Alabama State plays host to PBS documentary film series

By ASU News Services StaffThe National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture at Alabama State University will host volume three of the P.B.S. Film Documentary series, “I’ll Make Me A World: A Century of African-American Arts” on Thursday, July 17 at noon. Volume three is titled, “Bright Like a Sun.” This event is free and open to the public.“Bright Like a Sun” continues the series’ story through the years of the Great Depression and World War II. The challenging experiences move African-American artists to adapt and expand their creative visions, producing work with new energy and autonomy. Paul Robeson, legendary singer and star of stage and screen, uses his artistry and fame to fight for social justice in the U.S. and abroad. Sculptor Augusta Savage builds a vibrant art school in Harlem where young African American talent can be nurtured, although she risks her own career to do so. And on the music scene, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and other young musicians begin to play bebop, the innovative jazz style that becomes the hallmark of American “cool” and a recognized musical genre. [Read more]

Spelman Summer Arts Colony has success in Panama

The Spelman College Summer Art Colony 2008 was a success. Art Colony residents included Spelman College students: Destineé Williams, Racheal Hawthorn and Amber Richardson; as well as alumna Ashley Coleman, C’2006, Ph.D. student in religion at Emory University; Bree Simmons, assistant director, Outing Club, Bowdoin College; and Clyde Bango, Bates College.

This year’s Art Colony residents constructed a sustainable architectural structure at Las Orquídeas Environmental Sculpture Park as well as individual projects such as biodegrable sculptures and installations, paintings, photography and performance art. They participated in an exchange of art and ideas with a group of young Panamanian artists, visited the Panama Canal, The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute at Galeta Point, danced with the Congitos of Portobelo, and conducted research on religious traditions in Colon.

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