Join us for this special lunchtime conversation series that takes the spirit of Arts & Context and Ruby Friday programs onto Zoom! Spend your Friday lunch break with us to meet artists and musicians, learn about their practice, and ask questions: How are you making new work during coronavirus? What is the role of an artist during a pandemic?
Before life moved onto virtual platforms like Zoom, Duke Arts and Duke Performances hosted casual artist talks in Duke’s Rubenstein Arts Center and in a variety of Durham community venues like the Pinhook and Cocoa Cinnamon. We miss these opportunities to connect with our audiences and artists, and we hope you’ll join us for this new venture.
The series kicks off with a special workshop from the Department of Theater Studies’ New Works Lab, in conjunction with its Visiting Artist Series for Fall 2020. Join artist and educator Forrest McClendon virtually for this one-hour interactive salon where he will discuss “Choicework,” his unique creative process originally designed to build characters onstage. Introduced by Torry Bend (Chair of Duke Theater Studies); co-sponsored by Duke Theater Studies.
“Choicework” Event Information
Members of acclaimed Brooklyn-based dance company Urban Bush Women sit down with Andrea Woods-Valdes (Chair of the Duke Dance Program) for a free public Zoom discussion focused on Artist Journal, the company’s virtual presentation model.Introduced by Michaela Dwyer (Duke Performances) and moderated by Andrea Woods Valdes.
Urban Bush Women Event Details
Members of GRAMMY-winning, Charleston-based quintet Ranky Tanky join Duke professor Laurent Dubois for a live Zoom conversation, exploring the ways in which their music and performance draw on the living Gullah traditions of the Lowcountry, handed down by the enslaved West Africans who lived in the region. Introduced by Brian Valentyn (Duke Performances) and moderated by Laurent Dubois (Professor of Romance Studies).
An abridged version of the musical including “live” performance and footage from full cast production, created by Kit Yan and Melissa Li for In Coversation. Discussion will be hosted by Duke Music at 4pm, featuring a panel with Jen Nash, Esther Lee, Yun Emily Wang, Kit Yan, and Melissa Li. Introduced by Yun Emily Wang (Assistant Professor of Music).
GRAMMY-nominated pianist, jazz wunderkind, and Durham native Chris Pattishall joins for a wide-ranging virtual discussion touching on his local roots, influences, and new multimedia project that explores the towering 1945 ‘Zodiac Suite’ of former Duke professor and jazz luminary Mary Lou Williams. Moderated by John Brown (Vice Provost for the Arts and Director of the Jazz Program).
