The Sm[ART] Commons Blog may have started as an internship project in 2015, but has since grown to compile a diverse database of visual, performing, and literary arts produced by students at MCLA.
This year, co-editors Mannie McBride ‘25 (they/them) and Maxwell Fyfe ‘25 (he/him), are focused on broadening content for the blog to encompass even more creative art and literature. The blog is designed for current and prospective students, alumni, and the surrounding community. It also showcases interviews, articles, reviews, resources, and profiles of professionals in the field, alumni, and students providing a platform for students to investigate the field of arts and culture.
The blog is supervised by Arts Management Professor Dr. Lisa Donovan and offered to students as an internship. McBride majors in Studio Arts and minors in Creative Writing, and Fyfe majors in Studio Arts and Arts Management and minors in Art History and Design.
“What I love about this is that the editors shape it and it’s run by students for students,” Donovan said. “I think that’s an essential feature of it and it’s amazing to see how many students are engaged in the creative arts across campus because there’s so much talent.”
This year McBride and Fyfe want to focus more on creative writing and theater students including collaborating with students in English & Communications Associate Professor Dr. Zachary Finch’s poetry classes and the new Art History classes.
In one of Fyfe’s classes, he suggested that students publish their work on the blog instead of just sharing it with the class so that it’s more visible to the campus community.
“We were talking as a class about if we want to present the work that we create in the class to the rest of campus. I suggested to have the students’ work published on the blog for everyone to see, and not just to those who are in the class,” Fyfe said.
Featured illustration: "Wind Carry Me Across Lake" by Hailey Rolon '24
Those who the editors have reached out to for interviews and students to submit work on the blog have been very receptive, the editors said.
“Everyone is really excited that we want them to be involved,” McBride said.
McBride takes on the role of writing and interviewing while Fyfe is responsible for publishing content to the website and managing the Instagram account.
Donovan said the blog has had co-editors over the last few years who bring something new and unique to the table to round out the offerings. For example, last year’s editors started a “New Music Fridays” series where they asked students on campus what songs they were listening to. That ended up as a featured playlist that was promoted on the Sm[ART] Commons Blog social media accounts. They also worked to highlight student musicians and the story behind their creative process, such as Odiase Williamson ‘22, an Arts Management graduate with a music and graphic design background who produces alternative pop-rock style music that can be streamed on Spotify.
“I think there are so many internship opportunities on and off campus and this has been one that’s been interesting to watch evolve,” Donovan said. “An editor's manual has been developed and each year the blog editors continue to develop it and pass it on, which shows how it’s getting richer and richer.”
To learn more about the Sm[ART] Commons Blog visit smartcommonsblog.mcla.edu and follow
for updates on Instagram @smartcommonsblog. 
