News and Events
Urban Bush Women to perform “Haint Blu” at Harlem Stage
Brooklyn’s Urban Bush Women, one of three partnering organizations for Wesleyan’s Embodying Antiracism Initiative, brings their work “Haint Blu” back to Harlem Stage from Thursday, January 11 through Saturday January 13, 2024. Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts is one of the additional commissioning partners for “Haint Blu.” Read more about the work and get tickets to Harlem Stage...Urban Bush Women teaches Wesleyan students choreography at "Common Moment"
Each first-year Wesleyan student for the past sixteen years has had an experience to bring them together — the "Common Moment." The dancing exercise is an embodied learning experience, an opportunity to build community, and a moment of togetherness shared amongst an entire class. Members of Embodying Antiracism Initiative partner organization Urban Bush Women taught Wesleyan students choreography from their work “Batty Moves.” Read "Wesleyan’s Newest Class Shares a ‘Common Moment’ with Collaborative Dance Experience" in The Wesleyan Connection...Works by Stephanie McKee to be featured at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
Embodying Antiracism Initiative partner Stephanie McKee, Executive Artistic Director of Junebug Productions, is one of the artists whose works will be featured in a outdoor celebration of the legacy of dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist Katherine Dunham at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Massachusetts. The performance will take place on Saturday, July 29, 2023 at 6pm on the Henry J. Leir Stage. Click here for more information and tickets to the performance...Community Fellow Barbara McClane to present book talk at Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Wesleyan University Embodying Antiracism Community Fellow and author Barbara McClane will present a book talk and signing featuring her authobiography Blessed Not Bitter at Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore on Monday, August 21, 2023 at 5pm. McClane previously presented a public book talk about her memoir in the Smith Reading Room of the Wesleyan Library in February. Click here to read more about the event at Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore...Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project public forum at The Free Center
The Free Center, located at 52 North Main Street, Middletown, Connecticut will host the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project's public forum about racial profiling in the community on Thursday, June 29, 2023. Doors open at 5:30pm, event starts at 6pm. Light refreshments will be served. Read more about the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project...Visiting Guest Artist Fellow Jerome Haferd's "Sankofa" in Marcus Garvey Park in New York
Wesleyan Embodying Antiracism Visiting Guest Artist Fellow Jerome Haferd's latest project as lead designer, "Sankofa," opens on the North East Lawn of Marcus Garvey Park in New York on Friday, June 16, 2023 from 3pm to 7pm. "Sankofa" is a major public installation in collaboration with Harlem Grown, a food heritage and justice non-profit with numerous locations throughout Harlem. The opening includes performances, art making, a mobile food kitchen, artist talks, and a ribbon cutting.“Sankofa” derives from the Akan African folklore, symbolizing remembrance of things forgotten, and “in order to know our future we must look to our past.” The installation is simultaneously futuristic and ancestral, and draws upon intersectional cultures including African, Afro-Caribbean, and Indigenous craft traditions as well as the everyday histories and contemporary life of the park. The 32-foot circular structure incorporates a gathering space below a printed fabric canopy invoking archival images, digital and AI means to depict a living “mythology” of Marcus Garvey Park and other motifs.
Read more on the Harlem Grown website...
Summer Leadership Institute events open to the general public
Wesleyan’s Embodying Antiracism Initiative hosts the Summer Leadership Institute "The Power of We" in Middletown, Connecticut from Monday, June 5 through Sunday, June 11, 2023. The following four free events and activities are open to the general public:Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at 5:30pm: A Conversation with Michelle Miller and Stephanie McKee-Anderson (Summer Leadership Institute Opening Keynote)
Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 7pm: dance workshop with Urban Bush Women (“How We Got to the Funk” and “The Block Party”)
Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 5pm: Summer Leadership Institute Informal Sharing (“The Power of We”)
Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 7pm: free outdoor concert by Funky Dawgz Brass Band
Embodying Antiracism Fellows Share Their Stories During Salon
Wesleyan’s Embodying Antiracism Initiative Fellows shared stories about their work this academic year during the program’s Think Tank at their third and final salon this spring, held in the Library’s Smith Reading Room on April 20. Two previous salons–intimate, informal gatherings looking at works-in-progress and building community–were held in February. The initiative’s Summer Leadership Institute, “The Power of We,” takes place on campus from June 5 through June 11. Read more in The Wesleyan Connection...World premiere of “UNDERcurrents" by Visiting Guest Artist Fellow nia love at Harlem Stage
Embodying Antiracism Visiting Guest Artist Fellow nia love's multi-media performance and installation “UNDERcurrents," which looks at the trans-Atlantic slave trade’s relationship to ecology. premieres at Harlem Stage from Thursday, May 4 through Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 7:30pm. Click here for tickets and more information about UNDERcurrents...World premiere of "The Cotillion" presented by Visiting Guest Artist Fellow Ryan Dobrin and The Movement Theatre Company
Embodying Antiracism Visiting Guest Artist Fellow Ryan Dobrin '18 and The Movement Theatre Company, in collaboration with New Georges, present the world premiere of Colette Robert's new musical theater work "The Cotillion," investigating debutante culture, featuring an all-Black women company and creative team including a three-piece band, from May 3 through May 27, 2023 at the Mezzanine Theater at A.R.T./New York. Click here for tickets and more information about The Cotillion..."I Am Woman: Women Who Pour" exhibition on display in Wesleyan Library
Eight posters by Community Fellow Barbara McClane are on display in the lobby of the Wesleyan Library, located at 252 Church Street in Middletown, Connecticut, through Sunday, April 30, 2023.“Women Who Pour” is part of McClane’s “I Am Woman” series, which celebrates the beauty, strength, and resilience of local community members. This year’s theme honors women who have lost someone or something significant in their lives. Because these women have poured so much love and care into others, McClane designed the project and the community she creates to pour support and nurturing into them. The exhibition is co-sponsored by the Wesleyan Library and the Center for the Arts. Click here to visit the Wesleyan Library website...
Exuberance and Empowerment: Introducing the Embodying Antiracism Initiative Partners
Assistant Features Editor Akhil Joondeph '26 spoke with Embodying Antiracism Initiative Associate Producer Ariana Molokwu; Nicole Stanton, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Professor of Dance, Environmental Studies, and African American Studies; as well as leaders from Partnering Organizations Junebug Productions, Urban Bush Women, and The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, to better understand their work, connection with each other, and involvement with the initiative. Read more in "Exuberance and Empowerment: Introducing the Embodying Antiracism Initiative Partners" from The Wesleyan Argus...Community Fellow Barbara McClane on NBC Connecticut
Community Fellow Barbara McClane is sharing her journey about finding her biological family after years of hardship and hopes to inspire others with her story. Watch the NBC Connecticut segment "Cromwell Woman Finds Biological Family After Decades of Hardship" from March 31, 2023...Summer Leadership Institute
Wesleyan University's Embodying Antiracism Initiative announces a Summer Leadership Institute exploring “The Power of We” from Monday, June 5 through Sunday, June 11, 2023 on campus in Middletown, Connecticut. Applications are due on Monday, April 3, 2023. Click here for more information and to apply to the Summer Leadership Institute...
Do you have questions about the Summer Leadership Institute? There was a Zoom information session to discuss with Nicole Stanton, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Professor of Dance, Environmental Studies, and African American Studies, and Stephanie McKee-Anderson, Executive Artistic Director of partnering organization Junebug Productions, who shared more details about the theme “The Power of We” on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 9:30am. Watch a recording of the Zoom information session on Vimeo...
Arts, Ideas, and Activation: Embodying Antiracism Fellows Share Creations
Across a series of intimate salons, the Fellows in Wesleyan’s Embodying Antiracism Initiative shared their creative works, ranging from documentary film, to memoir, to dance and music, all with the goal of fostering creativity—and challenging conversations. Read more in The Wesleyan Connection...Faculty Fellow Maria-Christina Oliveras to host a Zoom conversation with Nathan Lee Graham
Wesleyan Assistant Professor of Theater and Embodying Antiracism Faculty Fellow Maria-Christina Oliveras will be in conversation with Grammy Award-winning actor and singer Nathan Lee Graham, currently playing Hermes in the Broadway national tour of "Hadestown," on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 1pm. Click here to read more about this Zoom conversation...Assistant Professor of Dance Iddi Saaka to present world premiere of collaborative dance performance "Red Line"
The world premiere of Red Line on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at 7pm in the Cross Street Dance Studio will feature a collaborative multifaceted dance performance conceived and directed by Assistant Professor of Dance Iddi Saaka as part of his fellowship with Wesleyan University’s Embodying Antiracism Initiative. The work draws on the experiences of five scholar-artist collaborators–Alycia Bright-Holland, Kwamena Blankson, Issa Coulibaly, Venlo Odom, and Center for Prison Education Fellow Shirley Sullivan ’21–to interrogate how a place of origin can open opportunities for some but close doors to others. A Q&A session moderated by University Professor of Dance Patricia Beaman follows the performance. Click here to read more about Red Line: A Collaborative Dance Performance by Iddi Saaka...Embodying Antiracism Initiative Community Fellow Barbara McClane to talk about her memoir "Blessed Not Bitter" at Wesleyan Library
Photographer, author, and Embodying Antiracism Initiative Community Fellow Barbara McClane will shine a light into her new memoir "Blessed Not Bitter: The Barbara McClane Journey" on Friday, February 24, 2023 at 4:30pm in the Wesleyan Library's Smith Reading Room. The book is a transparent, inspiring, and hope-giving story of McClane’s life challenges, self-discovery, and finding her family after 60 years. A reception with refreshments follows the talk. Read more about the book talk with Barbara McClane..."Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space" by Embodying Antiracism Faculty Fellow Tracy Heather Strain to premiere on PBS' "American Experience" series
"Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space" directed by Tracy Heather Strain, Embodying Antiracism Faculty Fellow, Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, Associate Director of the College of Film and the Moving Image, and Co-Director of the Wesleyan Documentary Project; and produced by Randall M. MacLowry '86, Assistant Professor of the Practice in Film Studies and Co-Director of the Wesleyan Documentary Project, premieres on PBS's "American Experience" history series on Tuesday, January 17, 2023. Watch an exclusive sneak peek of the documentary on Playbill.com...Dark Matter University awarded grant for Black creators inspiring change on Instagram
On November 17, Visiting Guest Artist Fellow Jerome Haferd's collective Dark Matter University was awarded a #BlackVisionaries grant for $100,000 which aims to uplift and invest in artists, designers, and business owners who offer diverse expressions of Black culture. Dark Matter University, a BIPOC-led, anti-racist design justice network seeking the radical transformation of education and practice toward a just future, is one of five Visionary Small Business grant recipients. Ten awards totaling $650,000 were given to Black creators who inspire culture and change on Instagram. Grant recipients were selected from nearly 2,000 applications by a committee of prominent Black artists and designers. Click here to read more about Jerome Haferd and the awards presented by Instagram in partnership with the Brooklyn Museum...Wesleyan Connected to Five National Dance Project Grant Recipients
The New England Foundation for the Arts awarded over $2 million to this year’s National Dance Project Production Grant recipients and finalists on September 28. Five of the 36 dance companies have close ties to Wesleyan University, from faculty and alumni to collaborative partners and guest artists. Recipients include Brooklyn’s Urban Bush Women, one of the partnering organizations for Wesleyan’s Embodying Antiracism Initiative, and Embodying Antiracism Visiting Guest Artist Fellow nia love. Read more about the grant recipients in the Wesleyan Connection...Hartford Public Library and Hartford’s L.I.T. to co-host fourth annual Hartford Book Festival
Embodying Antiracism Community Fellow and author Barbara McClane will be speaking about her upcoming memoir “Blessed, Not Bitter,” detailing her personal journey and reconnecting with her family, and holding workshops about vision boards on Saturday, September 24, 2022 at both 11:40am and 2:15pm as part of the fourth annual Hartford Book Festival "Double Up 2 Double Up," presented in partnership with Hartford’s L.I.T. (Literary Integrated Trailblazers) at the Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street, Hartford, Connecticut. Read more about the Hartford Book Festival on the Hartford Public Library website...“Learning from one another:” Wesleyan selects three Student Fellows for inaugural Embodying Antiracism Think Tank
Three students who have demonstrated exemplary work and interest in civic engagement, community organizing, and artistic practice on campus will join the inaugural Embodying Antiracism Think Tank. Olivia Adams ’23, Courtney Joseph ’25, and Ava Olson ’25 have been named Student Fellows, and will work on projects ranging from the development of a new television show, to the creation of a documentary film and a visual artwork, all of which will help the University grow in support of antiracist values. Read more about Olivia Adams, Courtney Joseph, and Ava Olson in the Wesleyan Connection...Free Center creating street mural celebrating Middletown’s local legends
This summer, the Free Center, led by Founder and Director and Embodying Antiracism Community Fellow Kerry Kincy and Founder Richard Hollant, is inviting students from MacDonough Elementary School to paint a mural on Spring Street in Middletown that celebrates some of the incredible local legends from the neighborhood, both past and present, and helps to keep the new bike lanes safe for bikers. Kids of all ages and their families are invited to participate in this community project, which is being held on Saturday, August 27, 2022 from 10am to 2pm. Read more about "Spring Free" on the Free Center website...Sparking Antiracist Change: Wesleyan Selects 10 Fellows for Inaugural Embodying Antiracism Think Tank
In the spring of 2022, the Embodying Antiracism Initiative entered its second phase in helping Wesleyan foster an equitable and antiracist community: the selection of an inaugural cohort of Embodying Antiracism Fellows. These Fellows, a cohort of 10 selected from local community organizers, Wesleyan faculty, and visiting artists (along with student Fellows joining in fall 2022), will form a collective Think Tank, which will meet monthly to produce scholarship and projects rooted in antiracism and the creative practice. Read more about the Embodying Antiracism Initiative in Wesleyan University Magazine...Watch Urban Bush Women Summer Leadership Institute's Culminating Performances
In partnership with Junebug Productions and The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, Urban Bush Women’s annual Summer Leadership Institute returned to shared space for the first time since 2019 at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn, New York. They broadcasted two culminating performances on June 18, 2022 featuring music, dance, theater, visual design, and spoken word to address this year’s theme “Are We Democracy?” with accessible livestream production by CultureHub on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network. The Summer Leadership Institute began in 1997 and was formalized as an annual Urban Bush Women program in 2004. The intensive ten-day convening helped participants learn effective ways to deepen or begin work as artists who desire to connect art to community organizing and progressive social change strategies. Read more and watch the videos on the HowlRound website..."30 Americans" exhibition co-curated by Nicole Stanton on display at New Britain Museum of American Art
"30 Americans" showcases works by some of the most significant artists of the last four decades, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mickalene Thomas, Kara Walker, Hank Willis Thomas, and Kehinde Wiley. The groundbreaking exhibition tells the story of Black humanity through the gaze of contemporary Black artists, inviting the audience to confront the complexities of individual and collective self-making; explore the transformative paths of self-determination and self-healing; reclaim dignity and liberation of the Black body and Black sexuality; and reframe the past, present, and future of African-descended people through wonder and imagination. Co-curated by Nicole Stanton, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Professor of Dance, Environmental Studies, and African American Studies, with Dr. Dann J. Broyld and Dr. Brittney Yancy, the exhibition is on display though Sunday, October 30, 2022. Read more about "30 Americans" on the New Britain Museum of American Art website...“Building Muscles of Empathy:” Oliveras on teaching acting, a pre-Broadway run at Hartford Stage, and Embodying Antiracism
Earlier this spring, Oliveras was selected as one of four Wesleyan faculty fellows who will take part in the inaugural Embodying Antiracism Think Tank during the 2022-2023 academic year. “I am thrilled,” said Oliveras. “What’s important to me is bringing more awareness of the artists and the stories that are not particularly amplified, BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] stories, but also different ways of looking at theater and theater training." Read more about Maria-Christina Oliveras in the Wesleyan Connection...The Herb Alpert Award in the Arts announces 2022 winners celebrating 28 years and ten awardees for 2022, including nia love
The Herb Alpert Award in the Arts is an unrestricted prize of $75,000 given annually to risk-taking mid-career artists working in the fields of dance, film/video, music, theater, and the visual arts. The Dance Panel has selected choreographer, director, and educator nia love for her resilience, commitment and determination to make performances that tell urgent stories of human capacity, her innovative ways of moving, and an artistic practice that is looking back to imagine forward. Read more on The Herb Alpert Award in the Arts website...Middletown community members join Wesleyan antiracism initiative
Wesleyan University’s Embodying Antiracism Initiative includes two community fellows from Middletown. The initiative is an interdisciplinary leadership training and peer support initiative that will use the arts to develop and strengthen antiracism practices. Read more about Sacha Armstrong-Crockett and Kerry Kincy in The Middletown Press...Strain Honored with Chicken and Egg Pictures Award for Documentary Filmmaking
As the recipient of a Chicken & Egg Pictures award, lauded filmmaker Tracy Heather Strain will continue telling the stories of ways underrepresented people experience life in the United States. Read more about this award in the Wesleyan Connection...Critical Race Theory, Inclusivity on Campus Discussed at second annual Equity and Inclusion Summit
Ariana Molokwu, Embodying Antiracism Initiative Associate Producer, provided a summary of Wesleyan’s new initiative, a interdisciplinary leadership training initiative supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The initiative looks to the arts as a catalyst for transformative change on campus and in the local community. Read more from Ariana Molokwu in the Wesleyan Connection...Mellon Foundation Supports Connecticut History Project at Wesleyan
A new Wesleyan University project funded by a three-year, $1 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will investigate Connecticut’s racial, industrial, and political history from an interdisciplinary perspective. Read more about the “Carceral Connecticut Project: The History of Race, Capitalism, and Violence in the Connecticut River Valley” in the Wesleyan Connection...Lights Up on the Future of Filmmaking
The College of Film and the Moving Image looks toward the future of the art form, led by the new Wesleyan Documentary Project. Read more about the Wesleyan Documentary Project in the Wesleyan Magazine...Tracy Heather Strain’s Road to Wesleyan
Tracy Heather Strain didn’t take a direct route toward success in the film industry and her post at Wesleyan. Read more about Tracy Heather Strain in the Wesleyan Magazine...