Creativity & Courage: Fall Events
When creativity and courage intersect, innovative changes emerge in art, culture, science, and society. How has being creative/courageous encouraged human beings to take aesthetic, intellectual, social, and moral risks? What great risks of creativity/courage may not have been validated? What distinguishes worthy acts from acts of foolhardiness? How might apathy, conformism, and complacency be barriers to creativity/courage? How can creativity/courage cultivate meaningful new experiences in the classroom and community environments?
Fall Programs
Thursday, September 6
8pm, Swasey Chapel
Creativity & Courage: Opening Convocation
SUNNY DAYS: CREATIVE RISK-TAKING IN CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION
This year’s Opening Convocation panel explores the intersection of creativity and courage in the iconic children’s television series, Sesame Street. The legendary collaborations between Jim Henson and Sesame Street produced children’s programs that shaped a generation of viewers and scholars. What were the cultural circumstances from which these programs developed? Why did Sesame Street risk their ratings to include sophisticated and controversial content on screen, and how does this shape our understanding of the psychology of young viewers today? How does Sesame Street stay relevant in today’s market with a diverse array of TV programs available to children? We will explore these questions and more with our three special guests, including: Denison Alumna, Rollie Krewson, a Master Puppet Designer/Builder for the Jim Henson Company who has won 12 Emmy’s for her work; David Rudman, another Emmy-nominated Sesame Street performer best known as Cookie Monster; and Autumn Zitani, Senior Content Researcher for Sesame Street. This panel will be facilitated by Dr. Lyn Robertson, an Associate Professor of Education and the Director of the John W. Alford Center for Service Learning.
Co-sponsored by Creativity & Courage: Denison’s Spectrum Series 2012-13, First-Year Programs, the Office of the President, and Sustained Dialogue.
The Denison Museum is collaborating with Spectrum on a series of Haitian art exhibits and programs, spotlighting the intersection of creativity and courage in the lives of artists and humanitarians. These events will serendipitously coincide with writer Edwidge Danticat’s visit on October 25.
Friday, September 14
4:30 to 7PM, Denison Museum (Burke Hall)
Opening Receptions: Heart of Haiti and Resistance & Resiliency in Haitian Art
The Heart of Haiti exhibit features fifty unforgettable photographs by Andrea Baldeck— physician turned fine arts photographer. This exhibition was organized by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Also on display in Resistance & Resiliency are ten exemplary works from the renowned Figge Art Museum that pay homage to the courage and creativity of the island’s complex Caribbean culture. Exhibitions on view September 14 – December 8. Co-sponsored by Creativity & Courage: Denison’s Spectrum Series 2012-13
Courageous Cooking Class: Fermented Food
Saturday, September 22
3:00-5:00pm (Voluntary food prep begins at 1.30pm)
The Open House
Probiotics! Antioxidants! Did you know that people have been fermenting foods since the dawn of time for food preservation and good health? In this event, Teresa and Erin of the Going Green Store will share their knowledge of fermentation as they demonstrate how to collect whey from yogurt; make sauerkraut using different methods; share locally-made kombucha tea; and create versions of Russia's kefir, Korea's kimchi, and Eastern Europe's kvass. And for those who are courageous enough, you're more than welcome to try these fermented superfoods! After the demo, participants will be invited to begin the fermentation process and bring home a jar of their own fermented food. Space is limited and registration is required (contact arcenom@denison.edu); your immune system will thank you.
This event is part of Denison's Food and Culture Colloquium and is co-sponsored by Creativity & Courage: Denison’s Spectrum Series 2012-13 , Office of Multi-Cultural Student Affairs, The Open House, and the Office of Sustainability.
Cultivating Change for the Common Good
Wednesday, October 3
4:30pm, Slayter Auditorium
In an age in which changing cultural norms can seem insurmountable, what will it take to go against the grain and cultivate a thriving community that both understands and reaps the benefits of positive choices? Using food as a case study, Molly McGravey will highlight the work of Frances Moore Lappe's "You Have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear" as she discusses the relationship between food and courage, for change--of any kind--takes courage. Co-sponsored by Creativity & Courage: Denison’s Spectrum Series 2012-13
Edwidge Danticat
Thursday, October 25
8PM, Slayter Auditorium
Attend a discussion of The Farming of Bones on Sat. Oct. 20, 1-3pm at the Denison Museum. Also, Whits will release a special custard flavor in honor of Denison’s focus on the Caribbean.
Edwidge Danticat was born in Haiti in 1969, and was raised by her aunt under the dictatorial Duvalier regime until she was twelve, when she immigrated to the U.S. She holds a degree in literature from Barnard College and an MFA from Brown University. She is the co-author, with filmmaker Jonathan Demme, of two books on Haitian art: Islands on Fire and Odillon Pierre: Haitian Artist (Kaliko Press). She was associate producer, with Jonathan Demme, on a documentary about Haiti called The Agronomist. Among other books of fiction and non-fiction, she is the author of Brother, I’m Dying, a non-fiction account of the deaths of her father and her uncle. This book, as well as an earlier short story collection Krik!Krak!, was nominated for a National Book Award (making her one of the few writers to have been nominated for both fiction and non-fiction). Her latest book is Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work. She received the 2011 Harold Washington Literary Award in Chicago and was the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation ‘Genius’ Grant in 2009. Danticat is working on a story collection tentatively titled Claire of the Sea-Light, which will be published by Knopf 2012.
Co-sponsored by Creativity & Courage: Denison’s Spectrum Series 2012-13, the Beck Lecture Series: Celebrating 50 Years and the Denison Museum
A Special Celebration of John Cage’s Birth Year
November 7 (Opening Night: Fall Dance Concert)
8pm, location TBA
Note: This celebration officially kicks off on Wednesday, September 5 with a marathon 17-hour piano performance of “Vexations” on the 2nd floor of Slayter
U.S. composer John Cage (1912-1992) was perhaps best known for 4’33”, a work that—like many of his compositions—tests the boundaries of music, silence, and noise. On Wednesday, September 5, the Music Department will mark Cage’s 100th birth year with a performance of Erik Satie’s “Vexations,” a work whose first public performance Cage organized in 1963. Cage and Cunningham famously appeared New York City alleyways, or public gymnasiums to perform Happenings--short bursts of improvisational performance intermixing sound, movement, and location. October 5-7 watch for various Happenings around campus; we will surprise you with times and locations. Then, November 7-10, enjoy the Dance Department's Fall Concert in which a rare Cage work entitled "Fads and Fancies in the Academy" will be performed in a collaboration between Denison dancers and live musicians. Special guests Marsha Barsky (dance), Michael Holland (music), and Joanna Harris (dance archivist) will offer their perspectives in various symposiums, film screenings, and post-concert discussions on this work and on the ways in which collaboration in the arts necessitates bravery and risk-taking. Celebrate the legacy of one of the most musically courageous composers of the 20th century and experience his creative contributions first-hand by attending these events.
These events are co-sponsored by Creativity & Courage: Denison’s Spectrum Series 2012-13, the Dance, Music, and Cinema departments.
Thursday, November 8
6:30 PM, Denison Museum
Panel discussion with Healing Art Missions and Andrea Baldeck
These medical volunteers from the Healing Arts Mission are currently focused on efforts to combat cholera and other diseases through access to clean water in Haiti. They will discuss their humanitarian advocacy for access to health and human resources for all Haitians. Co-sponsored by Creativity & Courage: Denison’s Spectrum Series 2012-13