Updates and reflections from Wesleyan's Center for the Arts in Middletown, Connecticut
The Connecticut debut of Syrian vocalist/songwriter Gaida, one of the most “effusive and charming” (Timeout New York) singers on the world-music scene was held on Friday, February 5, 2016 in the Crowell Concert Hall.
Click here to view the full album on Flickr. Photos by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
An opening reception was held for “We Chat”—A Dialogue in Contemporary Chinese Art on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery. The exhibition features works by ten young artists that reflect the state of China today, and raise questions about the sustainability of national and cultural identity in an increasingly globalized world.
Click here to view the full album on Flickr. Photos by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
Zilkha Gallery showcased the work of the Class of 2015’s thesis students in the Department of Art and Art History’s Art Studio Program. Each student was invited to select a single work from their Senior Thesis Exhibition for this year-end showcase of drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, mixed media, and architecture curated by Professor of Art Tula Telfair P’13. Ms. Telfair talked about the exhibition on May 23, 2015 in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery. Co-sponsored by University Relations. Click here to view the full album on flickr. Images by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
This event celebrated the river as a source of cultural inspiration and creativity on May 9, 2015 at Harbor Park in Middletown. “Feet to the Fire: Riverfront Encounter” featured live music, visual art installations, plein air painters, a kids’ activity zone, environmental education exhibits, as well as a craft fair and farmer’s market–all designed to bring patrons closer to the rich culture, history, and science of the Connecticut River.
Click here to view the full album on flickr. Images by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
Quiara Alegría Hudes is the Shapiro Distinguished Professor of Writing and Theater at Wesleyan University. Her play Water by the Spoonful received the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Her other works include the book for the 2008 Tony Award-winning “Best Musical” In the Heights, and the plays Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue (2006) and The Happiest Song Plays Last (2013). Her younger cousin grew up in “the barrio,” graduated public school, enlisted at the age of seventeen, sustained a leg injury in Iraq, and became a veteran, all by the ripe age of eighteen. This talk on April 27, 2015 in Memorial Chapel told the true backstage story of what happened after Ms. Hudes turned her cousin’s life into a trilogy of plays. For him, opening night was only the beginning.
Click here to view the full album on flickr. Images by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
A pianist, composer, educator, author, and Artistic Director of Resonant Motion, “Noah Baerman is no stranger to aiming high” (David Adler, Village Voice). With a cast of instrumentalists and vocalists including alto saxophonist/flutist Kris Allen, vibraphonist Chris Dingman ’02, cellist and vocalist Melanie Hsu ’13, bassist Henry Lugo, Private Lessons Teacher and drummer Bill Carbone MA ’07, Ph.D. candidate, and vocalists Latanya Farrell, Claire Randall ’12, and Garth Taylor ’12, Mr. Baerman (on piano, synthesizer, and slide guitar) and his group presented the world premiere of his extended work The Rock and the Redemption on April 25, 2015 in Crowell Concert Hall.
Click here to view the full album on flickr. Images by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
University Professor of Music and dhalang (puppet master) Sumarsam and the Wesleyan Gamelan Ensemble, directed by Artist in Residence I.M. Harjito, presented a Javanese wayang kulit, the puppet play employing intricately carved leather puppets, accompanied by an ensemble of tuned-gongs, metallophones, two-stringed fiddle, xylophone, flute, and vocalists on April 24, 2015 in the World Music Hall. Click here to view the full album on flickr. Images by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
Seniors in the Art History Program of Wesleyan’s Department of Art and Art History presented their talks: Alexa Burzinski, Brandon Eng, Rachel Pei Hirsch, Samuel Usdan, and Gavriella Wolf on April 20, 2015 at 41 Wyllys Ave in Room 112. Click here to view the full album on flickr. Images by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
Lebanese American writer, performer, and teaching artist Leila Buck ’99 presented a work-in-progress sharing of a collaborative theatrical work commissioned by the Center for the Arts as part of Muslim Women’s Voices at Wesleyan on April 18, 2015 in the World Music Hall.
Through theatrical scenes, storytelling, and playful improvisations with the audience, this performance-in-process invited the audience to participate in an interactive exploration of how we know what we think we know, see what we don’t, view ourselves and each other, and engage in the spaces in between. Click here to view the full album on flickr. Images by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
Coordinated by the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut, this exhibition showcased photographs by regional artists that highlighted the daily lives of Muslim women in Connecticut and their contributions to society. The show explored the diversity and complexity of this community on April 14, 2015 at the Green Street Teaching and Learning Center at 51 Green Street in Middletown, CT. Click here to view the full album on flickr. Images by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
