Robin Griswold, 24
Scene stealer | Local artist
 

Story by Spencer Willems
Video by Caroline Zilk
Photo by Jeronimo Nisa

When Robin Griswold came to MU six years ago, she never expected to become a Columbia townie. But two years after the Olympia, Wash., native graduated with a theater degree, she’s still in town — and has become emblematic of Columbia’s burgeoning artistic community.

“This town has something going on,” Griswold says. “People in other cities take things for granted, but it’s possible to have tight community here.”

Griswold began studying acting and stage management. But after exploring the diverse artistic scenes in Columbia and studying in England for a year, her creative priorities flipped from on-screen to behind-the-scenes. When she has time, Griswold writes, directs and edits multiple short movies that she hopes will gain her admission to film school in the future.

This is her second year working for Columbia’s seminal True/False Film Festival, where she manages and reviews the festival’s 800-some documentary submissions.

She expanded her love for film into the broader art scene with the “Jane Doe/Joe Schmo” art show, a forum for the community’s more avant-garde artists. Griswold, who created the show with a few friends last year, holds the event a couple of times each year. In keeping with the spirit of the show, Jane Doe/Joe Schmo doesn’t stick to a strict schedule; it just happens when it happens. Griswold does know that the next show is set for November, and she insists that nearly any form of expression is welcome. “If you think it’s art,” she says, “so do we.”