Harn Museum Night: Art without Borders
I spent the evening in a celebration of arts and cultures across many borders. This event includes performances by UF Hip Hop Collective, UF Persian Fusion Band and Alachua Guitar Ensemble, poetry readings by GHS, UF and Santa Fe Students, Music Talk on “Rap and Islam in France, Holland and Germany,” and much, much more! In conjunction with UF Learning without Borders from the international center, I learned about different artist's styles they use to convey their message, dances that tell a stories of ancient tribe members, and celebrated with other older passionate individuals on their history of how their culture came to be. One particular experience that made an impression on me was Carrie Mae Weems and her digital images. She was an American artist that pointed out issues within the black community. Through her photographs of her daily life, she depicted what it felt to go through the motions of her daily life in the early 1970s-1980s.
On March 17 2016 in the University Auditorium, Sponsored by the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere with support from the Yulee Fund, Musician Bernard Woma and his Saakumu Dance Troupe held a multifaceted, eye-catching and integrative performance.
Saakumu is an artist founded association and performing group dedicated to introducing audiences to traditional and contemporary African dance and music. The award-winning troupe is one of the leading traditional/contemporary dance and music groups in Ghana, West Africa. As former member and lead drummer of the National Dance Company of Ghana, master musician Woma has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Maya Angelou, the NY Philharmonic, and Yo-Yo Ma, and has performed for international dignitaries and presidents such as President Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, and Queen Elizabeth II, and for the President Barack Obama’s family on their visit to Ghana in 2010. He is a true cultural treasure of Ghana.
It was my first time seeing a group of dancers like this and they were phenomenal. Their dances incorporated a lot more self-expression movements while the instrumentalists played intricate and very fast paced rhythms, unlike anything I've ever heard before. The performers really engaged the audience: they asked for volunteers to come on stage, came down from the stage to dance, taught some simple dances and informed on the types of instruments/costumes they were using. I learned about one instrument in particular, the "talking drum" which is an hourglass shaped drum, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone of human speech.
Fulbright Pechakucha Presentations
The Fulbright Pechakucha presentations was held on Thursday, October 20, 2016 at the UF International Center (located in the Hub).
**PECHAKUCHA is a presentation format in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each. Presentations are concise and fast-paced!
When I went, I got to hear from hear from 3 different individuals who had the opportunity to present a little about what they did for their fullbright:
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“My Fabulous Fulbright and Overcoming Intercultural Barriers” by Dr. Ed Kellerman – A review of my six month Fulbright Grant teaching intercultural communication and collecting data at Universiti Tenaga Nasional in Malaysia.
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“From Big Data to Big Knowledge” by Miguel Rodriguez – Learn why in 2012 Harvard Business Review named data scientist the “sexiest job of the 21st century.”
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“Bicycling Across the World” by Dr. Ruth Steiner – This talk will explore trends in bicycling from across the world
Museum Nights: Algeria to Zimbabwe
Held at the Phillips Center, I enjoyed a multitude of activities, tours and art-making and immersed myself in performances by Agbedidi: West African Music and Dance, and Pazeni Sauti Africa Choir and the multimedia experience of "Elusive Spirits: African Masquerades." Susan Cooksey, Curator of African Art introduced the new exhibition "Shore Lines: Art across the Sahel." The UF Center of African Studies presented a lot of culture, history, and short games that capture the stories of the people who grew up in these communities.