Symposium

SYMPOSIUM: Caribbean Crossroads
Keynote Address by Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott
October 11 – 13, 2012 at El Museo del Barrio and The Studio Museum in Harlem

In conjunction with the current exhibition CARIBBEAN: Crossroads of the World, El Museo del Barrio, the Queens Museum of Art and The Studio Museum in Harlem present a three-day symposium bringing together scholars and practitioners from across the Caribbean and its diaspora.

Keynote address by Derek Walcott:
Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott opens the SYMPOSIUM with a keynote address, “A Part of the Continent, from John Donne”. The evening will also include a theatrical reading of Walcott’s landmark play, Dream on Monkey Mountain, by the Classical Theatre of Harlem with André de Shields reprising his role as Makak.

An accomplished writer, playwright, and scholar, Derek Walcott has published ten revered books of poetry, including The Antilles: Fragments of Epic Memory, his Nobel lecture which was published in 1992.

Walcott has been honored with a plethora of international prizes, including the Queen’s Medal for Poetry. He was a recipient of a five-year fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation and is an Honorary Member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. His poetry books include Another Life, The Star Apple Kingdom, The Fortunate Traveller, The Bounty and Collected Poems 1948-1984, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Poetry. In addition to his poetry, he is the founder of the Trinidad Theater Workshop. His plays—which include Dream on Monkey Mountain, Remembrance and Pantomime, and The Odyssey—have been produced internationally, including the New York Shakespeare Festival. Walcott is based out of New York City and Castries, St. Lucia.

Speakers & Performances:
Symposium events will take place at both El Museo del Barrio and The Studio Museum in Harlem. Panel presentations will explore topics drawing from art history, literature, and the political and social history of the Caribbean and its diaspora. Panel speakers include: Dr. Rich Blint, Marc Latamie, Dr. Erica Moiah James, Richard Rawlins, Dr. Lowery Stokes Sims, Claire Tancons, Dr. Krista Thompson and Frances Negrón-Muntaner.

In addition, the New International Center of Diverse Artists (NICODA) will present How We Are Connected, a theatrical response to National Geographic’s The Genographic Project. This performance investigates 50,000 years of human history in a theatrical adventure fusing family lore, cultural mythology and scientific revelations about human migration and genealogy.

Schedule

Keynote and Performance
Derek Walcott: “A Part of the Continent, from John Donne”, for more details click here.
Thursday, October 11, 2012, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
El Teatro, El Museo del Barrio
Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott opens the Symposium with keynote address, “A Part of the Continent” from John Donne. The evening will also include a theatrical reading of Walcott’s landmark play Dream on Monkey Mountain, by the Classical Theatre of Harlem with André de Shields reprising his role as Makak.
RSVP

Lecture
Historicizing Globalism in Caribbean Art: Haiti, for more details click here.
Moderated by Dr. Erica Moiah James
Friday, October 12, 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Theater, The Studio Museum in Harlem
RSVP

Dialogue
Contemporary Performance Art in the Caribbean and its Diaspora, for more details click here.
Dr. Krista Thompson: On Masking and Performance Art in the Postcolonial Caribbean
Claire Tancons: Curating Carnival? Performance in Contemporary Caribbean Art
Friday, October 12, 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Theater, The Studio Museum in Harlem
RSVP

Symposium Reception, for more details click here.
Friday, October 12, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Galleries, The Studio Museum in Harlem
Continue the conversation over cocktails and light fare, and view Caribbean: Crossroads of the World in the The Studio Museum in Harlem’s galleries.

Panel Discussion
Emerging Scholars: New Research in Art History of the Caribbean
Saturday, October 13, 11:00am – 1:00pm
El Café, El Museo del Barrio

Panel Discussion
Postcolonial Cities: Writing the Caribbean Diaspora in New York
Moderated by Dr. Rich Blint, with Angie Cruz, Dr. Veronica Gregg, Frances Negrón-Muntaner and Elizabeth Nunez.
Saturday, October 13, 2:00pm – 3:30pm
El Teatro, El Museo del Barrio

Panel Discussion
Reaching Beyond the Islands: The Role of Print and Digital Publications in the Caribbean
Moderated by Dr. Lowery Stokes Sims, with Marc Latamie and Richard Rawlins.
Saturday, October 13, 4:00pm – 5:30pm
El Teatro, El Museo del Barrio

Dance Performance and Conversation
How We Are Connected, for more details click here.
Presented by New International Center of Diverse Artists (NICODA)
Saturday, October 13, 2012, 8:00pm – 10:00pm
El Teatro, El Museo del Barrio
RSVP

Admission to the SYMPOSIUM is free, separate RSVPs are required for each event.

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SYMPOSIUM: Caribbean Crossroads is generously sponsored by the Ford Foundation,
with additional support from Christie’s.

Presenting Sponsor

Leadership Support provided by

Major Support provided by
The Reed Foundation
Rockefeller Brothers Fund