Lynbrook art teachers 'drop' in on creative students with podcast during coronavirus pandemic

Lynbrook High School art teachers Tom Sena and Michael Kunz have found a creative way to educate their students and others on artists from around the world during the coronavirusl pandemic.

Together, they started a podcast called “The Drop,” short for “dropping knowledge” about the arts to everyone. Every Friday, Sena and Kunz interview an artist live using the video conference platform Zoom, edit the live feed and upload the episode to their YouTube channel for others to view.

Sena teaches senior portfolio art and Kunz teaches Advanced Placement art at Lynbrook High School. The podcast is an extension of a program that Sena implemented four years ago in his senior portfolio art classes called “the cisiting professional artist series.” During this program, Sena contacts professional artists from around the world to do live Skype sessions with his high school seniors. Before their video conferences, Sena and his students analyze and prepare questions for their “visiting” artist. The program enables the students to get real world exposure to working creative people and gives them insight into professions, lifestyles, and experiences.

Sena and Kunz wanted to bring a podcast to fruition to keep students and others connected to the arts, especially during the pandemic.

“It has been a very rewarding experience for us, and something we hope brings a little bit of a ray of light to everyone while we all deal with such uncertainty,” Sena said, according to a district release.

The teachers promote “The Drop” on their personal Instagram pages, as well as on the show’s devoted Instagram account, @thedropinterviews. For those interested in listening in live, the teachers provide the login information. Live episodes take place every Friday at 3 p.m. The final version of the podcast is then posted to their YouTube channel, The Drop Interviews. Sena and Kunz also send a link out to their students so that they can watch the completed version of the episode on YouTube.

Thus far, the two art teachers have spoken with illustrator Vic Lee, from England; painter Frank Oriti, from Cleveland, Ohio; Emmy nominated filmmaker and photographer Miguel “Mig” Martinez, from Washington, D.C.;  and stencil artist and environmentalist Alex Stewart from Vancouver, B.C. Sena connects with most of the artists through Instagram and forms friendships along the way. The podcast has become a great way introduce talent from around the world to students and others who are interested in the arts.

Courtesy Lynbrook Public Schools; compiled by Mike Smollins.