New College initiative flourishes along Florida’s creative coast

Funded by a five-year $750,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New College: Connecting the Arts and Humanities on Florida’s Creative Coast seeks to foster a deeper understanding of the arts and humanities through new programs at New College and with local arts organizations and the Cross College Alliance. Through the expansion of existing public programs and a new series of open seminars, the local community is invited to hear from — and speak with — faculty scholars and artists who are renowned in their fields.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a second five-year $750,000 grant to New College of Florida. New College + the Cross College Alliance in the Community, supports curricular and research initiatives that preserve local history, integrate social and racial justice work into artistic practice and teaching, and explore questions of special interest to the local community. 

FALL 2021

OCTOBER:

NMNC: New Music Salon featuring the James Varnado Quartet

Thur, Oct 28  l  5:30 p.m.  l  Sainer Auditorium (5313 Bay Shore Rd.)
Admission: $10 (Free for NCF students, faculty, & staff) More info here

The Salon will also be live-streamed on YouTube. Info will appear here as the date nears.

New Music New College presents drumset virtuoso and improviser James Varnado and his quartet to a Salon afternoon focused on improvised music, jazz, and funk. Improvisation is a transformative and essential practice for musicians and composers, and this event celebrates the central place that making music in the moment occupies for creative expression. Join us for this journey into new musical terrain.

James Varnado is a drumset player based in Sarasota who has cultivated a community around open musical experiences and improvisation sessions. He has toured with both national and local acts, and his quartet embraces high-level musical technique and openness to exploration. We look forward to starting a conversation about exploring music in the moment following this performance.

NOVEMBER:

Asian Film & Talk Series: “In the Name of Belief”and “A Return to Peace” w/ intro by Dr. Siti Kusujiarti

Fri, Nov 5  l  7:00 p.m.  l  Sainer Auditorium (5313 Bay Shore Rd)

Join us for two short Indonesian documentary films on gender and religion issues in Indonesia.

Dr. Siti Kusujiarti received her Ph. D from the University of Kentucky. She is currently a Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Warren Wilson College, Asheville, North Carolina, USA. She has conducted extensive research and teaching on gender relations, development, disaster, and climate change in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. She has various publications including a co-author book entitled Power, Change, and Gender Relations in Rural Java: A Tale of Two Villages published by Ohio University (2012). Her current research is on gender, climate change and disaster. She was a co-director of Indonesia Seminar of ASIANetwork Faculty Enhancement Program (ANFEP). She also serves as the chair of the board of directors of ASIANetwork. Her most recent publication is ‘Tsunami, Civil Society and Shari’ah Law in Aceh, Indonesia: Intersection of Disaster, Decentralization and Gender Relations” in The Governance of Local Communities: Local Perspectives and Challenges. She was born and raised in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. She lived in Indonesia for the first 25 years of her live. As a Javanese, she learned classical Javanese dances since she was 6 years old and she still does it until now. In addition to regular courses, she has taught several study abroad courses to Indonesia, including those focusing on performing arts in Java and Bali.

About the Asian Film Series: For the 2021-2022 academic year, the Asian Film and Talk series will include six films and two dance talks/workshops. This year’s theme addresses issues related to “Identity, Community, and Family” from a diverse range of Asian perspectives, including those of Indonesia, India, Taiwan, Tibet, mainland China, and Asian American community.

Asian Film & Talk Series: Javanese Dance workshop taught by Dr. Siti Kusujiarti

Sat, Nov 6  l  11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.  l  College Hall Music Room (351 College Dr)

Join Dr. Kusujiarti as she leads a talk/workshop on Indonesian (mostly Javanese) dance. The first 15-20 minutes will include a general introduction on Indonesian dance. Following the introduction there will be a 10 minute break before transitioning into a 60 minute workshop on Javanese dance.

This will be the first time Southeast Asian dance is brought to New College campus.

Dr. Siti Kusujiarti received her Ph. D from the University of Kentucky. She is currently a Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Warren Wilson College, Asheville, North Carolina, USA. She has conducted extensive research and teaching on gender relations, development, disaster, and climate change in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. She has various publications including a co-author book entitled Power, Change, and Gender Relations in Rural Java: A Tale of Two Villages published by Ohio University (2012). Her current research is on gender, climate change and disaster. She was a co-director of Indonesia Seminar of ASIANetwork Faculty Enhancement Program (ANFEP). She also serves as the chair of the board of directors of ASIANetwork. Her most recent publication is ‘Tsunami, Civil Society and Shari’ah Law in Aceh, Indonesia: Intersection of Disaster, Decentralization and Gender Relations” in The Governance of Local Communities: Local Perspectives and Challenges. She was born and raised in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. She lived in Indonesia for the first 25 years of her live. As a Javanese, she learned classical Javanese dances since she was 6 years old and she still does it until now. In addition to regular courses, she has taught several study abroad courses to Indonesia, including those focusing on performing arts in Java and Bali.

About the Asian Film & Talk Series: For the 2021-2022 academic year, the Asian Film and Talk series will include six films and two dance talks/workshops. This year’s theme addresses issues related to “Identity, Community, and Family” from a diverse range of Asian perspectives, including those of Indonesia, India, Taiwan, Tibet, mainland China, and Asian American community.

Religion in SRQ: “LGBTQ+ People and Religion in Sarasota”

Tues, Nov 9  l  5:30 p.m.  l NCF Heiser Natural Sciences Complex (500 College Drive) l
Register Here!

Join us for short talks with panelists on discussions about LGBTQ+ identity and experiences with Christianity in SRQ and beyond! We will be joined by Dr. Patricia Jung, a Catholic moral theologian and ethicist who has written extensively on sexuality in the Christian tradition, and Rev. Andy Oliver, pastor of Allendale United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg and president of Methodist Federation for Social Action.

Patricia Beattie Jung is a Roman Catholic moral theologian whose work focused primarily on Christian sexual ethics. She taught for thirty-five years in a variety of Protestant and Catholic universities and seminaries, mostly in the Midwest, but also in Hong Kong, Rome and Manila. Over these years she wrote two books and co-edited nine others. In addition, she authored over fifty chapters, essays and reference articles. In 2019, Dr. Jung served as the President of the Society of Christian Ethics. In Heterosexism: An Ethical Challenge (1993), she and co-author Ralph F. Smith were among the first wave of theologians to challenge Christian exclusionary practices in regarding to ordination and marriage and to identify sexual authenticity as a Christian virtue. More recently she authored a book entitled Sex on Earth as It Is in Heaven (2017) and co-edited books on Professional Sexual Ethics (2013) and Sex and Gender (2017).

Rev. Andy Oliver (he/him/his) is pastor of Allendale United Methodist in St. Petersburg, Florida, a church that is committed to anti-racism and radical solidarity with folx on the margins. He is grounded in liberation theology and following Jesus, a community organizer who always located himself with the oppressed, helping them to use their power to dismantle evil. He is currently president of Methodist Federation for Social Action, a national justice-seeking organization, and was senior staff at Reconciling Ministries Network, a national LGBTQ justice non-profit. Andy is a graduate of the University of Florida and Duke Divinity School. He previously served congregations in Lakeland, Ft. Lauderdale, and outside Gainesville. He loves spending time with his two boys building Legos and seeing the world through their eyes.

The Latinization of Florida: Comparing the Cuban and Puerto Rican Diasporas

Thur, Nov 18  l  5:00 p.m.  l Virtual Event, Register Here!

Florida’s Hispanic population increased spectacularly from 2.6 percent of the total in 1960 to 26.2 percent in 2020. The two main groups of immigrants were Cubans and Puerto Ricans, who clustered in the Miami and Orlando metropolitan areas. 

This presentation will examine the main demographic characteristics of each migrant flow, as well as their settlement patterns. Then it will compare the socioeconomic profile of Cubans and Puerto Ricans in Florida and some of their cultural practices. Finally, the presentation will assess the impact of Cuban and Puerto Rican voters on Florida’s political landscape, particularly during presidential elections.

Jorge Duany, Ph.D., is Director of the Cuban Research Institute and Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Global & Sociocultural Studies at Florida International University.

Born in Cuba and raised in Panama and Puerto Rico, Dr. Duany previously served as Acting Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras (UPR). He also served as Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Director of the journal Revista de Ciencias Sociales at UPR. He has held visiting research and teaching appointments at several U.S. universities, including Harvard, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and the City University of New York. He earned his Ph.D. in Latin American Studies, specializing in anthropology, at the University of California, Berkeley. He also holds an M.A. in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Psychology from Columbia University.

Dr. Duany has published extensively on migration, ethnicity, race, nationalism, and transnationalism in Cuba, the Caribbean, and the United States. He has also written about Cuban cultural identity on the island and in the diaspora, especially as expressed in literature, music, art, and religion. He is currently a member of the editorial boards of the academic journals Latino Studies and CENTRO: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, and previously served on the editorial boards of Caribbean Studies, Cuban Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, and New West Indian Guide. He has lectured widely throughout the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. 

Dr. Duany is the author, co-author, editor, or coeditor of twenty-two books.

Campus Conversations: “M&Ms: Music & Monologues”

Wed, Nov 17  l  5:45 p.m.  l College Hall Music Room (351 College Dr)  l  RSVP Here

Theater and Music Composition students at State College of Florida collaborate to produce “M&Ms”—that is, monologues and music. Have you noticed how speech can be enhanced by music underlayered? Students at SCF working with faculty in both programs collaborate to present a theatrical monologue with music composition students, who then write a musical score to enhance and extend the monologue.

Light refreshments will be served. 

NMNC: New Music Salon featuring Natalie Helm

Mon, Nov 29  l  5:30 p.m.  l  Sainer Auditorium (5313 Bay Shore Rd.)
Admission: $10 (Free for NCF students, faculty, & staff) More info here

The Salon will also be live-streamed on YouTube. Info will appear here as the date nears.

Acclaimed cellist Natalie Helm’s approach to presenting music is varied and innovative, from her performances as Principal Cellist of the Sarasota Orchestra, to her work with genre-crossing groups DuoSkope and Sorella Duo, to her initiative Upward Notes which aims to bring music into the community to encourage flourishing and wellbeing. Over the past year, Helm released a series of videos of Bach solo cello movements paired with messages of positivity, striking a chord with online audiences and offering a new approach to musical presentation in a time of primarily online performance. In this concert, we will hear movements from Bach suites and start a conversation about music’s relationship to wellbeing, exploring the ways that Helm has cultivated these practices.

As the founder of Upward Notes, “she brings musicians together to perform and create opportunities to bring positive social change to the communities she works in. Upward Notes has performed for prisoners, homeless shelters, animal shelters, drug-rehab facilities, dementia patients, and assisted living facilities throughout the United States.” Mrs. Helm recently released her first album, available on Apple Music, Amazon, and Spotify.

DECEMBER:

La música en vaivén: Plena Mar latino Concert

Sat, Dec 4  l  5:00 p.m.  l  NCF Bayfront behind College Hall (351 College Dr.)

Enjoy live Puerto Rican and Caribbean music with Plena Mar Latino. 

Plena Mar Latino specializes in Plena and other Afro-Puerto Rican musical genres. They have participated in the Puerto Rican Parade of Kissimmee, Las fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian in Orlando, the Bomba and Plena Festival in Tampa, and the Hispanic Festival in Jacksonville Florida, among others.

You can find them on various social media like Facebook (@PlenaMarLatino) & Instagram (@plenamar.latino)

This event is co-sponsored by New Music New College.

Dancing Body Series: Physically Integrated Dance Class led by Stephanie Bastos

Wed, Dec 8  l  10:00-11:00 a.m.  l  SCD Home Studio (1400 Blvd Arts, unit 300)
Register Here!

Bastos’s fresh approach to envision, create, and collaborate in the ever- evolving art of movement in community. This innovative approach to challenging stereotypes in the field of dance will create spaciousness for all bodies to be included in the art form. Improvisation, composition, and contemporary techniques will be utilized to develop a safe space for all bodies to create collectively. 

Stephanie Bastos, Daughter of Bernadette Chaves Nunes and Aluizio Ribeiro Bastos, started her performance career with the Miami Ballet and later, became one of the founding members of the internationally acclaimed Isadora Duncan Dance Ensemble of Miami, FL directed by Andrea Seidel and featured in Isadora Duncan Dance and Repertory by Princeton Book Company. After losing her right leg in a car accident and subsequently retraining herself to dance with and without a prosthetic leg, she graduated cum Laude with her BFA in Dance and has been performing, touring and teaching Contemporary Dance throughout the United States, Germany, Poland, Argentina and Brazil. A current resident of Oakland, CA, she is the winner of the 2011 San Francisco “Izzies” Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performance Ensemble with Ase West Dance Theater Collective and has also worked with the Urban Bush Women, Axis Dance Company, Deep Waters Dance Theater, Águas Dance Company, REVolutions Dance and Ron Brown’s/ EVIDENCE as a guest performer. Her teaching credits include SCD Summer Intensive, FSU/World Dance Festival, American College Dance Festival, ODC in San Francisco, Destiny Arts Center in Oakland, CA and Youth In Arts/ VSA. She is also a former mentee for Dance/USA Institute for Leadership Training (DILT), the 2016 EDGE artist- in- residence at Counterpulse, San Francisco, for her autobiographical work.

More About TDB Series: A series to introduce students and our community to diverse bodies and ways of moving. This series will provide spaces for students and our community to embrace their own bodies and individualism as well as appreciate our differences. The Dancing Body Series is made possible by co-sponsorship of Sarasota Contemporary Dance. 

Dancing Body Series: “Timeline” Performance by Stephanie Bastos

Fri, Dec 10  l  7:00 p.m.  l  SCD Home Studio (1400 Blvd Arts, unit 300)
Sat, Dec 11  l  7:00 p.m.  l  SCD Home Studio (1400 Blvd Arts, unit 300)

In-person & broadcast performance registration info available here.

The dancing bodies series will culminate with a performance of Timeline, an autobiographical performance of a dancer’s life illuminating the themes of resilience and vulnerability. The work is based on a true story of dancer Stephanie Bastos, a Brazilian- American who dances with and without the aid of a prosthetic leg. It moves through an emotional landscape starting from childhood to the present, including the moment in which a car accident resulted in the loss of her right leg. Timeline illuminates’ themes of resiliency and vulnerability by providing a textured perspective into the human condition through movement, song, and spoken word.

Stephanie Bastos, Daughter of Bernadette Chaves Nunes and Aluizio Ribeiro Bastos, started her performance career with the Miami Ballet and later, became one of the founding members of the internationally acclaimed Isadora Duncan Dance Ensemble of Miami, FL directed by Andrea Seidel and featured in Isadora Duncan Dance and Repertory by Princeton Book Company. After losing her right leg in a car accident and subsequently retraining herself to dance with and without a prosthetic leg, she graduated cum Laude with her BFA in Dance and has been performing, touring and teaching Contemporary Dance throughout the United States, Germany, Poland, Argentina and Brazil. A current resident of Oakland, CA, she is the winner of the 2011 San Francisco “Izzies” Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performance Ensemble with Ase West Dance Theater Collective and has also worked with the Urban Bush Women, Axis Dance Company, Deep Waters Dance Theater, Águas Dance Company, REVolutions Dance and Ron Brown’s/ EVIDENCE as a guest performer. Her teaching credits include SCD Summer Intensive, FSU/World Dance Festival, American College Dance Festival, ODC in San Francisco, Destiny Arts Center in Oakland, CA and Youth In Arts/ VSA. She is also a former mentee for Dance/USA Institute for Leadership Training (DILT), the 2016 EDGE artist- in- residence at Counterpulse, San Francisco, for her autobiographical work.

More About TDB Series: A series to here students and our community to diverse bodies and ways of moving. This series will provide spaces for students and our community to embrace their own bodies and individualism as well as appreciate our differences. The Dancing Body Series is made possible by co-sponsorship of Sarasota Contemporary Dance.

Spring 2022

JANUARY:

Campus Conversations: Heritage and Health with Dr. Uzi Baram

Thur, Jan 20  l  5:30 p.m.  l  Virtual, Zoom Info TBA

The COVID-19 pandemic expanded recognition that heritage is a component of community health. Reflecting the values, culture, and history of a community contributes to productive responses to public health in a way that builds resilience and counters the spread of disease and feelings of helplessness. Prof. Uzi Baram will share insights from health studies locally and globally on the role of heritage in health.

Uzi Baram’s research and teaching focuses on race and ethnicity, colonialism, and the intersections of archaeology and heritage. Areas of research include the eastern Mediterranean and the Florida Gulf Coast. Publications include A Historical Archaeology of the Ottoman Empire: Breaking New Ground, Marketing Heritage: Archaeology and the Consumption of the Past, Cosmopolitanism and Ethnogenesis, Colonialism and Resistance: Themes in the Historical Archaeology of Florida, and Heritage as Social Action: Sarasota/Manatee in an Age of Rising Sea Levels. Current research includes the archaeology of an early 19^th-century freedom-seeking community on the Florida Gulf Coast, intersections of archaeology, heritage, and anti-racism, and climate change as future-oriented possibilities for Anthropocene landscapes. Professor Baram is committed to civic engagement and, as Director of the New College Public Archaeology Lab, has led a robust program of public presentations and community-based archaeology projects.

About 21-22 Campus Conversations: In order to respect the various comfort levels of our community, the 21-22 Campus Conversations Series has opted to alternate between virtual and in-person events. We are looking forward to a great series, so stay tuned for more details as we finalize the schedule.

FEBRUARY:

BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2022 

Event Info Plus Dates, Times, & Locations/Platforms can be found on the Official BHM Page

Stay tuned for the series lineup!

New College’s annual Black History Month program rallies the campus community as we celebrate and explore the rich history, culture, and contemporary realities of Black people and communities. The pillars of the annual programming include the Black Arts and Performance series, the Conversations on Race and Ethnicity public lecture series, the African Diaspora Film Festival, the Black Literature Read-in, the New Schools of Black Thought Symposium, and a display in the Jane Bancroft Cook Library. All events are appropriate for community members of any age and of many different interests.

Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public.

Asian Film & Talk: “Confronting Asian/Asian American Racism” by Dr. Melody Li

Thur, Feb 10  l  Time TBD  l  Location TBD

Dr. Li’s talk will discusses the racist attacks on Asian and AAPI communities since the pandemic and ways in which we can support each other.

Dr. Melody Li holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and an M. Phil. degree in Translation Studies from the School of Chinese at the University of Hong Kong. She is currently the Assistant Professor of Chinese at the University of Houston. Her research interests include Asian diaspora literature, modern Chinese literature and culture, migration studies, translation studies and cultural identities. Her current project focuses on Chinese diasporic literature from the 1960s to the present. She has published in various journals including Pacific Coast Philology, Telos and others. Besides her specialty in Chinese literature, Dr. Li is also a Chinese dancer and translator. She was the leader of Chinese Dance team at her alma maters University of Hong Kong, and Washington University of St. Louis, in which she performed, choreographed and taught Chinese dance.

About the Asian Film Series: For the 2021-2022 academic year, the Asian Film and Talk series will include six films and two dance talks/workshops. This year’s theme addresses issues related to “Identity, Community, and Family” from a diverse range of Asian perspectives, including those of Indonesia, India, Taiwan, Tibet, mainland China, and Asian American community.

Asian Film & Talk: “Fagara” (2019) w/ intro by Dr. melody Li

Fri, Feb 11  l  7:00 p.m.  l  Sainer Auditorium (5313 Bay Shore Rd)
Run Time: 1hr 58 min  l  Director: Ritesh Batra

A young woman from Hong Kong has to reunite with her sisters to settle debts after her father dies.

Dr. Melody Li holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and an M. Phil. degree in Translation Studies from the School of Chinese at the University of Hong Kong. She is currently the Assistant Professor of Chinese at the University of Houston. Her research interests include Asian diaspora literature, modern Chinese literature and culture, migration studies, translation studies and cultural identities. Her current project focuses on Chinese diasporic literature from the 1960s to the present. She has published in various journals including Pacific Coast Philology, Telos and others. Besides her specialty in Chinese literature, Dr. Li is also a Chinese dancer and translator. She was the leader of Chinese Dance team at her alma maters University of Hong Kong, and Washington University of St. Louis, in which she performed, choreographed and taught Chinese dance.

About the Asian Film & Talk Series: For the 2021-2022 academic year, the Asian Film and Talk series will include six films and two dance talks/workshops. This year’s theme addresses issues related to “Identity, Community, and Family” from a diverse range of Asian perspectives, including those of Indonesia, India, Taiwan, Tibet, mainland China, and Asian American community.

Asian Film & Talk: Chinese Dance Workshop taught by Dr. melody Li

Sat, Feb 12  l  7:00 p.m.  l  Bay Front

Dr. Li will hold a dance workshop at the bay for students and local community members who are interested in learning Chinese dance. Dr. Li will give a brief introduction on the art of Chinese dance and then invite the audience to learn a few moves.

Dr. Melody Li holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and an M. Phil. degree in Translation Studies from the School of Chinese at the University of Hong Kong. She is currently the Assistant Professor of Chinese at the University of Houston. Her research interests include Asian diaspora literature, modern Chinese literature and culture, migration studies, translation studies and cultural identities. Her current project focuses on Chinese diasporic literature from the 1960s to the present. She has published in various journals including Pacific Coast Philology, Telos and others. Besides her specialty in Chinese literature, Dr. Li is also a Chinese dancer and translator. She was the leader of Chinese Dance team at her alma maters University of Hong Kong, and Washington University of St. Louis, in which she performed, choreographed and taught Chinese dance.

About the Asian Film & Talk Series: For the 2021-2022 academic year, the Asian Film and Talk series will include six films and two dance talks/workshops. This year’s theme addresses issues related to “Identity, Community, and Family” from a diverse range of Asian perspectives, including those of Indonesia, India, Taiwan, Tibet, mainland China, and Asian American community.

Campus Conversations: Health disparities and Black Healing: Maternal Health & Midwifery

Thur, Feb 17  l  5:30 p.m.  l  Virtual, Zoom Link

This panel of experts on healing and health in Black lives, will focus in particular on maternal health disparities and the long traditions of care and support for mothers-to-be and new mothers. Statistics on maternal outcomes for Black women and their children are horrifying—impacted by health care disparities and social factors, including environment and structural racism. But there are also important stories of empowerment, care, and shared knowledge.

About 21-22 Campus Conversations: In order to respect the various comfort levels of our community, the 21-22 Campus Conversations Series has opted to alternate between virtual and in-person events. We are looking forward to a great series, so stay tuned for more details as we finalize the schedule.

MARCH:

Campus Conversations: “Beyond the Naming — Mental Health through the lens of culture” w/ Dr. Yidong Gong 

Thur, Mar 17  l  5:30 p.m.  l  Cook Hall Living Room (300 College Dr)

For decades, psychiatry and mental health have leaned towards an understanding of biological determinism when considering neurological disorders. The birth of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1952 and its subsequent editions identified and defined specific mental disorders and symptoms, in turn influencing psychopharmacology and biomedical treatments. Through these mechanisms, the American Psychiatric Association has tremendous impact. At the same time, the world of psychiatry and mental health has risked falling into what Chimamanda Adichie called “the danger of a single story.”

We will explore the other side of the story in this program. Culture offers great lessons for psychiatry, inviting us to think about the intertwined relationship between biology, environment, and health. Dr. Gong and students from this term’s seminar on “Global Mental Health” put mental health under the spotlight, unpacking its sociocultural implications and exploring alternatives to mental health treatments, and sharing their explorations.  

Dr. Gong is an Anthropologist who works at the intersection of medical anthropology, global health, African studies, and China studies. His research is based in South Sudan and China. Before he became an anthropologist, Dr. Gong had a previous career as a journalist, both at Xinhua News Agency and as China Regional News Editor for SciDev.net—a leading source of news, views, and analysis about science and technology for global development.

Asian Film & Talk: “on happiness road” (2019) w/ intro by Dr. Fang-yu Li

Fri, Mar 18  l  7:00pm  l  Sainer Auditorium (5313 Bay Shore Rd)
Run Time: 1hr 51 min  l  Director: Hsin-yin Sung

After years abroad, a woman returns to her family home in Taiwan and begins to contemplate the meaning of life and home. After years abroad, a woman returns to her family home in Taiwan and begins to contemplate the meaning of life and home.

Professor Li joined New College in 2015 and offers language courses of various levels and topical courses on modern Chinese literature and culture. Her current research focuses on self-reflexive writings in contemporary Chinese literature, with a particular interest in the process of fiction writing and its relation to identity construction. Her broader interest includes Chinese cinema, Chinese pop culture, linguistic/cultural translation and adaptation, gender politics and the representation of memory and violence in literature and film. In the future, she looks forward to offering courses on Chinese cinema, film adaptation, major fiction writers/film directors, and advanced Chinese reading courses.

About the Asian Film Series: For the 2021-2022 academic year, the Asian Film and Talk series will include six films and two dance talks/workshops. This year’s theme addresses issues related to “Identity, Community, and Family” from a diverse range of Asian perspectives, including those of Indonesia, India, Taiwan, Tibet, mainland China, and Asian American community.

NMNC Newfest: Artist conversation – ymusic 

Thur, Mar 31  l  5:00 p.m. EDT  l  PepsiCo Arcade (5313 Bay Shore Rd)
Admission: FREE

The Artist Conversation will also be live-streamed on YouTube. Info will appear here as the date nears.

New Music New College is pleased to present the outstanding chamber music group, yMusic to open New Music New College NewFest in 2022. Experiencing the sound, virtuosity, and coordination of this group live is an experience we are eager to share with our audience, especially after circumstances interfered with our planned presentation of the group last year. yMusic has commissioned some of the most exciting composers working today, including Andrew Norman, Missy Mazzoli, and Gabriella Smith, and has also composed music together as a group. Their sound has attracted collaborations from artists such a Paul Simon, Bill T. Jones, and Sufjan Stevens, and this program will feature works from their extensive repertoire of specially designed and finely wrought chamber pieces.

yMusic, “six contemporary classical polymaths who playfully overstep the boundaries of musical genres,” (The New Yorker) performs in concert halls, arenas and clubs around the world. Founded in New York City in 2008, yMusic believes in presenting excellent, emotionally communicative music, regardless of style or idiom. “One of the groups that has really helped to shape the future of classical music,” (Fred Child, NPR’s Performance Today) their virtuosic execution and unique configuration (string trio, flute, clarinet, and trumpet) has attracted the attention of high profile collaborators—from Paul Simon to Bill T. Jones to Ben Folds—and inspired original works by some of today’s foremost composers, including Nico Muhly, Missy Mazzoli and Andrew Norman.

Last season, yMusic debuted a major new work, Difference, by Grawemayer and GRAMMY-winning composer Andrew Norman, set out on a US tour with singer-songwriter Bruce Hornsby, and released Ecstatic Science, their fourth full-length album. The recording, one of Pitchfork’s “6 New Albums You Should Listen to Now,” features music by Missy Mazzoli, Gabriella Smith, Paul Wiancko, and Caroline Shaw. Pitchfork praised the group for its “excellent taste in collaborating with composers” and for creating an album of “fluidly engaging” work. Due to global restrictions on nonessential travel and gatherings, yMusic took the 2020-21 season to work on their own, collaborative compositions, recorded remotely. The ensemble plans to release an album of original work in late 2021.

APRIL:

NMNC NewFest: ymusic 

Sat, Apr 2  l  8:00 p.m. EDT  l  PepsiCo Arcade (5313 Bay Shore Rd)
Admission: $15 (Free for NCF students, faculty, & staff) More info here

The Concert will also be live-streamed on YouTube. Info will appear here as the date nears.

Experiencing the sound, virtuosity, and coordination of the chamber group yMusic is something we are eager to share with our audience. yMusic has commissioned some of the most exciting composers working today, including Andrew Norman, Missy Mazzoli, and Gabriella Smith, and has also composed music together as a group. Their sound has attracted collaborations from artists such a Paul Simon, Bill T. Jones, and Sufjan Stevens, and this program will feature works from their extensive repertoire of specially designed and finely wrought chamber pieces.

Words in Action Series  

Apr 6-8, 2022  l  More info coming!


Stay tuned for more info on the Series Lineup!

Plenary Panel 
Wed, Apr 6  l  5:00 p.m.  l  Black Box Theater (5845 General Dougher Pl)

I SCREAM Social
Thur, Apr 7  l   5:00 p.m.  l  Black Box Theater (5845 General Dougher Pl)

Artist Workshop #1
Fri, Apr 8  l  8:30-10:00 a.m.  l  Location TBD
Limited Spots Available

Artist Workshop #2
Fri, Apr 8  l  10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  l  Location TBD
Limited Spots Available

About WIA Series: Words in Action builds community by re-thinking the role of the arts in society. Each spring, Words in Action introduces New College students to professionals working in writing-adjacent fields related to literary, book, and other arts. Showcasing the way writers and other artists find careers in which to apply their skills, and the ways art lovers bring the arts into their lives, editors, publishers, librarians, booksellers, arts administrators and other professionals share how their careers and their love of literary and other arts intersect. Words in Action distinguishes itself from other practice-oriented literary events in that it moves across disciplinary and institutional boundaries to feature the teaching, production, and circulation of writing as a whole social process that involves
both paid and unpaid labor, as well as an entire spectrum of cultural workers inside and outside the university. Our ambition is to radically re-vision creative writing beyond its disciplinary bounds and situate it within a larger social context of work, writing, and literacy in action.

New College of Florida 5th Annual Dance for Parkinson 

Sat, Apr 9  l  10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.  l  College Hall Music Room (351 College Dr)


Come learn about the collaboration between New College of Florida, Sarasota Contemporary Dance, and Parkinson Place!

We will start with a Meet & Greet and Light Breakfast followed by an open “Dance for Parkinson” Class with live drumming.

Afterwards meet NCF students while they share research findings from their semester course. This is a great opportunity for community members to move with and speak to participants from both Parkinson’s Place and students from New College.

The mission of Parkinson Place is to meet the physical, mental, emotional, and social needs of those living with Parkinson’s disease through education, empowerment, support, and community resources.

NMNC Newfest: Student Chamber Players 

Sun, Apr 10  l  2:30 p.m. EDT  l  Sainer Auditorium (5313 Bay Shore Rd)
Admission: Free

The Concert will also be live-streamed on YouTube. Info will appear here as the date nears.

New College is known for fostering community and close collaboration between students and faculty, and between students themselves. In this concert, we celebrate and highlight our emphasis on musical teamwork, showcasing new compositions by New College Students performed by students from our Chamber Music class.  Join us and hear the results of our students’ creativity, musicality, and innovative ears.

NMNC Newfest: Tyshawn soret & jennifer Curtis “Invisible ritual” 

Tues, Apr 12  l  8:00 p.m. (Pre-concert talk 7:30 p.m.)  l  Club Sudakoff (5845 General Dougher Pl)
Admission: $15 (Free for NCF students, faculty, & staff) More info here

The Concert will also be live-streamed on YouTube. Info will appear here as the date nears.

Free Artist Conversation Date TBD.

NMNC NewFest presents two bright stars of the contemporary music world, composer and percussionist Tyshawn Sorey and violinist Jennifer Curtis, whose recent set of duo recordings Invisible Ritual offers a compelling, novel, and extraordinary listening journey. The music of Invisible Ritual is improvised, and simultaneously both Sorey and Curtis bring a compositional sensibility to each piece of music, ranging across a vast stylistic territory that touches on fiddling and folkloric traditions, gestures and expressions from contemporary music, and moments of unique and unrepeatable resonance.

Newark-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey (b. 1980) is celebrated for his incomparable virtuosity, effortless mastery and memorization of highly complex scores, and an extraordinary ability to blend composition and improvisation in his work. He has performed nationally and internationally with his own ensembles, as well as artists such as John Zorn, Vijay Iyer, Roscoe Mitchell, Muhal Richard Abrams, Wadada Leo Smith, Marilyn Crispell, George Lewis, Claire Chase, Steve Lehman, Jason Moran, Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton, and Myra Melford, among many others.

Jennifer Curtis navigates with personality and truth in every piece she performs. Jennifer is a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) and founder of the group Tres Americas Ensemble. She has appeared as a soloist with the Simon Bolivar Orchestra in Venezuela and the Knights Chamber Orchestra; performed in Romania in honor of George Enescu; given world premieres at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York; collaborated with composer John Adams at the Library of Congress; and appeared at El Festival de las Artes Esénias in Peru and festivals worldwide. An educator with a focus on music as humanitarian aid, Jennifer has also collaborated with musical shaman of the Andes, improvised for live radio from the interior of the Amazon jungle, and taught and collaborated with Kurdish refugees in Turkey. Jennifer joins the Haw River Ballroom’s Culture Mill in Saxapahaw, North Carolina as artist in residence this spring, and will teach a course on the art of interpretation at Duke University next year. She plays on a 1777 Vincenzo Panormo.

Asian Film & Talk: “tharlo” (2015) w/ intro by Dr. yidong gong

Fri, April 15  l  7:00pm  l  Sainer Auditorium (5313 Bay Shore Rd)
Run Time: 2 hr 18 min  l  Director: Pema Tseden

Tharlo meets a girl in the barbershop who changes the course of his life. After he decides to sell all of his sheep and use the money to go out into the world with the woman, he finds himself being deceived and cheated by her.

Dr. Gong is an Anthropologist who works at the intersection of medical anthropology, global health, African studies, and China studies. His research is based in South Sudan and China. Before he became an anthropologist, Dr. Gong had a previous career as a journalist, both at Xinhua News Agency and as China Regional News Editor for SciDev.net—a leading source of news, views, and analysis about science and technology for global development.

About the Asian Film Series: For the 2021-2022 academic year, the Asian Film and Talk series will include six films and two dance talks/workshops. This year’s theme addresses issues related to “Identity, Community, and Family” from a diverse range of Asian perspectives, including those of Indonesia, India, Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong, mainland China, and Asian American community.

THe Fog: A Puppet Eco-educational Workshop 

Tue, Apr 13-16  l  Time TBA  l  Black Box Theatre (5845 General Dougher Pl)

When a mysterious fog begins to change the arctic home of a small yellow warbler, he chooses to learn, investigate, and invent all he can to save his friends, his glacier, and the world. The Fog is a vibrant and warm family friendly puppet performance based on the book by Kyo Maclear. Brimming with a large cast of colorful and friendly birds, The Fog teaches us about ecological responsibility and the problem-solving power of community when we work together to create meaningful change. This immersive theatrical educational workshop includes a number of hands-on creative activities and opportunities for our young audiences to begin engaging firsthand in work towards climate justice!

NMNC Newfest: Artist Conversation – Jiji

Thur, Apr 21  l  5:00 p.m.  l  Sainer Auditorium (5313 Bay Shore Rd)
Admission: Free

The Artist Conversation will also be live-streamed on YouTube. Info will appear here as the date nears.

Applauded by the Calgary Herald as “. . . talented, sensitive . . . brilliant,” JIJI is an adventurous artist known for her virtuosic performances that feature a diverse selection of music, ranging from traditional and contemporary classical to free improvisation, played on both acoustic and electric guitar. Through her impeccable musicianship, compelling stage presence, and constant premieres of new musical works, JIJI’s intriguing programming solidifies her reputation as a 21st century guitarist.

NMNC Newfest: Jiji – Never Not Enough

Sat, Apr 23  l  8:00 p.m. (Pre-concert talk 7:30 p.m.)  l  Sainer Auditorium (5313 Bay Shore Rd)
Admission: $15 (Free for NCF students, faculty, & staff) More info here

The Concert will also be live-streamed on YouTube. Info will appear here as the date nears.

A classical and electric guitarist who is emerging as a champion of new repertoire for her instrument, JIJI is an adventurous musician hailed by The Washington Post as “one of the 21 composers/performers who sound like tomorrow.” In this varied program of works by a broad range of young and established composers, you will experience the vital edge of new music for an instrument that can be intimate, visceral, complex, and beguiling from one moment to the next.

NMNC Newfest: Student Composers – Sarasota Piano quartet

Sun, Apr 24  l  2:30 p.m. EDT  l  Sainer Auditorium (5313 Bay Shore Rd)
Admission: Free

The Concert will also be live-streamed on YouTube. Info will appear here as the date nears.

Join us for a presentation by that acclaimed Sarasota Piano Quartet as they perform new works by New College student composers. New College has worked with musicians from the Sarasota Orchestra for over a decade, bringing together our students with orchestra chamber music groups to learn and collaborate. The performances on this program will be world premieres, and will be accompanied by a question-and-answer session with the composers and audience.

JUNE:

Vari(a)bilities v // part B: exhbiting the body, performing humanity

Early June  l  Dates, Times, & Locations/Formats TBD

Co-sponsored with Ringling/Tibbals Circus Collection & University of Winchester-UK.

About Vari(A)bilities: The materiality of the body confounds us; it forces a reconsideration of the “linguistic turn,” perhaps even the “social constructionist” turn, by which we understand the world and identity as linguistically or socially constituted. But how do we look at bodies –our own, the first bodies exhibited to us as children, the bodies of clowns and circus performers, or even the bodies of everyday folks with impairments—people who are like us but also somehow different? And what knowledge do such encounters create or reify?

New College of Florida and John and Mable Ringling Museum’s historical connection to the Ringling family and the circus, invites us to think about how the full range of humanity has been and is still exhibited and performed. We turn explicitly to the experience of specific and variAble bodies and their humanity. Sometimes seen as inherently in conflict, the circus and its progenitors (collections of wonders and monsters, exhibits of exotics, carnivalesque fairs, freak shows) and the experiences of variously abled persons may be productively considered as intersectional.

Not only have extraordinary-bodied persons been exhibited; they have also seized control over their own presentations under a variety of circumstances and historical moments. Both academic work on impairments and circus seek to reach multiple audiences—a general public, advocates and activists, historians and cultural critics. Institutions like circuses also provided a platform for performing the self and framing the action of looking—one that is complexly intertwined with the agency of the extraordinary body.

Linking embodiment, performance, self-presentation, and exhibition—circus studies provide another insight into the ‘impaired’ body, its applications and acceptances within the wider society. We are particularly interested in the knowledge and affordances of the variable body and the negotiated agency of variAble persons.