FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2007
Critical Encounters, Columbia College Chicago’s institution-wide learning initiative, will tackle the theme of “Poverty and Privilege” for the 2007-2008 academic year. Through public and classroom events, the college community will explore the causes, constructs and conditions of the Poverty/Privilege dichotomy on a local, national and global level. For more information on Critical Encounter/Poverty & Privilege visit: www.colum.edu/criticalencounters.
Dr. Stephanie Shonekan, professor in Columbia’s Cultural Studies department serves as the Faculty Fellow for Critical Encounter/Poverty & Privilege. Lott Hill, assistant director of the college’s Center for Teaching Excellence and Civic Engagement serves as community outreach coordinator. Both are available for interview.
The academic year begins with a series of events that are free and open to the public:
WHAT: Perspectives on Poverty & Privilege. Short films by Columbia’s Film/Video graduate students and alumni. Screening and discussion. Themes include: war crimes, workers rights, artistic freedom, gender bias, class struggle, cultural conflict between old school and new school animation, poverty of pessimism, racial justice, teen pregnancy…
Merci Directed by Paul Cales. (12 min.)
Elemental. Directed by Christopher O’Brien. (9 min.)
Improvisation. Directed by Zack Litwack. (11 min.)
Tiffin. Directed by Chor Ai Lene. (15 min.)
The Animation Reel. Directed by a host of animators. (10 min.)
Half. Directed by Ben Alagna. (4 min)
Namibia, Brasil.Directed by Miguel Silveira. (7 min.)
Athina.Directed by Erika Valenciana. (7 min.)
Girls Room.Directed by Maria Gigante (10 min.)
WHEN: Monday, September 24, 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: 1104 S. Wabash, Conaway Center, 1st floor
PUBLIC INFO: 312-344-7167
WHAT:Voter Education Event. Voters’ Self-Defense System, 2008 Edition
Richard Kimball, president and founder of Project Vote Smart (PVS), a non-partisan, not-for-profit, online searchable database containing a wealth of information on elected officials and political candidates, will speak about the history and mission of PVS and explain how citizens can Vote Smart in the next election with the online Voters’ Self-Defense System. Co-sponsored by the Civic Engagement Committee of Columbia College Chicago and the Illinois League of Conservation Voters [www.lcvillinois.org].
WHEN: Monday, September 24, 2007, 6 p.m.
WHERE:1104 S. Wabash, Conaway Center, 1st Floor
PUBLIC INFO: 312-344-7072
WHAT:Body Language: Inter-Cultural Exchange in Choreography. Panel discussion
Dance and choreography often cross borders without patrol. Body Language will provoke dialogue with questions relating to intercultural exchange in dance, such as: How are choreographers navigating hybridity, inter-cultural exchange, and interpretation in culturally influenced dance? How do spiritual and intellectual values factor into inter-cultural exchanges in dancemaking? How does engagement with and awareness of poverty and privilege challenge ideas of what is valuable, personally, politically, and creatively?
Discussants include Margaret Jenkins, Artistic Director, Margaret Jenkins Dance Company (San Francisco) Tanusree Shankar, Artistic Director, Tanusree Shankar Dance Company (Calcutta, India) and Celia Bambara, Co-Artistic Director, CCBdance Project (Chicago)
WHEN: Tuesday, September 25, 12:30 p.m.
WHERE: 1104 S. Wabash, Conaway Center, 1st Floor
PUBLIC INFO: 312-344-8341
WHAT: Critical Encounters Salon: Of Beetles & Angels. Reading and discussion with author Mawi Asgedom
The true story of a young boy’s remarkable journey: from civil war in east Africa to a refugee camp in Sudan, to a childhood on welfare in an affluent American suburb, and eventually to a full-tuition scholarship at Harvard University. Following his father’s advice to “treat all people – even the most unsightly beetles – as though they were angels sent from heaven,” Mawi overcomes the challenges of racial prejudice, language barriers, and financial disadvantage to build a successful life for himself in his new home.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 26, 2 p.m.
WHERE: 1104 S. Wabash, Conaway Center, 1st Floor
PUBLIC INFO: 312-344-7167
WHAT:Poverty & Privilege Town Hall. Discussion with community activists
Critical Encounters and the Institute for the Study of Women & Gender in the Arts & Media co-host a Town Hall Forum to begin a layered and complicated discussion engaging our ideas, perceptions and knowledge about poverty and privilege. The panelists will include activists, civic and community leaders, whose professional and personal work is directly related to these broad issues from a variety of perspectives, including: justice, equity, access, health, education, employment, faith, economic development, and participation. The mission of Critical Encounters and the goal of this program is to foster engaged discussions which serve as catalysts to generate new knowledge and understanding, begin to create shifts in attitudes and perceptions, and encourage civic activism.
Discussants include Amy Rynell (Director, Mid-America Institute on Poverty, Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights), Marca Bristo (President and CEO, Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago), Reverend Doris Green (Director of Community Affairs, AIDS Foundation of Chicago), Richard L. Jones, PhD (President and CEO, Metropolitan Family Services), Ngoan Le (Vice President of Programs, Chicago Community Trust), and Douglas Mann (President, Global Business Assist). Moderator: Shanita Akintonde (Professor, Marketing Communication, Columbia College Chicago).
WHEN: Wednesday, September 26, 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: 1104 S. Wabash, Conaway Center, 1st Floor
PUBLIC INFO: 312-344-8829
WHAT:Poverty in Chicago. Film Screening and Discussion
Poverty in Chicago documents the conditions experienced by Chicago’s estimated 110,000 homeless residents. “I’ve told you, now I’m going to show you,” says one homeless man who leads the film crew into a raw look at the realities of life on the streets and the in neighborhoods of Chicago. Screening of the 55 minute film followed by a discussion with the filmmakers.
WHEN: Thursday, September 27, 6 p.m.
WHERE:1104 S. Wabash, Conaway Center, 1st Floor
PUBLIC INFO: 312-344-7167
WHAT: Life After Katrina. Film screening and discussion
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina moved across the southeastern-costal region of the United States of America and became the costliest and most devastating natural disaster in the history of this country. Nearly two years later, relief efforts are mostly from volunteers and donations. Students from Columbia College Chicago have traveled to Mississippi and Louisiana to volunteer and join in rebuilding efforts. Life After Katrina tells the stories they collected along the way. Screening is followed by a discussion with student filmmakers. Sponsored by Reach Out student volunteer organization, the Office of Student Life, the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Center for Community Arts Partnerships.
WHEN: Friday, September 28, 6 p.m.
WHERE: 1104 S. Wabash, Conaway Center, 1st Floor
PUBLIC INFO: 312-344-7167
WHAT: Life After Katrina: 18 Months Later, documentary photography by students
A weeklong exhibition of photography by students featuring images captured in March 2007, while students, faculty, and staff contributed over 1,500 service hours of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. These images represent the spirit, beauty, and devastating reality of post-Katrina New Orleans. Sponsored by Reach Out and the Office of Student Life.
WHEN: Monday, September 24 – Friday, September 28
WHERE: 1104 S. Wabash, Conaway Center, 1st Floor
PUBLIC INFO: 312-344-7167
WHAT: Vodou Riche: Contemporary Haitian Art
A group exhibition of recent work created within the social, political and spiritual context of Vodou, Haiti’s national religion. The artists embrace a history of appropriating imagery and incorporating found objects, a practice born from necessity and great invention. Part of Columbia’s Critical Encounters focus, Poverty and Privilege, Vodou Riche challenges Haiti’s oft-used label “the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere” by presenting the abundance and wealth of Haiti’s creative output. While their country battles socioeconomic problems, Haitian artists embrace the richness of their culture by capturing Haiti’s irrepressible, vibrant and triumphant spirit.
WHEN: Exhibition runs through Tuesday, October 16
WHERE: Glass Curtain Gallery, 1104 S. Wabash
PUBLIC INFO: 312-344-6643
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Media Contact: Micki Leventhal 312-344-7383