Cal Humanities

"The understanding of a culture comes from hearing the language, tasting the food, seeing personal interactions, experiencing the traditions, and so much more in context."

— Elizabeth Laval & Candice Pendergrass, Sikh Youth Public History Project

"The understanding of a culture comes from hearing the language, tasting the food, seeing personal interactions, experiencing the traditions, and so much more when it is in context."

— Elizabeth Laval & Candice Pendergrass, Sikh Youth Public History Project

Noah Berger, In the Sunshine of Neglect exhibition, Embers From the Blue Cut Fire; R+A Multimedia, La Ultima Parada; and George Simia, The Community Salon: HOME.

Celebrate National Arts & Humanities Month in October with Three Current Humanities For All Quick Grant Project Interviews

As part of California Humanities’ celebration of National Arts and Humanities Month in October, we feature the stories of three of our recent, statewide Humanities For All Quick Grantees. Original stories are told by project directors in their own voices.

In the Sunshine of Neglect: Defining Photographs and Radical Experiments in Inland Southern California, 1950 to the Present

Douglas McCulloh, Project Director

54 Artists – 194 Photographs – 2 Museums – I Region

The first exhibition of In the Sunshine of Neglect is to survey the highly influential photographic work done by artists who have used the 27,000 square miles of inland Southern California as a laboratory for experiment. A simultaneous exhibition at Riverside Art Museum and University of California, Riverside/California Museum of Photography. Catalogue by Inlandia Institute.

In the Sunshine of Neglect is taking shape beautifully, and there has been an astonishing outpouring of support and enthusiasm. This isn’t surprising. Inland Southern California is a region of 27,000 square miles and 4.5 million people— more populous than 23 states. Anywhere else, it would be recognized as a major urban center. But because it’s on the edge of the Los Angeles basin, the area has long been regarded as a periphery, an edge, and ill-defined space. It has lived in the Sunshine of Neglect. For a wide range of reasons—scale, variety, extremity, peripheral proximity, and open-ended ill-defined strangeness—scores of artists have used inland Southern California as a laboratory for experiment. And by doing so they helped bend photo history. This exhibition is the first exploration of this subject.

The exhibition, In the Sunshine of Neglect: Defining Photographs and Radical Experiments in Inland Southern California, 1950 to the Present, will open on January 19, 2019.

  

La Ultima Parada: A Celebration of Life on Day of the Dead

Maria Luisa Colmenarez, Co-Creative Director

La Ultima Parada showcases the vibrancy of Mexican culture through a collection of altar exhibits, folklorico dance presentations, and musical performances that honor the living and the dead. The signature piece that starts and ends the event is the en masse, masked-dance, “La Viejada de San Jose,” which honors and celebrates the lives of those that have passed.

Rehearsals for “La Viejada de San Jose” have been in full-swing since August, and we have activated our healthy lifestyles initiative with great success. How do we know? We have cross-generational participation, and we are seeing parents participating with their children. It’s a win-win! All rehearsals have been accompanied by live music. Our musicians for La Viejada de San Jose have been working closely with our young composer since August and all of the songs, including the new song, “Luna y Sol” sound great!

La Ultima Parada 2018: A celebration of life on the Day of Dead will take place on October 27 and 28, 2018 at the School of Arts & Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose, 12 pm to 8 pm. Please join us for music, dance, food, and beverage in ambiente familiar to welcome our Muertitos.

 

The Community Salon: HOME

Pat Taylor, Project Director

The Community Salon: HOME is a communal conversation and exchange of ideas centered on the topic/theme of “home.” Set for Saturday, October 13, the day’s will activities include: hosted conversation groups; “Snacks & Chat,” a break and social time for participants to further connect; and a mini-performance by JazzAntiqua and collaborators followed by a Q & A.

Artistic director Pat Taylor is working with the artist-scholars and community culture-bearers that will host the conversation groups. The dancers are deep in the creative process, developing a new work that will be performed by JazzAntiqua, which is a melding of structured choreography and improvised moments inspired by the day’s conversations. We have begun promoting and sharing our project as both a stand-alone event and as part of JazzAntiqua’s new community outreach initiative – ENGAGE!

Visit our Humanities For All Quick Grants webpage for more information about this California Humanities grant program.

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