Emily Vides, OFA Communications Coordinator

Source of Inspiration: I’m telling people about some really interesting things that are happening in the arts… and all these students that are doing amazing things. And that’s great, just seeing the wealth of imagination and creativity.

Illustration based on an interview with Emily Vides, the OFA Communications Coordinator. Background lyrics from “The Weight” by The Band. By Alison B. Reed

Meaningful Works of Art: I have two kids, and I take them to the Harvard Art Museums and we sketch because otherwise they’ll run around like crazy people. They don’t know that I can’t draw, and they don’t care…. I’m forced to do it because I can’t tell them no, because if I tell them no then they can be like, “Well, I don’t want to do this either, because I can’t draw either.” So I have to get over the fact that I don’t know how to draw and just do it.

I listen to The Band a lot…. Crazy hippies, right. Through them, I’ve learned so much about rock and roll and the history of rock and roll and… how [it] was formed in the South…. Bob Dylan just won the Nobel Prize, and I love that he doesn’t call them back; it’s hilarious, very Bob Dylan. So I’ve been listening to the stuff that he did with The Band because they were his backing band when he went electric. I’m really drawn to things that I can revisit at different parts in my life and see in completely different ways.

Favorite Book: “The Robber Bride” by Margaret Atwood…. It’s the story of four friends—well, three friends and, like, the most extreme frenemy ever…. Margaret Atwood really does female friendships very well.

When Not Working: I used to do a lot of little crafty things when I was younger, before I had children. And now they’re old enough… that I can do things again. I make little books, and I’ve been working on pop-up books because my kids are really impressed by them.

If You Could Have Lunch With Any Three People, Who Would They Be?: Definitely Margaret Atwood. Gogol, the Russian writer, because when I was a senior… we read all of these Gogol stories... and I was like, this is the best literature I’ve ever seen…. And how about Jackie Robinson? I just actually finished reading “In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson.” I read it to my kids last night. and he seems like a nice guy.

Best Piece of Advice You’ve Ever Gotten: In “Ghostbusters,” they say, “Don’t cross the streams,” and then later they say, “Cross the streams”…. Thinking about how you should follow the rule, but then at a certain point maybe you don’t have to—maybe doing exactly the opposite is what’s going to work.