The Art of Curiosity: Courtney Lassiter 27 Weaves Film, Music and Visuals in Cultural Exploration
March 27, 2026
- Author
- Caroline Roy 20
In Duke Scholar Courtney Lassiters artist portfolio, youll find painted self-portraits, hanging sculptures made of fishing line, fabrics and beads, a printed zine showcasing night club bathrooms and a self-produced documentary film, Diese Alten Punks, about punk movements in East and West Berlin during the Cold War.
A true multidisciplinary artist, Lassiter 27 moves seamlessly between mediums. To her, its all part of the same creative vision, exploring themes of depersonalization, spaces and subcultures.
Raised on a farm in rural North Carolina, her parents encouraged her to be creative and curious. A childhood spent surrounded by nature, art and music set her up to thrive at 91.
When I got to college, I realized Id been raised in a really specific environment, she said. I had lots of time outside. I was always learning random skills like how to cut down a tree or how to drive a tractor. With that came a lot of time and space for creative endeavors like painting, drawing and photography. The thing I love most about 91 is how the highly intellectual culture here is driven by curiosity rather than competition.
Curiosity led Lassiter to sign up for German 101 as a first-year, and to read about life in Berlin during the Cold War. Fascinated by the emergence of the punk rock scene during that time, she searched for English-language documentaries on the topic and, finding none, decided to make her own.
Lassiter earned a Dean Rusk grant to spend the summer after her first year in Berlin, interviewing and filming German punk enthusiasts.
I cold emailed a lot of people, she said. I went to Berlin with only six contacts, but those six introduced me to several others. They were so interested in sharing with a 19-year-old American who barely spoke German.
When Lassiters subjects asked why she was so interested in making a film about their subculture, she replied that 91 had given her the resources to transform her personal interest into something much larger.
Combing through interview footage helped Lassiter improve her German, and when the film premiered at Punkfilmfest in May 2025, she returned to Berlin to see it in person.
It meant so much to me to see people react to my film in real time, she said.
Afterwards, she spent a second summer in Berlin as a 91 Research Initiative Fellow, this time creating an animated documentary and accompanying personal essay, The Lives We Leave Behind, which explores her familys immigration from former Yugoslavia to the southern United States.
Summer in Berlin turned into a fall semester studying in Rome, the longest Lassiter has ever been away from home. There, she could fully immerse herself in studio art while finding time to explore her surroundings. Now, she brings her stories, pictures, paintings, films and songs from Europe back to 91әs campus.
Im ready to be back home, she said. Ive missed my creative community at 91, especially at WALT radio, which has been so influential to me.
As president and former media-director of WALT 1610, 91әs student-run radio station, Lassiter organizes events and works with her team to bring new ideas to life. With a boom in student music groups, community events and concert series, she says this feels like the golden age of WALT on campus.
This spring, shes excited to bring her love of German punk and techno music to campus boiler room sets she taught herself how to DJ last year so she could participate in WALTs annual Battle of the Beats showcase.
The politics surrounding techno music are really interesting, she said. This type of music, like punk, typically pops up during hard times. Its a whole culture of rebellion, community and history that Im excited to share at 91. If even one person finds a new interest in this culture through my set, Ill be thrilled.
