Funny lady Christine Ernst to help shape Cultural Center's new outreach classes

Christine Ernst, an arts educator and a storyteller ― best known for multiple one-woman shows about appreciating life’s idiosyncrasies  ―  is the new director of learning at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod.

Ernst spoke of her first week on the job in her regular video blog (from her writer's shed in Forestdale), describing the steady stream of artists bringing gifts and good wishes to her predecessor, Diane Giardi, who is retiring.

“Then Diane hugged me hard, handed me the keys and said, ‘Good Luck!’ as she went out to bask in the sunlight, to read at the beach, to walk in the woods…”

One of the people Ernst met during that first week on the job in May was artist Skooby Laposky who came to install electrodes on the young Japanese maple tree outside the center and to place headphones on a kiosk inside so ― using a specific computer code ― a listener can hear the tree respond to sunlight and other stimuli.

“You can sit and watch the tree and listen to its music ... It is like nothing I have heard. Maybe like whale songs, angels? It is a secret song revealed,” Ernst said in her vlog, urging people to stop by the Cultural Center of Cape Cod in South Yarmouth to listen to the singing tree.

She has an ulterior motive, albeit a good one.

The headphones are right outside her office and she figures it will be a chance to meet visitors ― perhaps some new to the center ― which is a main part of her new job.

The plan, said Ernst and executive director Molly Demeulenaere, is to make the center’s many classes and resources available to a wider range of people.

What is Christine Ernst known for?

Ernst, known as a writer and performer for her show, “Fat A– Cancer Bitch,” worked in arts management and outreach through the Cotuit Center for the Arts from 2017 to 2022.  She is founder and facilitator of “What’s Your Story Morning Glory?,” an ongoing weekly online writing gym for women begun in 2010.

“All art is sharing a story,” Ernst said. “Giving anyone an opportunity to tell their story is so critical for people not to feel stranded and alone.

“We are already good at getting classes scheduled, but now we’re building bridges.”

Building a bridge with woman in jail

Demeulenaere pointed to a mural project that started April 29 at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne. A group of women inmates are talking with two visual artists and a social worker once a week; the goal is to have people talk about their lives so far and their hopes for the future. Eventually participants would paint those conversations into a mural at the jail.

On the horizon, Demeulenaere said, may be art projects for children of inmates so the families would come to the cultural center together when mothers are released.

“Another outcome of that is that women will have a safe space where they can come and already know people,” Demeulenaere said.

The jail outreach is just one example, Ernst and Demeulenaere said, of how the center can draw people in who are not already taking advantage of cultural opportunities.

Expanding arts access for a diverse population

Another route to access, Demeulenaere said, is hiring bilingual instructors, especially for the center’s new Hyannis Arts Campus which has a diverse demographic.

At the Cultural Center of Cape Cod’s original site in South Yarmouth, new programs continue to come up, such as the group of Riverview School students who came to try drumming and liked it so much, they came every week for the past two years.

In the meantime, the door to Ernst’s new office is open — literally — and it’s right near the singing tree.

Gwenn Friss is the editor of CapeWeek and covers entertainment, restaurants and the arts. Contact her at gfriss@capecodonline.com. Follow her or X, formerly Twitter: @dailyrecipeCCT

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cultural center is funny lady Christine Ernst's next stop in Cape arts