Africa Week at Bard College
October 19–24, 2009
Monday, October 19
- International Human Rights Exchange Information Session
S tudy Human Rights in South Africa with the International Human Rights Exchange (IHRE), the world's only multidisciplinary, semester long program in human rights.
4:30-5:30pm in Reem-Kayden Center (RKC) 101. - Exhibit of Paul Sika’s artwork on campus, www.paulsika.com
Various outdoor locations on campus and in RKC.
Tuesday, October 20
- Exhibit of Paul Sika’s artwork on campus, www.paulsika.com
Various outdoor locations on campus and in RKC.
Wednesday, October 21
- Exhibit of Paul Sika’s artwork on campus, www.paulsika.com
Various outdoor locations on campus and in RKC. - Reading and Q&A
A Reading and Q&A with Caine Prize winner and Achebe Center Director Binyavanga Wainaina with special guest Chinua Achebe, Chair of the Achebe Center.
7:00pm in the Multipurpose Room (MPR), Campus Center
Thursday, October 22
- Exhibit of Paul Sika’s artwork on campus, www.paulsika.com
Various outdoor locations on campus and in RKC. - Editing Workshop with Rob Spillman
Rob Spillman is editor of “Gods and Soldiers: the Penguin Anthology of Contemporary African Writing,” editor of Tin House, and executive editor of Tin House Books.
4:00-5:00pm in Hegeman Room 300 - A Dramatic Reading of “Remembering Future Africa”
Performed by the Bard Theater Club, directed by Manon Manavit.
5:30-6:30pm in Bard Hall - Lecture: I was doing my job: the Language of Work in Nation-building and Genocide
L lecture by Martin Kimani followed by a panel discussion with Ian Buruma, Tom Keenan, Peter Trachtenberg, and others TBA. Martin Kimani is a writer and security analyst with expertise in terrorism and counter terrorism in the Horn of Africa, the formation and deployment of militias, genocide and genocidal politics in East and Central Africa and the nexus of conflict and economics.
7:30pm in Olin Auditorium
Friday, October 23
- Exhibit of Paul Sika’s artwork on campus, www.paulsika.com
Various outdoor locations on campus and in RKC. - “Jou Pa Se!” A discussion of African Masculinities in Contemporary South African Art with Gabi Ngcobo—South African curator, writer, artist and CCS fellow.
3:00-4:00pm in Reem-Kayden Center (RKC) Room 103 - Mo Faya!—A Musical from Kenya
Mo Faya! features musicians and performers from Nairobi and brings the audience to that city’s Kwa Maji slums, where local radio disc jockey “DJ” Lwanda’s leadership and vision over the airwaves have become the lifeblood of the community—until he is seduced away as part of a ploy to mow over the Kwa Maji slums and rebuild on the land. The energy, sounds, and message of Mo Faya! have taken Kenya by storm.
$5 tickets for students from any school, $15 parterre and first balcony/ $25 orchestra. Order tickets here!
8:00pm in the Richard B. Fisher Center for Performing Arts
Saturday, October 24
- Exhibit of Paul Sika’s artwork on campus, www.paulsika.com
Various outdoor locations on campus and in RKC. - A Reception in Celebration of Chinua Achebe’s most recent book, “The Education of a British-Protected Child: Essays” with Chinua Achebe—Prof. Achebe will be available for informal conversation. Refreshments will be served.
1:00-2:00pm in the Multipurpose Room (MPR), Campus Center - Contemporary African Dance Workshop with Mo Faya! choreographer Dan Kiwesi, co-presented by the Bard College Musical Theater Gr
oup.
2:30-4:00pm in the Multipurpose Room (MPR), Campus Center - Dance Party featuring DJ Lamin Fofana (Sierra Leone and NYC), co-presented by the Institute for Media, Culture and Difference.
9:00pm in the Multipurpose Room (MPR), Campus Center
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Chartwells will offer dishes from different African countries at Kline in celebration of Africa Week.
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Africa Week at Bard College is presented by the Chinua Achebe Center for African Writers and Artists with generous support from: Bard Division of Languages and Literature, Bard Theater, Institute for Media, Culture and Difference, the Institute for International Liberal Education/International Human Rights Exchange, Human Rights at Bard College, Bard Student Theater Group, Bard Musical Theater Group, and Chartwells.
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The Chinua Achebe Center for African Writers and Artists was established in 2005 to expand the legacy of Chinua Achebe, Charles P. Stevenson Jr. Professor Emeritus of Languages and Literature and chairman of the Achebe Center, to serve the future of global Africana arts. Among its goals are to become a center of excellence for the teaching of African literature; to support a new generation of African writers; and to encourage literary/cultural entrepreneurship. Undergraduate students at Bard may participate in numerous Center projects, including facilitating events featuring visiting writers, artists, and scholars; helping with all aspects of book and chapbook editing and publication; and working on writer/artist residency projects and a new creative writing program.
