Howling Success: Bee Mangine

When Bee Mangine, a fourth-year student studying fashion and textile design in the Wilson College of Textiles, made the decision to attend NC State, spending a great deal of time in the Arts program was not on their radar. 

Fast forward four years, and Mangine, who has been an Arts NC State intern since the summer of 2023, can’t imagine their college experience without the arts. 

“The internship program has grown a lot since I’ve started,” Mangine said. “It allows you to dip your toes in and try out a bunch of different things, which I’ve really enjoyed. It’s pushed me towards figuring out what it is about arts administration and outreach that I’m passionate about by throwing me into the deep end.”

Finding a Start in the Arts Village

Mangine was born in Cary, but spent their childhood in Haiti, as their parents, both NC State alumni, did mission work. 

Mangine called their time growing up in Haiti critical to forging their perspective on the importance of community coming into NC State. 

“It really led me to the person I am today, and it gave me the tools and the passion for community that I have to bring people together and help others,” Mangine said. 

Mangine’s family moved back to the United States in 2016, and, after attending high school in the U.S., they knew NC State was a strong fit due to the family connections and the prestige of the Wilson College of Textiles. 

Mangine and their first-year roommate, who studied computer science, were surprised to find a fit with the Arts Village, as neither planned to study art. However, Mangine, who always enjoyed creative endeavors growing up, found a deep resonation with the village’s mission. 

Being in the Arts Village is what made me realize that art is so much more than just being creative.

“The thing that I’m so passionate about in the Arts Village is it’s less about bringing all of the art people together and putting them in one spot, and it’s more about finding people who are STEM or otherwise focused, and giving them another facet, let’s make them creative,” Mangine said. “We need creative engineers. We need creative chemists. That’s how we come across progress. I think being in the Arts Village is what made me realize that art is so much more than just being creative. It can be life changing for people. And so that’s why being in the Arts Village set me on this path of being really passionate about creating myself but I’m also very, very passionate about supporting other people in their creation.” 

I sing the praises of this place.

In their role as an Arts NC State intern, Mangine has actually gotten a chance to work with the Arts Village, and help other students find the same path and passion that Mangine did to start their college journey. 

“If you ever come up to me at an information table, and you even mention that you think about art sometimes, I will tell you that you should be in the Arts Village,” Mangine said. “I sing the praises of this place. I met so many great people while I was there.”

Part of the Arts Village experience for students is taking a one-credit course in which they attend three lectures, and then nine arts-related events per semester to attend, either on or off campus. 

Part of Mangine’s role working with the village was reading through those reflections, and sharing information about the impact of various on-campus events for Arts NC State’s programs, such as NC State LIVE or University Theatre, with those units so they could use it to promote their programming. 

“If you have to sit down and write a paragraph about why you enjoyed it, you can think through the way that it impacted you and put it into words,” Mangine said. “It allows you to have a longer and stronger memory of the way this piece of art impacted you.” 

A Little Bit of Everything

Mangine said that they’ve gotten to do “a little bit of everything” throughout their two years with Arts NC State. This has included working at new student orientation information sessions, helping the LGBTQ Pride Center plan PrideFest and provide display art, and, this semester, working with the Friends of Arts NC State (FANS) board. 

Mangine has played a critical role in the organization and coordination of volunteers for the upcoming Student Art Sale, which will be held outdoors at the Gregg Museum of Art & Design for the first time this semester. 

Mangine said they have enjoyed helping bring new people into the planning and organizing process for the event, and allowing all involved to play to their strengths. 

“I think that’s something in general that I’m really passionate about,” Mangine said. “People have different strengths and weaknesses, and different ideas. The more people you have involved in something, the better.”

In coordinating the Student Art Sale, Mangine is helping ensure the continuation of an event that allows student artists from all majors across campus to display their work and sell it to interested buyers that can include students, staff, faculty and the general public. 

The difference between a casual artist and a professional artist is one sale.

The sale also includes an online component, adding to its accessibility for the campus creative community, as the participation fees for outside art sales are often cost prohibitive for students. 

“The difference between a casual artist and a professional artist is one sale,” Mangine said. “It gives you the confidence to be able to say people want my work. I’ve tried to sell things at markets before as an artist, and it’s hard. The Student Art Sale gives people a start, whether they are more casual artists and just like to make stuff throughout the year, sell it all and get into this, or they’re looking to get into selling their stuff. It gives them some experience selling, and gives them something to add to their resume.”

As Mangine nears graduation, they’re grateful for all of the different opportunities to work with NC State’s arts programs, and the necessary experience those have provided. 

“It’s such a resume builder,” Mangine said. “Through one internship, I can talk to a potential employer and talk about all of these things I’ve done through Arts NC State. I’ve worked with education, fundraising and outreach. I’ve done so many different things that I can point to and say, ‘Here’s where I was helpful in that situation.’”

Additional Campus Endeavors

Despite their busy schedule with Arts NC State, Mangine has participated in several other programs and initiatives across campus.

They have served as a step camp counselor for incoming students to the College of Textiles, and, in 2023, participated in and won the American Heart Association’s Hemline for Hearts Competition. 

This year, Mangine has worked as a student representative for Arts NC State’s presentation at Experience NC State, speaking about the benefits of the Arts Village. 

Mangine has also helped with the Crafts Center and Gregg Museum of Art & Design’s Challenging Times Series. These events seek to “harness the healing power of the arts,” with each session exploring a specific theme with time for artistic creation, shared conversation, making art and collaboration.

In addition to assisting with setting up the events beforehand and breaking them down after, Mangine has had an opportunity to feel the benefits firsthand as a participant. 

“As an artist myself and an artist who does stuff for a grade, it was really relaxing to be able to just sit down and do art for myself for my mental health, to express myself. When you’re at a renowned science and tech school like NC State, you feel like you need to spend all of your time doing everything you can to succeed with this one thing you’re studying. There’s a lot of pressure. Research shows that’s not successful. Challenging Times is about doing art for fun. You just have to go and be open to the idea of creation and making something new that isn’t high stakes in any way.”

A Passion for Functional, Recreational Art

In their free time, Mangine is an avid player of the popular role playing game Dungeons & Dragons.

Recently, during a rare snow day in Raleigh, they used soft clay to sculpt Dungeons & Dragons character figures, and called the game a way to “scratch that creative itch” in a low-stakes environment. 

Last year, Mangine worked on costume designs for the Panoramic Dance Project’s spring concert, reaffirming their passion for creating functional art. 

“I want things to be functional, I want things to be as sensory friendly as possible. I want things to fit people’s bodies rather than have their bodies have to morph to fit the clothes,” Mangine said. “That’s what I’m really passionate about in the work that I do. So that gave me a lot of experience in that. How do we take this big group of dancers and make sure they’re comfortable and functional in these beautiful outfits that are printed and have water color swirls on them?”

Though they entered school in a textiles program, going forward, Mangine hopes to work in arts administration and outreach, and continue to find a way to create functional, beautiful art. 

“I’ve talked about how easy it is to get burned out with creativity as something you’re required to do for a grade or money,” Mangine said. “I plan to use a lot of the skills that I’ve gained in my major in the future within arts administration. I want to work with other functional artists who create things that are beautiful, cool to look at and have exciting stories, but that also have a place in the world that works. I really enjoy the process of uplifting other artists, of organizing ways for other artists to be successful, and I really enjoy the process of making other people’s lives easier.”