of dizzying purple Fibonacci spirals. The mural, “Cetacean Spiral,” is the brainchild of East Medford-based muralist Sophy Tuttle, whose work primarily centers around themes of human-nature relationships.

Artificial intelligence in art: Creation and conflict

As visitors step off Boston’s breezy streets and through the shadowed entryway of the WNDR Museum (pronounced ‘Wonder’), their attention is immediately drawn to the softly illuminated flowers winding around the space’s jet-black walls that cast warm light onto them below. The flowers, drawn by children of museum employees using technology to upscale and project, are part of an installation titled “WNDR Flowers,” according to the general manager, Giancarlo Natale. In the hallway beyond, mirrors stretch from floor to ceiling, doubling the luminous effect and drawing visitors deeper into the museum’s curated dreamscape. It’s a playful introduction to what awaits, a space that not only displays art but indirectly showcases ongoing debates around the meaning of creation in an age of machine learning and digital tools. 

The TikTok ban: A pursuit of truth

TikTok is no longer available in the Apple app store. Instead, Instagram and Facebook pop up as recommendations or replacements when searching for the extremely popular social media app. 

Why advocate? ‘Waltham Inclusive Neighborhoods’ answers

In her 71 years, Emily Szczypek has lived in many places. England, Australia and plenty of cities in Massachusetts have been home bases for her, but one spot eventually became home. Szczypek has lived in Waltham for 29 years, almost half her life, and she’s not hesitant to share her deep concern for the development  — or lack thereof — that she’s witnessed here. 

Boston’s sustainable student fashion designers

Knora’s hands are soft. With nimble fingers she knits from a spool of copper wire, manipulating it as a spider spins a gauzy web. The knit copper forms the bodice of the dress. The skirt and bust are lined with dried oranges. Once a delicate citrus, the produce has been transformed into a collection of unyielding, shell-like discs. They sit layered in a collage that appears impenetrable. A metal made malleable; a raw fruit made hard — these elements interplay in a way that conjures thoughts of vulnerability and consumption for Knora. 

On leading the way: Black women in politics

The year: 2024. The city: Boston. It is here that Ruthzee Louijeune made history when she was sworn in as Boston’s first Haitian-American woman city councilor and third Black woman in the role. Now it is no surprise as politics followed her from a young age. The then 14-year-old earned her first job as a tour guide for Boston neighborhoods. Just two years later she began interning for Marie St. Fleur, who was the first Haitian person elected in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. “That really empowered me to believe that people are the ones who change communities and who write history,” she said in a Dec. interview with The Justice.

Turning a new page: A look at local bookstore JustBook-Ish

Porsha Olayiwola grew up spending her weekends at her downtown Chicago Library. Every day after school she and her friends would go to Barnes & Noble and read. Her love of literature ignited an interest in writing, so it is no surprise that she became a poet and educator. The current Boston Poet laureate has been navigating the literary world as a consumer, creative and writer for years.  Now, she is writing a new chapter as the co-owner of a new bookstore.

MENA city transformation: Reem Kseibati discusses her work as a real estate strategist in Dubai

Reem Kseibati is a real estate strategist who spent over ten years working in Dubai and is now a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Kseibati — who has lived in London, Beirut and Dubai — came to Brandeis to discuss her passion for real estate, her thoughts on development in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and lessons learned from working in the region as a guest and as a woman.

Nadine Dyskant-Miller: An aspiring Waltham farmer

Content warning — This article contains mention of suicide.

Student filmmakers: Behind the scenes and on the screen

Many student filmmakers at Brandeis are studying Film, Television and Interactive Media alongside other subjects, balancing exams and extracurriculars with the lengthy process of screenwriting, equipment rentals, directing makeshift crews and more. Nevertheless, these creators are hard at work orchestrating all the moving parts to producing their video projects, from far-out fictional stories to incisive documentaries. The Justice heard from three dedicated student filmmakers who are working on realizing their creative visions through audiovisual mediums. 

Producer Yeeshai Gross on giving back to his community

Yeeshai Gross, founder of two production companies — Multipleoutlet and Ergo Entertainment —  is a 58-year-old New York native who produces Broadway shows, short films and documentaries. As an Orthodox Jewish person himself, Gross gravitates towards projects that speak to his community, such as Holocaust education productions like “The Witness Project” and the Emmy-nominated documentary “Paper Clips.” On Nov. 17, Gross shared with The Justice what it means to give back, discussing his previous projects and the Public Service Announcements he produced for the Jewish crisis organization “Amudim.”

‘Star Image,’ celebrities and the Oscars

The night my nephew was born was the night of the 89th Academy Awards — the night when “La La Land” was mistakenly called for best picture instead of “Moonlight,” shocking viewers everywhere. To this day, whenever I mention that my nephew was born when “La La Land” was called, I’m met with knowing head nods. Everyone knows about the Oscars, and how “La La Land” was nominated for best picture. They likely also know that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling were the leading actors. The Oscars is a night filled with prestige as the public eye scrutinizes every move the celebrities in the audience make. While it’s highly unlikely that the viewers at home have seen every movie nominated, millions tune in to see who wins best actor or to judge the glamorous gowns. Celebrities — whether through their achievements as an actor, their innate style or something intangible — are a huge selling point for movies. 

A visual analysis of ‘Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin’

The painting “Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin” by Rogier van der Weyden is an exemplary sample of artwork from the Northern Renaissance. Rogier van der Weyden was a Northern Renaissance artist who took inspiration from other masters like Jan van Eyck and Robert Campin. Van der Weyden shows mastery of the oil medium with a focus on his figures, his skillful ability to create a narrative painting and his novel and adept naturalism. 

17th century portraiture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum houses four paintings by Dutch masters that represent a variety of portraiture styles of the era. These four portraits by Frans Pourbus the Younger, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony Van Dyck and Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn chart the evolution and development of portraiture from about 1615-1635, with several elements shifting during this time, including the choice of background, the amount of detail in the costumes worn and the painting style itself. 

The Make a Difference group allows members of BOLLI to have an effect on the upcoming presidential election

Brandeis community members of all ages have been making a difference in the upcoming election. Brandeis Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is a community for individuals over the age of 50 who would like to continue their learning and community involvement surrounded by like-minded people. This program offers many different types of educational opportunities such as a “lunch-and-learn” speaker series during the fall and spring semesters. The summer and winter semesters consist of lectures and seminars offered by members of the Brandeis faculty. 

Creativity never ends: Kate Risse on writing ‘Inland’ and thinking about the future of our planet

— Content warning: The following article discusses natural disasters and hurricane devastation.

‘LORDS of the DUNGEON’: Guitarist Ellis Roundy on The P.A.’s band

As the singer and guitarist of the Lowell, Massachusetts based band The P.A.’s, Ellis Roundy’s role within the group exists at the intersection of music, storytelling and graphic design. With a distinct focus on world-building that is largely grounded in Hebrew, Tolkien-esque and other mythologies, Roundy and his bandmates — Joe Milia (drums), Ian Miller (synth and keys) and Liam Asselin (bass) — have weaved a continuous narrative throughout their last few projects. 

Sheri T. Joseph publishes novel ‘Edge of the Known World’

In an era where services like Ancestry.com and 23andMe make genetic testing as easy as mailing a saliva sample to a lab, what are the implications of these technologies in the context of political surveillance? This was the question that author Sheri T. Joseph had in mind after attending a lecture that discussed Adolf Hitler’s attempts to develop a blood test that would detect Jewish and Romani children who appeared Aryan. Through the story of Alexandra Tashen, a refugee looking to find her father across nations while risking being caught at every security checkpoint, Joseph explores the potential consequences of DNA technologies on genetic privacy in her debut novel, “Edge of the Known World.”