Did you know Gari Melchers Home and Studio is one of just 30 of America’s most significant artists’ spaces included in the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios consortium? These extraordinary sites are the intimate living and work spaces of painters, sculptors, ceramicists, photographers, and furniture designers. They include superb collections and intact studios, landscapes, and homes dating as far back as the 17th century.
Asian Cultural Celebration
Asia is the world’s largest continent, occupied by roughly four billion people dispersed among 47 different countries. Within each country is a wealth of diverse cultures, traditions, and lifestyles influenced by uniquely different people. Yet, despite the 17 million square miles encompassing the land mass, from the vast icy expanses of Siberian Russia to the dense tropics of Indonesia, from the far western reaches of the Middle East to the rich traditions of the Far East, the unique heart of Asia unifies the distinctive worlds into one reflection.
This is the reflection of Asia, a continent beaming with historical tradition. The voices of long forgotten emperors still resound inside the ruins of the great Chinese dynasties, their precedents and ideals have long since been adopted and evolved into the fabric of thriving nations such as Korea and Japan. The rice fields of Southeast Asia lend heavy influence to eclectic cuisines from Thailand to the Philippines, and the majestic palaces in India still stand strong amidst threats of colonization and division.
Through all the triumph and tribulation, the people of Asia hold on to the values of humanity. Family and love stand as the strongest of them all. Like a spectrum of light, which encompasses every single color but is visible only as a luminous white, so is this great continent, where every single culture shines in all its glory and reflects a single, beautiful Asia.
The James Farmer Multicultural Center and Asian Student Association strive to teach and encourage tolerance and acceptance. Through this celebration, we seek to educate the UMW and Fredericksburg-area communities on the richness and many facets of Asian heritage and culture.
– James Farmer Multicultural Center and the Asian Student Association
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Nov. 1
Asian Anonymous
7 p.m., Lee Hall, Room 411
Join UMW campus and community members as they discuss and explore the many triumphs and tribulations associated with being Asian on the campus of a predominantly white institution. Learn more about the various experiences our students, faculty, and staff face at UMW as well as within the greater community and how those experiences have influenced their views about acceptance and pride.
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Nov. 3
Asian Cultural Week Keynote Performance
Boba Stories
7 p.m., Great Hall, Woodard Campus Center
Hereandnow theatre company is proud to bring home Boba Stories, a collaborative work featuring refreshing personal tales with lots of Asian flavor. Originally conceived in 2001, Boba Stories is a collection of vignettes incorporating storytelling, poetry, dance, video, and music. It has been touring universities and festival venues throughout the United States since its inception.
Boba is a popular Asian drink made of tapioca balls mixed with anything iced, from coffee to tea to fruit juices. But beyond being a drink with a funky texture and a fun sound, it represents a special meaning to the creative team of hereandnow. “Boba actually takes a long time to make and each piece is unique,” says Artistic Director John Miyasaki, “and to have a boba drink that tastes good, you need to pay attention to it the entire time it’s being made.” The same goes for this show – each piece and person is unique and shaped by the paths of life. Please join us as we celebrate the uniqueness and life of Asian culture.
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Nov. 5
Taste of Asia
7 p.m., Great Hall, Woodard Campus Center
Cost: $3 general admission, $1 UMW student admission or one canned good item for donation
A celebration of Asian culture, Taste of Asia is one of the more well-known events at the University of Mary Washington. Taste of Asia educates the community about the different aspects of Asian societies and the different cultures and lifestyles that they embody. Complete with a fashion show, dance performances, and a variety of ethnic foods, the event provides an inviting and festive atmosphere. The Asian Student Association works closely with other student organizations and local businesses to plan the much anticipated program. For advance ticket information, contact
dkim@mail.umw.edu
President’s Day Art Workshop at Gari Melchers Home and Studio
Expressing Light
Monday, February 21, 2011, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Ages 9th grade through adult
Rachel Sawan White, Art and Design Faculty, Orchard House School
This workshop is an exploration of light and its effects on a piece of artwork. Looking at Impressionist and Post-Impressionist work we spend the day seeing color afresh and creating art in which light is a major factor. Participants create two still life paintings, one with the objects as they appear naturally and one with the same objects completely white. Different lighting is explored and discussed.
This program has been organized by the VMFA Office of Statewide Partnerships and is supported by the Paul Mellon Endowment.
Workshop Cost: $20 members/UMW staff; $25 non-members. To register, please contact Education Coordinator Michelle Crow-Dolby at 540/654-1851.
MLK Day Art Workshop at Gari Melchers Home and Studio
Drawing for the Rest of Us: An Introduction to Drawing
January 17, 2011, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Ages 6th grade through adult
Anh Do, Faculty member, Virginia State University
If you can write, you can draw! Drawing is just another form of visual communication that is a skill which can be developed by anyone—even you! This workshop is an introduction to basic drawing tools, drawing warm-up exercises, and techniques that can be used to help you build a foundation that will help you experience the joy of drawing.
This program has been organized by the VMFA Office of Statewide Partnerships and is funded, in part, by the Jean Stafford Camp Memorial Fund.
Workshop Cost: $20 members/UMW employees; $25 non-members. To register, please contact Education Coordinator Michelle Crow-Dolby at 540/654-1851.
UMW to Show Film, Discussion for Sexual Assault Awareness
Civil Rights Activist Roger Wilkins to Present James Farmer Lecture at UMW
UMW Students Can Compete to Recreate Freedom Rides
The Public Broadcasting Service is soliciting applications from college students to recreate the 1961 civil rights bus rides organized by Dr. James Farmer that led to desegregation of transportation in the South. Forty students will be chosen to trace the route of the Freedom Riders from Washington, D.C., to Jackson, Miss., May 6-16, 2011.
“We’ve got a number of really well qualified students and we want to encourage as many as possible to apply,” said Tim O’Donnell, associate professor of communication. Applications are being accepted at www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/. The ride also is promoting a documentary film, “Freedom Riders, which will be shown on campus next spring and on PBS on May 16, 2011.
Caitlin Erickson
Former University of Mary Washington All-American Caitlin Erickson has been named the new head women’s lacrosse coach at Randolph-Macon. Erickson arrives in Ashland after a two-year stint as an assistant coach with her alma mater. Erickson helped lead the Eagles to 28 wins over her two years on the sidelines in Fredericksburg. The 2009 squad won the Capital Athletic Conference Championship, advanced to the third-round of the NCAA Tournament and finished the season ranked 12th in the Nation.
UMW Galleries to Host First Digital Media Exhibition
Theresa Grana
Two of Theresa’s students have won a $500 undergraduate research competition from the Virginia Academy of Science. Erin Haynes and Browyn Wang were awarded for their proposal to study “Comparative Development and Evolutionary Studies of New Caenorhabitis Species in Virginia.”