On my tour of Third Space, an art warehouse and performance venue on 946 Olive Drive, the echo of my footsteps and voice as I was introduced to members of this independent art collective – Sally Hensel, Evan Clayburg, Dylan Wright, Denise Dempsey and Chandler Lavin – made me realize how much open, usable space there was in the building. Originally constructed as an auto shop, the collective’s repurposing of the facility allowed for the creation of a spacious industrial gallery and performance venue. One corner, with the couches and chairs where the interview was conducted, was stationed next to a fairly sizeable collection of worn vinyl records and cassettes. The walls were adorned with visual art, ranging from a collection of images that visualized musical tones, to a vividly colored painting of a woman with piercing blue eyes by founding member Clayburg.

Walking past the gallery, the offices had been turned into private work studios. The garage, which at one point housed old cars, has been replaced with the scents of oil and acrylic paints, as well as wood for projects such as sculpture or set design for the theatrical black box housed in the middle of the building. Paintbrushes brimmed from containers and screen-printing machines sat impatiently waiting to be used. Any artist who comes to Third Space is provided with potential inspiration and access to the tools to mold their creations, and that’s exactly what the collective envisioned.

“It can be expensive to be an artist,” said Dempsey, a member of the collective since March 2014. “And that’s something we’re trying to address for the people who don’t [have access to supplies and space]. [Lack of access to supplies] can keep them from [creating the art they envisioned].”

Clayburg, a founding member of the collective, said he felt Third Space was an important part of enabling local artists to create original masterpieces.

“[A benefit to giving access to supplies and working space] opens up room to experiment,” said Clayburg. “You’re willing to try something new without [thinking]. I’ve spent $500 on supplies and I had to book my show at a gallery two years in advance [so I have to do something more conventional to recoup costs].

We’ve tried to lower the bar on the entry point to experiment.”

Third Space, the Davis-based independent art collective, was conceptualized in 2013 when founding member Sally Hensel wanted a location where she could host “House Shows” – concerts and exhibitions by mostly independent bands – and avoid noise complaints from neighbors. While looking for locations, the idea evolved into establishing a collective of artists and finding a location that could support not only musicians, but artists using a wide range of mediums. Not having an official name, the collective was inspired by the third space theory. The theory, coined by critical theorist Homi K. Bhabba, proposes that there is a third sphere of social congregation in addition to home and work that allows for expression of self.

“[The theoretical Third Space] is a low-cost, public, low-risk [space], as opposed to work or school [where there are repercussions for failures],” Hensel said. “You can play or experiment.”

Third Space has been able to provide a space for artists of all backgrounds working in all mediums. Through a monthly membership of $50, artists are provided with donated supplies and a space to work or perform.

“[With membership] you get a key to [the building], locker storage and you can book concerts [and other events],” Wright said.

While membership – and its benefits – can be gained for a fee, Wright also mentioned that Third Space provides discounted fees for aspiring artists who are willing to volunteer.

“You can volunteer a lot and pay less,” Wright said. “If you’re time-rich and cash-poor you can still be [a member and have access to Third Space]. Some people are a part of the space and don’t pay anything, just because they’re working.”

Through the combination of volunteers and paid members, as well as regional artist booking, there has been a variety of events at Third Space. As of February 2015, the events at the multipurpose building have included (but are not limited to): band practices and performances, poetry readings, storytelling night, theater art, leather working, yoga and performance art.

In addition to independent artists from the Davis community and surrounding areas, the UC Davis art scene has also embraced – and been embraced by – Third Space, with organizations such as the Art-Science Fusion seminar and Feminist Film Festival hosting events/exhibitions in the gallery area. The collective has also taken on UC Davis undergraduates as interns.

To conclude the interview, I asked the members to share their individual vision of Third Space, both the repurposed automotive shop and the collective:

Dempsey: More community art shows. Now that we have [expanded to the front room], we have more art on the walls, so [community art shows] are on our lists.

Wright: I would like to see it become self-sustaining so that no one has to pay [a fee to be a member]. We’ve reached a threshold as a nonprofit [organization] that we can start applying for grants.… It’s valuable for artists to have rented art space, and for members to be able to drop in and be a part of [workshops and classes with a small donation]. As far as keeping the lights on, I would like for that to be helped by benefactors with resources to support us. I want [Third Space] to be recognized as a destination in the Central Valley.

Hensel: I would love to come to a show and ask, “Who booked this? I don’t recognize any of the faces of people working the door, working the PA, or booking the bands.” To have a totally fresh new wave of energy come into the space would be cool.

Clayburg: It would be awesome to own our building. Whether or not it’s this one or another space, the long-term goal would be to own our building. [We also want to be more] proactive with hosting monthly art shows.

Lavin: Out of [Third Space], we’ll grow other collectives and community organizations that will come from what people learned here. We’re the newest baby now, but eventually we’re going to be a part of [a lineage of organizations], passing on our skill and art [and] making people excited to be able to do their own thing.

As a literal encapsulation of the collective’s “artists-helping-artists” ethos, following my interview and tour of the space, they were helping move chairs in preparation for the other member’s workshop.

For more information on Third Space, including how to get involved or donate, as well as future events, visit their website or their Facebook page.

Photo by Rashad Hurst

Nearly six years after her captivity under North Korean government in 2009, award-winning journalist and Sacramento native Laura Ling is set to speak at Davis Senior High School (DHS) on Feb. 21 as part of the event, An Evening with Laura Ling: Journey of Hope.

Ling, who plans on discussing her experience in captivity and issues relating to human rights, will follow her speaking with a signing of her New York Times bestselling book Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and the Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home, which she co-wrote with her sister and fellow journalist Lisa Ling. MUSE got a chance to speak with Ling this past week.

MUSE: For those who may not be familiar with your experience in North Korea in 2009, can you just talk a little bit about what happened?

Ling: I was there working on a story about the trafficking of North Koreans, specifically women who are being trafficked or smuggled out of the desperate conditions in North Korea. What I found was that many of these women end up in a different kind of situation that is quite dire. Some are placed in the prostitution industry, others are forced into marriages. I was working on the trafficking of North Korean women and that was when, while we were filming along the Chinese/North Korean border, I was apprehended by North Korean soldiers along with my colleague Euna Lee. We were taken into North Korea and held there for nearly 5 months. It was the most frightening time of my life. I was trapped in what’s considered the most isolated country in the world with no communication with my family. Just living with the constant fear of not knowing what was going to happen and if I would ever see my family again. It was very stressful; very scary, but it was also, I guess a test of my own strength. I found ways to maintain hope in different strengths within myself that I didn’t know existed.

MUSE: How do you think that this experience shaped you both as a journalist and as a human being?

Ling: It really has changed everything in my life. In terms of my personal life, it’s the relationships with my family and my friends that I value even more. The fact that I have two kids now, I consider it a blessing and a miracle. I cherish every second that I have with my family. Professionally, I do believe that stories like this and other stories about humanitarian issues and crises that are happening around the world really need to be told. But having said that, with two small children now and given what happened to me, I am a little bit more hesitant to go out there overseas and do that kind of reporting. It’s been a conflict for me because as passionate as I am about reporting on these very critical issues, I do approach things with a lot more caution.

MUSE: Your event is titled “Journey of Hope.” I’m wondering how did you come up with that title and how does it relate to the message you want to convey?

Ling: It’s called “Journey of Hope” because not only in my experience was I able to maintain hope, but I’ve found that in these stories that I’ve covered around the world, whether it be women’s rights in the middle east or monks protesting for greater freedom in Myanmar, in some of those darkest situations, there are glimmers of hope and signs of humanity. I have been able to see those rays of hope in my reporting and was able to feel that personally. So I hope to share some of those stories with the audience in Davis and hopefully compel them to maintain hope and to value the freedom that so many of us take for granted.

MUSE: At the speaking, you’ll be signing copies of your book Somewhere Inside, which you co-wrote with your sister Lisa Ling. Can you talk a little bit about that process?

Ling: The decision to write the book was not an easy one because I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to share my story, but it was a very therapeutic and cathartic experience to write that book and to write it with my sister who is my best friend. The book is about not only the story I was working on, my time in captivity, but also about the diplomatic efforts to get us home and the geopolitical situations at the time. And that’s why I wanted to write about it with my sister because she was able to tell that other side of the story. Everything that was happening when I was held in captivity. It’s also a book about sisters and sisterhood and the power of sisterhood. It’s a very special experience to write that.

MUSE: I understand that you were raised in Carmichael in Sacramento County, which isn’t too far from Davis. I’m wondering if it’s special to speak at an event that is so close to your hometown.

Ling: While I was in captivity, there were several vigils that were held for us. And the very first vigil was one that was held at my high school. I can’t tell you how touched I was to know that people who I grew up with in my hometown and teachers and friends and total strangers from Sacramento had come out to lend their support and to help get our story out there. I often thought about those vigils and the vigils were one of the things that allowed me to maintain hope. So being able to speak in the Sacramento-Davis area is very special. It means a lot to me to be so close to home and be able to thank people who came out to that vigil.

MUSE: This event is at a high school and Davis is a college town, so I’m wondering what message do you want to get across to students and young people?

Ling: A lot of the things that I try to impress upon young people is to get outside of your comfort zone and if you get a chance – travel. I know that my experience of reporting and traveling around the world has changed me and shaped me as a person. I think it’s easy for us as young people to take our freedoms for granted and I really hope that we can all cherish our freedom and look at our liberties not just as a right, but also as a responsibility. What can we really do with our freedom to create a meaningful impact around the world or in our own backyard?

“Journey of Hope” will begin at 5 p.m. on Feb. 21 at DHS’ Brunelle Performing Arts Center. The event is free, however, donations are welcome to fund the Davis High School Symphony.

Photo by Courtesy

As I waited for 15 minutes past our set meeting time, I thought to myself, “The Queen is never late, everybody else is simply early.” This quote from the Princess Diaries sequel seemed more than applicable today since I was about to interview a drag queen. However, in his own words he is, “a drag princess or baby Beyoncé in training.”

Jim De Ocampo, a third-year communication and linguistics double-major, performs in feminine dress to entertain others and raise funds to benefit national organizations, such as The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project has been providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGTBQIA youth since 1998.

“I may not be the best person to give advice, but I want to make sure that this organization is up and running to provide these services for LGTBQ teens,” De Ocampo said.

De Ocampo has dressed in drag “eight good times” during the last three years of his career, including this year’s sold-out Davis is Burning annual drag show on Jan. 10.

The 25th annual Davis is Burning drag show and competition was organized and performed by members of Davis’ Delta Lambda Phi fraternity for gay, bisexual and progressive men.

“My Big Brother, Lucas, introduced me to drag and reminds me how much potential I have. It’s the best feeling, and I’m very happy to share four years of my life with these strong and diverse individuals,” De Ocampo said.

In addition to competing alongside his fraternity brothers in the Davis is Burning show, De Ocampo was booked to perform for a professional-level show at Faces, a popular gay nightclub in Sacramento, as soon as he turned 21 years old.

De Ocampo performs as Heidi Audacity, who De Ocampo describes as “graceful but also aggressive” on stage.

“One moment I’ll be doing ballet and Vogue hand movements, and the other I’m doing hip hop,” De Ocampo said. “Heidi likes to sing. She’s very verbal. Very outspoken. Audacity,” De Ocampo said.

Women’s clothing, makeup and wigs allow him to explore a “multitude of looks and performances.” This gender-bending avenue of self-expression is a fun and fierce form of storytelling, art and entertainment.

Aggie Style Watch would like to thank Jim De Ocampo for taking the time for interviews and photo shoots that help show others just how powerful clothing can be as a tool to transform yourself and showcase whoever you are.

Graphic by CA Aggie Graphic Team

Photos by Julia Kinkela

When you think of storytime, you might think of your parents reading aloud to you before tucking you in for bed. Perhaps the story was accompanied by a glass of warm milk to help you sleep. Stories on Stage in Davis takes the concept of storytime and adds an adult flair to it, replacing that glass of milk with a glass of wine and replacing picture books with stories by acclaimed authors.

Modelled on the successful Stories on Stage in Sacramento series, Stories on Stage in Davis hopes to celebrate the remarkable acting and writing talent in Davis and its surrounding communities. Each performance, which takes place the second Saturday of each month, features two performances, one piece written by an established author and another written by an emerging author.

This month’s Stories on Stage performance, which will take place on Feb. 14 at 7:30 pm at the Pence Gallery, features a talented set of performers and authors.

Patricia Glass, who has most recently performed as Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker at the Woodland Opera House, will be reading “Wanderlust” by Laleh Khadivi.

Khadivi, whose debut novel, The Age of Orphans, won the Whiting Award in Fiction, says she is most excited “to see how the story sounds in someone else’s voice.”

“All writing was once storytelling or song, [and] gathering in a room to hear a story is an old, important act that brings worlds to life,” Khadivi said.

Glass agreed that reading stories aloud is an important way to learn about other cultures and experiences. She said that reading this piece helped her experience a side of the world that she would otherwise never have been exposed to.

“You learn to feel what other people are feeling [to see] how different everyone is and still how similar we are on the inside,” Glass said. “I am excited about sharing people’s experiences that are so vastly different than anything we could ever imagine. It’s great to have these types of performances so people can connect with one another.”

Glass prepared extensively for her performance of “Wanderlust,” which is about the collective experience of Russian mail-order brides.

“Because it’s from the perspective of several girls who live in Russia I thought it would be most effective to try to use a Russian accent,” Glass said. “There are a lot of Russian proper nouns and I wanted to be sure I pronounced them correctly, so I consulted with one of the Russian professors here at Davis.”

Kathryn Williams, who taught English at UC Davis, will have her piece, “Three, Four, Knock at the Door,” performed by Phillip Larrea. Larrea, a longtime actor and a writer himself, plans to bring Williams’ piece to life by attempting to channel a Cuban accent. However, he, like Glass, stressed the importance of doing an accent properly and not letting an accent dominate his performance.

“What you try to do is find key words rather than doing 100 percent of an accent; you find more of a rhythm and you give the touches without being a caricature,” Larrea said.

Larrea sees Stories on Stage as a way to connect with the community.

“There is a wonderful feeling if you’ve brought a piece to life,” Larrea said. “And you have that sense of community [when] everybody is really focused on this piece, and it’s a terrific feeling.”

It is this sense of camaraderie that has made Stories on Stage in Davis so popular. Larrea, who has previously performed for the series in 2013, greatly enjoys the positive atmosphere that people bring to the Pence Gallery every second Saturday.

“It’s just a wonderful event,” Larrea said. “And performing gives me a chance to be in the audience for the other reading and to enjoy the cookies,” he said, laughing.

We are, after all, never too old to enjoy some cookies and a good story.

To find out more about Stories on Stage, visit their website. The next Stories on Stage performance will take place on Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Pence Gallery. Doors open at 7 p.m. and admission is $5.

Graphic by Stories on Stage