Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Free tickets: Frist Center opens Central American, South American, Mexican art exposition this Friday, March 1

Clockwise, from upper left:
Burial Urn, K’iché Maya, Southern Highlands, Guatemala
Effigy Bottle, Recuay, Northern Highlands, Peru
Human Effigy Pendant, Diquís, Costa Rica
Howling Dog Effigy, Jalisco, Mexico
Seated Figure, Colima, Mexico,
All photos © The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
More than 100 pieces of Ancient Central American, Andean South American, and Mexican art - from 1200 B.C. through the beginning of the Spanish conquest - will be on display in Nashville starting this Friday, March 1.  The exhibit at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts is called "Exploring Art of the Ancient Americas: The John Bourne Collection" and runs through June 23.  Various related programs are listed below, including an authentic five-course dinner on March 20 (RSVP by March 1) with foods and drinks selected for their relationship to the exhibit.

HispanicNashville.com readers can attend opening weekend, March 1-3, for FREE by printing a Hispanic Nashville Affinity Days coupon (click here) and bringing it to the exhibition.

The religious, political and social beliefs of the Olmec, Aztec, Maya and Inka civilizations, among many others, are revealed through the various utilitarian and decorative vessels, sculptures, metal works and jewelry on display in this exhibition. The pieces serve as illustrations of these societies’ fundamental principles such as the shamanic foundation of rulership in Mesoamerica, Costa Rica and Panama, as well as the cosmic principles embodied by gold and silver in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
"Artists of these ancient cultures expressed each society’s individual characteristics through their unique monumental architecture and artful renderings of human figures, spiritual beings and deities. They also created works detailing aspects of daily life, such as dogs, llamas and other animals fashioned from clay and precious metals." -Frist Center Curator Katie Delmez 
All of the works in the exhibition come from the collection of John Bourne, which he generously gifted to the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. After a trip to the jungles of southern Mexico in 1945, Bourne, along with another explorer and photographer, became the first non-Maya to see the ruins of Bonampak, the now famous Mayan site celebrated for its royal building whose interior walls are covered with historically and politically significant murals. Enamored of the creative expressiveness of the peoples of the ancient Americas, Bourne began collecting art from this region and time period.
"At this time in the 1950s, Bourne was one of only a few—which included the Mexican artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo—who recognized pre-Columbian artifacts as fine art. Art of the Ancient Americas is as much about the cultural expression of these inimitable cultures as it is John Bourne’s lifelong love of collecting works from these regions." -Frist Center Curator Katie Delmez 
There are a number of related programs starting Friday, including 



  • Curator’s Perspective: “Power and Prestige: The John Bourne Collection” Fri, Mar 1, 2013


  • Curator’s Tour: Exploring Art of the Ancient Americas Thu, Mar 14, 2013


  • Connecting Disciplines: “An Archaeologist’s Perspective”Sat, Mar 16, 2013


  • Exploring the Food of the Ancient Americas Wed, Mar 20, 2013


  • Lecture: “The Mysteries of the Ancient Maya Civilization and the Apogee of Art in the Americas” Thu, Mar 28, 2013


  • Educator Workshop: Exploring Art of the Ancient AmericasThu, Apr 11, 2013


  • Lecture: “Dressing the Part: Ritual Costume in the Mesoamerican World” Thu, Apr 11, 2013


  • Connecting Disciplines: “Writing and Iconography as a Window into the Past” Sat, Apr 20, 2013


  • FREE Family Festival Day Sun, Apr 21, 2013


  • ARTini: Exploring Art of the Ancient Americas Fri, Apr 26, 2013

  • The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is located at 919 Broadway in downtown Nashville. Gallery admission is free for visitors 18 and younger and to Frist Center members, $10.00 for adults and $7.00 for seniors, military and college students with ID. College students are admitted free Thursday and Friday evenings (with the exception of Frist Fridays), 5–9 p.m. Hours, group discounts, and additional information available by calling 615.244.3340 or by visiting  fristcenter.org 

    Spanish-language gallery guide will be available.


    Thursday, February 21, 2013

    Alicia Partnoy and Open House Hosted by Global Education Center

    Alicia Partnoy

    by Cindy McCain
    "I'm just trying to change the world. That's all," says Ellen Gilbert, Executive Director of The Global Education Center which she founded in 1997. By offering community events, school programs, and classes taught by multicultural masters, the GEC is fulfilling its mission “to highlight the commonalities of all people while creating experiences in the arts that aid in dispelling myths, dismantling stereotypes, unlearning biases and alleviating fears. “ One such initiative is Line Breaks, a literary reading series, which on Thursday, February 21 will host writer and human rights activist, Alicia Partnoy. The event is at 8 PM at the Global Education Center, located at 4822 Charlotte Ave, Nashville, Tennessee 37209. The event is free but donations are appreciated.
    Partnoy, author of The Little School: Tales of Disappearance and Survival, is one of few survivors of some 30,000 Argentineans who “disappeared” when taken political prisoners after the death of Argentinian President Juan Perón in the military coup of 1976. Partnoy, who had become an activist of the Peronist Youth Movement while attending Southern National Universiity, was taken from her home and her 18-month old daughter in 1977. At a secret concentration camp called “The Little School,” she was blindfolded for months and severely abused. She has since served as Vice-Chair of Amnesty International USA. Currently she teaches at Loyola Marymount University and presides over Proyecto VOS (Voices of Survivors) which brings survivors of state sponsored violence to lecture at United States Universities.
    Also through Friday, February 22 the Global Education Center is hosting an Open House at their satellite studio at Casa Azafran Community Center, located at 2195 Nolensville Road, Nashville, TN. A week of free classes which began February 18 will end with a Modern Jazz class for Teens/Adults at 7 PM February 21 and Naam Yoga for Teens/Adults Friday, February 22 at 4:30 and 6 PM. Other classes offered weekly include Salsa for Teens with Steven Damo and Hip Hop for Teens/Adults with Alejandro Rivera. For the complete schedule for both locations including everything from percussion to belly dance to tango, visit www.globaleducationcenter.org or call 615.292.3023. Likewise, contact GEC to book artistshttp://www.globaleducationcenter.net/artists.htm for events from West Africa, Polynesia, South India, China, Spain, Peru, Cuba, Mexico, and the Caribbean Islands. Photography below by Ross McLaren
    Shaolu McLaren, Teaching Artist at GEC, Welcomes  Donelson Christian Academy to Chinese New Year Celebration at Casa Azafran







    Monday, February 11, 2013

    Center for Latin American Studies calendar

    Feb 19 (Tue): Lunch with Norma Guillard, Catherine Murphy: “Women and the LGBT Community in Cuba Today.” Rand/Sarratt 112, 12:15pm. RSVP to ashley.d.larson@vanderbilt.edu

    Feb 19 (Tue): International Lens presents Maestra, with producer Catherine Murphy and activist Norma Guillard. Sarratt Cinema, 7:30pm.

    Feb 20 (Wed): Discussion Panel with Norma Guillard, Catherine Murphy, and Jane Landers: “The Cuban Literacy Campaign of 1961.” Commons Room 233, 12:15pm-1:30; please RSVP to ashley.d.larson@vanderbilt.edu

    Feb 21 (Thu): CLAS Teacher Workshop Maestra with Norma Guillard and Catherine Murphy; for more information contact Claire.p.gonzalez@vanderbilt.edu

    Feb 21 (Thu): Sarratt Gallery Talk: Mixed Media Exhibit by Ana Serrano. 5pm, Sarratt Gallery.

    Feb 22 (Fri): Peabody International Lunch Series: “Affirmative Action in Brazil” with Guilherme Bueno de Camargo (Humphrey Fellow) and Max Pendergraph (History). Wyatt 223, 12-1pm.
    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...