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“BMORE THAN THE STORY" WINS BEST OF BALTIMORE AWARD
9/13/16

The Baltimore City Paper named "BMORE Than the Story "Best Community Curation" in its 2016 "Best of Baltimore" issue. Curated by students from associate Professor of design Audra Buck-Coleman’s course on design in society and students from the Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts, the “BMORE Than The Story” exhibition at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum addressed the one-sided media portrayal and the realities of the west Baltimore students’ lives. 

The Baltimore City Paper writes:

"Baltimore’s museums generally feature exhibitions organized by professional curators, but in the aftermath of the uprising following the murder of Freddie Gray, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum opened up its exhibit space to students from Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts. The students curated a response to the ugly media narrative about their lives that the press put out in April 2015. Working with UMD students, the result was “BMORE Than the Story,” which highlighted stories from students about their experiences with surveillance, police brutality, and civic deprivation. The show was a powerful challenge to the carceral logics of their schools and neighborhoods that resonated far beyond the museum walls."

Read the complete article at the Baltimore City Paper website.

Image via the Baltimore City Paper

Minority Golf: Why Aren't More African Americans Playing Golf?
MINORITY GOLF: Why Aren't More African Americans Playing Golf?
3/8/16 - 7:00 PM

A recent symposium at the University of Maryland, "Race, Social Class and Professional Golf," addressed questions of race and social class in professional golf.

American Studies, Arts and Humanities Center for Synergy, College of Arts and Humanities
Worldwise Arts Humanities Dean's Lecture Series Featuring Natasha Trethewey
VIDEO: WORLDWISE Arts and Humanities Dean's Lecture Series Featuring Natasha Trethewey

This talk focused on Trethewey's exploration of writing poetry as social action, from the intersection of living memory and political, cultural and social history.

Arts and Humanities Center for Synergy, College of Arts and Humanities
STUDENTS VOICE FEELINGS ON UNREST IN NEW EXHIBIT
4/14/16

By , WBALTV

BALTIMORE —A new exhibit at a museum downtown is giving students from a school in west Baltimore a chance to voice their feelings and opinions about last April's unrest.

Quotes from city officials taken from media outlets during last April's unrest are part of a new interactive exhibit opening at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. Using a black light, visitors can see word substitutions that reflect the perspective of the young artists, like Lonnie Royster, who will be part of a live performance.

"What happened last April was about economic disenfranchisement and neglect and yes, a black, African-American boy child used the phrase economic disenfranchisement and neglect," Royster said.

"These are students who have never really had an opportunity to have a voice, and they've come together and, like, created this huge thing, and it's really powerful, and I want people to see it," graphic design student Ashley Brannock said.

In Bmore Than The Story students from Augusta Fells Savage High School in west Baltimore worked with graphic design students from the University of the Maryland College Park to express their feelings about the death of Freddie Gray and the riots.

Read more and watch video here

ARHU COLLEGE HOSTS PANEL TO DISCUSS ART AND HUMANITIES FUTURE IN SOCIETY
3/22/16

By Ashley O'Connor, The Diamondback

Photo courtesy of Victoria Robinson

In light of the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities government agencies, a panel met with the University of Maryland's arts and humanities college to discuss the agencies' status and their place in the future.

Jane Chu, the 11th chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and William Adams, the 10th chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, joined Bonnie Thornton Dill, the arts and humanities dean, for the discussion Tuesday evening at the Gildenhorn Recital Hall in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

"We want all Americans to have an opportunity to be involved in the arts," Chu said.

Sheri Parks, the college's associate dean for research, interdisciplinary scholarship and programming, moderated the conversation in front of about 40 people.

Parks asked the panelists how they believe the arts and humanities can be better integrated in today's society, in which the arts are commonly cut out of school budgets. Entering her current position, Dill said, she had to explain the value it has for students, families and future generations.

Chu said a major problem in declining arts education programs is a lack of participation.

"Eleven million Americans want to participate in the arts, but don't," she said.

Many people who have mobility difficulties could have trouble getting to arts and humanities centers, or feel there are challenges to bringing kids to access the arts, but these barriers can be broken down, Chu said. She mentioned she would like to see arts programs implemented in all public schools.

It's important to show that art education not only provides a skill set, but can also be correlated with better performance in other classes, Chu said. For example, she said, a recent study revealed a correlation between art classes and higher grades in science classes.

"The pipeline is about making kids able to think wisely and be creative, not necessarily like the arts," Chu said.

Read more here.

"BALTIMORE STORIES:" USING COMMUNITY NARRATIVES TO HEAL A CITY
3/22/16

Written by Tom Hall & Rob Sivak, WYPR

If it’s true that every person has a story, is it also true that every city has one too?  What is Baltimore’s Story?  What narratives have emerged since the traumatic events following the death of Freddie Gray, and what do those narratives tell us about Baltimore’s identity?  Such questions are at the core of a new series of public events beginning Wednesday called Baltimore Stories: Narratives and the Life of an American City.

Joining Tom in the studio with a preview of this innovative, community-driven series are two of its guiding lights:  Sheri Parks, Associate Dean at the University of Maryland's College of Arts and Humanities in College Park, and Dr. Phoebe Stein, Executive Director of the MD Humanities Council.

Read more and listen to podcast  here 

The Baltimore Stories project has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and is a collaboration between the University of Maryland, Maryland Humanities Council, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Enoch Pratt Free Library and the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance.

To learn more: go.umd.edu/BmoreStories

MICHAEL BROWN’S DEATH SPARKS TWITTER ARCHIVING PROJECT

Written by Taylor Swaak, The Diamondback

Photo Courtesy of The Diamondback

Bergis Jules and Ed Summers developed a vision to efficiently amass millions of tweets and make them more accessible to the public after the social media explosion that followed Michael Brown's death in August 2014.

"The images and the videos were so powerful," said Jules, university and political papers archivist at the University of California, Riverside. "That got me thinking that there's something going on here, and we need to try and capture this as best as we can."

A year and a half later, The University of Maryland's Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities — in collaboration with UC Riverside and Washington University in St. Louis — announced Jan. 20 a $517,000 two-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for the "Documenting the Now: Supporting Scholarly Use and Preservation of Social Media Content" project.

Read more here

 

UMD "THINKATHON" DISCUSSES ONGOING REFUGEE CRISIS, POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
12/6/15

By Sydney Tonic, The Diamondback

Photo Courtesy of Victoria Robinson

The arts and humanities college partnered with the Office of Diversity & Inclusion and the Office of International Affairs to foster a discussion about the ongoing refugee crisis in the country and what students at this university can do to help.

Sheri Parks, the director for the Center for Synergy and the associate dean for research and interdisciplinary programming in the arts and humanities college, organized the “Thinkathon,” hoping to implement a “think and do” model to involve students in the discussion.

About 15 students gathered for the workshop Friday morning in Stamp Student Union.

“We believe that, along with faculty and staff, students care about major issues of our time, such as the refugee crisis,” Parks said. “We have students here who have been refugees or are the children of refugees.”

Yasmine Taeb, a legislative representative for human rights and civil liberties at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, spoke about the crisis and its human impact at the event. She said the present crisis is devastating and more than 8 million refugees are internally displaced in Syria.

As part of the committee, Taeb lobbies and advocates about refugee-related issues with congressional offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. 

“Refugees coming to the U.S. are by far the most scrutinized community of entrance to the U.S.,” Taeb said. “We just don’t feel as though the U.S.’s response to the crisis has been adequate; their response has been quite tepid, at best.” 

Hiba Salih, program manager for youth and health at the International Rescue Committee in Baltimore, and Tyler Stoddard, its development coordinator, also came to talk about the work they do for refugees. Salih, a former refugee from Sudan, explained the difficulties of the life of a refugee coming to this country.

“The major challenges are the trauma that they have been through,” Salih said. “Having to adapt to a new country, new systems … they haven’t seen civilization.”

Read more here. 

A DANCER AND HIS ROBOT
9/25/15

Written by Alex Carolan, The Writer's Bloc

Photo Courtesy of Victoria Robinson

We live in an age where technology is constantly evolving. 

Tech gurus and entrepreneurs are creating and programming new devices that have previously been unimaginable. 

Huang Yi, a native of Taiwan, presents a tangible piece of technology, a fresh invention the public has yet to experience.

Yi programs a robot named Kuka and performs dance routines with it at different venues. 

Sheri Parks, the College of Arts and Humanities associate dean for research moderated a talk with Huang Yi Thursday in Gildenhorn Recital Hall at The Clarice about his experiences in dance, programming and life. 

Students and staff were also involved in the conversation, and were encouraged to ask questions. 

Bowen Gong, a freshman mathematics major asked Yi if he had a nickname for the robot, because “Kuka” is the name of the model – not the individual device. 

“It’s really easy for me to relate my emotions to many items,” Yi said. “So I try not to name them.”

The crowd of around 60 spectators were once again captivated by Yi’s summations of his own life and technology.

Yi said he is limited to certain movements in dancing, as a human, but his robot Kuka is not. 

“[It’s like] I’m beginning to learn how to be a human,” he said. 

Yi attended Thailand University of the Arts for 11 years, from just after completing high school to when he completed his MFA, he said. He was isolated to that one area because of financial concerns and lackluster travel options.

Read and watch video here

 

HUANG YI SHOWCASES ROBOTIC CHOREOGRAPHY AT THE CLARICE
9/27/15

By Miranda Jackson, The Diamondback

Highly acclaimed Taiwanese choreographer and dancer Huang Yi came to the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center with one seemingly crazy concept: a piece of choreography designed around a robot named KUKA.

Many years ago, when Yi was a child, his family underwent a drastic lifestyle change when his parents had to file for bankruptcy. As his artist statement reads: “My family of four moved from a luxurious house to a 40-square-foot room.”

The constant moving that he experienced put a lot of stress on his parents, so much so that they often attempted suicide. In order to relieve his parents of anymore potential stress, Yi detached himself from all his emotions, a very common defense mechanism among children. He became a perfect child, like a robot, with hardly any personality left at all.

Perhaps this is why he connected so well with the atmosphere of robotics. His favorite television program growing up was a cartoon called Doraemon, which Yi explains as a “Japanese animation character and a cat robot who is always there to solve problems for his owner.” Robots became a passion of his from a very young age, as he identified with their loyalty and selfless destiny.

As an adult, he decided that he wanted to combine two divergent concepts: the science of mechanical engineering and the art of dance, as he grew up with a passion for both. His show featured four members: himself, dancer Lin Jou-Wen, dancer Hu Chien and German robot KUKA. Yi didn’t build this robot; he simply programmed it after receiving it from the company, which was in itself an ordeal.

Read more here.

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