Interactive Arts Exploration
Events
Poetry at Play: Reading, Conversation and Making
Kathleen Wakefield will read a selection of her poems followed by questions and conversation with Jay McDaniel. We will cap our session off with an opportunity to enjoy an interactive poetry writing experience. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on the process of writing their poem and share their work, if desired.
Middle Eastern Modal Process & Modulation
This SPARKS Exchange will feature a brief exposition of maqām (Middle Eastern modal) music focusing on Tanburi Cemil Bey’s “Hicazkâr Saz Semai” as a template for appreciation of the unique process of modulation that is prevalent in Middle Eastern music. Abdessamad Mason Zantow will present on the lâvta (Istanbul lute), an instrument played by Tanburi Cemil Bey and a cousin of the oud and modern guitar.
Cultivating the Future University: Eco-Art, Healing, and Pedagogy in the Healing Garden
In this SPARKS Exchange, artist and educator Lipeng Jin invites you into the story of the “Healing Garden”—an evolving eco-art and pedagogical experiment at the Sichuan Fine Art Institute, China. More than a campus garden, the Healing Garden is a living laboratory reimagining the university’s role in an era of ecological crisis: How can higher education become a force for planetary healing and community renewal?
The Creative Spark of a Spirit-Forward Artist
Hope Montgomery is a musician, songwriter, and artist. Lacing doubt with curiosity and hopefulness, Hope's work is often reflecting on the human experience of loving, grieving, making meaning of mundanity, and what it means to live alongside nature as a friend. In this SPARKS Exchange, Hope will talk about her works and the creative process and life of a spirit-forward person.