Justin Rabideau delivered UGA’s fifth Dodd Dialogue talk on November 3. Rabideau received his MFA in Sculpture from the Dodd in 2006. He is now the Director of the Zuckerman Museum of Art in Kennesaw, GA. Dodd Dialogues is a speaker series created in April 2016 by the Dodd's new Art Library and librarian Lindsey Reynolds to help current students explore and envision their academic and career options. By connecting students with alumni in related careers early in their education, students are better able to imagine and establish their own goals post-graduation, pursue a careers in the arts.

The following is an interview from Rabideau which were also some key points of his talk:

1. Has living and working in the South changed the work you make or the way you work?  

   • “I’m not sure if the South has changed the what I make or the way I work as much as it has influenced me greatly. Much of my work focuses on the importance of place and space and as such the south has become a source of inspiration for my practice. I also simply love the richness and complexity of the South. There are so many opportunities here to have real conversations about some difficult topics and I really appreciate that about this part of the country.”

2. How do you find a balance between your work as the Director of the Zuckerman Museum of Art and your personal art practice? How do you find time and energy for both?

   • “Obviously I don't always! Case in point on my tardy reply.....but I have simply trained myself over the years to prioritize both my paying job and my creative job. And yes, I called it a job. The best advice I was given as an art student was to treat my practice as if it were a job that I had to clock in and out of. I give myself a set amount of hours a week to work and I make myself ‘clock’ those hours so I don’t get fired.”

3. What is something you wish you had know in your time at art school? Do you have any advice for current art students?

   • “Honestly, I wish that I had taken the opportunity to learn every new technology that was emerging at the time that I was in school. I’ve had to learn a lot of things on the fly that could have been done better in school. Study abroad.....I so wish I had done that.”

4. What role does social media play in your artistic practice? Do you feel it’s important to share your work this way?

   • “I really just use social media as a PR tool now. I was one of the first group of people to use Facebook when it was only allowed at certain universities for students. It’s been pretty interesting to see social media evolve from a space that people share every bit of their life to a space that people curate and develop. For me, it is another tool and a useful one.”

5. If you could describe your work in one word, what would it be?

   • “Poetry.”