Chi Pham

FEATURES 3/25/25 10:06pm

Elisa Gabbert on writing through disaster

By Chi Pham

Memory deceives. Perception distorts. For Elisa Gabbert ’02, the ubiquitous condition of our times is ‘unreality’ — modern society’s tendency to process catastrophe as media spectacle and bury anxieties beneath routine. In her 2020 essay collection “The Unreality of Memory,” she dissects why tragedy leaves us scrolling, watching and forgetting.

A&E 1/21/25 10:43pm

Architecture alumna Luján builds community through art, design

By Chi Pham

Over a decade ago, Melissa McDonnell Luján ’10 was tasked with redesigning the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston as one of her Rice Architecture studio assignments. Now, after she was appointed the museum’s co-director earlier this month, she’s designing CAMH’s future.

FEATURES 1/21/25 10:36pm

Saba Feleke makes art you can’t scroll past

By Chi Pham

Outside Saba Feleke’s senior art studio, a large scroll painting hangs on the wall bearing the statement: “My 5-year plan is that a Bible-level miracle will happen.” The painting is a recreation of a screenshot of a post on Feleke’s Instagram, which itself is a screenshot of a Twitter post — only much larger, they said. It is part of a series of paintings created during Feleke’s summer residency at Project Row Houses through the Floyd Newsum Summer Studios Program.

A&E 11/12/24 10:29pm

Artsy courses offered this spring semester

By Chi Pham

Another course registration period has come upon us, but no worries: To help you consider your options, the Thresher has compiled a list of new, unique courses offered this spring semester. 

FEATURES 11/5/24 11:12pm

From Alabama to Bahia, Hordge-Freeman examines emotion

By Chi Pham

One night in Brazil, Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman was driving back from a late dinner with friends when a military police officer stopped her and ordered her out of her car. As he aimed a rifle at the side of her head, she said she remembers standing there, shaking, unable to hear anything but his voice — not even her friends shouting at her. This anecdote is one of many Hordge-Freeman shares in her first book “The Color of Love,” which examines how racial hierarchies are reproduced and challenged in Black Brazilian families.