Purchase College Hosts Global Festival

This fall, Purchase College will launch a brand-new festival and conference dedicated to celebrating international culture and history. The inaugural (T)HERE: A Global Festival of Arts, Culture & Ideas will focus on the dynamic performing and visual arts of Benin, West Africa, while putting them into cultural and historic context. The festival will include events at The Performing Arts Center, the Neuberger Museum of Art, and other venues across campus from September 27 through September 29. All events are open to the public.

The festival, which is held in conjunction with the College’s Office of Global Engagement and International Programs, was inspired by the new Transnational Filmmaking Project which brings together film students from the U.S., Benin, and Haiti for a year of collaborative filmmaking and cross-cultural conversation. A selection of short films produced by the students will be screened and discussed during the festival on Friday, September 28.

Other highlights of the festival include an intimate lecture, conversation, and VIP meet and greet with Angélique Kidjo, the three-time Grammy Award-winning singer, activist, and humanitarian on Saturday, September 29, and a lecture by Marie-Cécile Zinsou, the founder-director of the Zinsou Foundation in Benin on Thursday, September 27. Kidjo will give a talk on the role of artist as activist, while Zinsou will discuss her commitment to promoting contemporary art in Africa and developing prominent cultural, educational, and social initiatives. On September 29, the festival will host the U.S. premiere of the Benin International Musical (BIM) ensemble for a concert featuring their unique Beninese blend of voodoo rhythms, traditional songs, and electronic melodies.
The festival will be rounded out by panel discussions, film screenings, lectures, tours, and a photo and art exhibition. The festival will also feature West African and American food trucks, as well as a pop-up store showcasing contemporary craft design from Benin.

Lucy Tamlyn, the U.S. Ambassador to Benin, said, “I have watched with admiration as the globally-minded leadership of Purchase College, spearheaded by Provost Barry Pearson and Dean Anne Kern, have plunged into an exciting and innovative partnership with educational and cultural counterparts in Benin. That they chose Benin makes complete sense to me. But as U.S. Ambassador to Benin, I know that Benin, often overshadowed by its larger neighbors, is not well known to many Americans. All the more reason to welcome an initiative which brings this stable, hospitable West African nation into the limelight and highlights its cultural diversity and social cohesion.”

Anne Kern, Dean for Global Strategy and International Programs, said, “In the past two years, we have forged long-term partnerships with a number of extraordinary organizations and people in a small West African country that we feel is not yet well enough known in the U.S. We have set an ambitious goal for ourselves: through an annual festival with artistic, cultural and practical components, we seek to do our part to help redefine Global North-South cultural partnerships for the 21st century.”

About the Events:

Thursday, September 27: Discovering Benin Today Through the Visual Arts

Print making Open House
2:30-4:00 p.m. School of Art + Design
Free

Hector Sonon, political cartoonist, illustrator, and comings author from Benin will be in residence for two weeks during which he’ll spend time with students. Community members are welcome to visit his open house and learn more about his work.

Exhibition opening:
Echoes of the City: Ancestral Figures to Urban Heroes
4:45 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.
The Performing Arts Center
Free

This exhibit will feature the photographer Audace Aziakou with Minon (“Our Mothers” in the language Fon), a group of photographs through which he revisits the presence of historical female warriors; and the political cartoonist Hector Sonon, with his series of drawings and watercolors highlighting Voodoo priests and modern heroes in today’s Beninese urban environment. Select student work by Purchase College Printmaking students made in collaboration with Sonon will also be featured.

Jandon Business of the Arts Lecture: Marie-Cécile Zinsou
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Humanities Theatre, Durst Humanities Building
Free

This year’s Jandon Business of the Arts lecture will feature Marie-Cécile Zinsou. A French-Beninese art historian and entrepreneur, Zinsou is president of the Fondation Zinsou, founded in 2005 in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, West Africa. The foundation promotes contemporary art in Africa and leads cultural, educational, and social initiatives. Four years ago, she opened the first museum of contemporary art in Benin. Her lecture will focus on the intersection of art and culture in Benin.
The Jandon Business of the Arts Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible by the Jandon Foundation. It was created by Jane and Donald Cecil with the intent to develop a lecture series focused on the business of the arts in support of the arts management curriculum. Over the past five years, Purchase has invited noted leaders, artists, authors, and public figures from New York City and around the globe.
Friday, September 28: A Collaborative Dialogue Through Cinema and Literature

Lecture and panel discussion: Zora Neale Hurston’s Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo”
12:30-2:00 p.m.
Humanities Theater, Humanities Building
Free
Independent scholar and writer Deborah G. Plant, Ph.D., will discuss Zora Neale Hurston’s never-before published book, Barracoon (which Plant edited, and wrote the introduction) in a talk titled “From Benin to Alabama: The Journey of Oluale Kossula.” Purchase College Assistant Professor of Literature Mariel Rodney will offer introductory remarks.
Barracoon tells the true story of Cudjo Lewis (Oluale Kossula), the last known survivor of the Transatlantic slave trade—illegally smuggled from West Africa on the last "Black Cargo" ship to arrive in the United States. Hurston, who is best known for her works of fiction including Their Eyes Were Watching God, wrote this manuscript nearly a century ago. It was published for the first time in April 2018.
Exhibition Tour / African collection
2:00-2:30 p.m.
Neuberger Museum of Art
Free, RSVP required
Visitors are invited for a docent-led tour of the African Collection at the Neuberger Museum of Art They will examine African artifacts and learn about fascinating history and culture related to West Africa.
Short Films Screening and Discussion
Introducing the Transnational student film program
3:00-4:30 p.m.
PepsiCo Theater
Free
Students who have taken part in the Transnational Film program will screen and discuss their works. The students will be joined by Paula Hippolyte, Director of Artists Institute in Jacmel/Haïti and Marcellin Zannou, Director of ISMA, the Audiovisual Institute in Cotonou/Benin.
Film Screening
5:00 - 6:30pm

PepsiCo Theater
Free

Introduction by Mahen Bonetti, Director of the New York African Festival, Lincoln Center

A short film followed by:

The U.S. Premiere of Wax in the City
Directed by Elie Séonnet
Flora Coquerel invites us into the fast-paced, cosmopolitan lives of young African and Afro-French designers for a success story in the hues of wax, which has become the symbol of cultural mix for an entire generation. (2018, 54 min., doc.)
Feature Film Screening
7:30-9:00 p.m.
PepsiCo Theater
Tickets: $15 (festival passes also available)
New York Premiere Film: In Search of Voodoo: Roots to Heaven Directed by Djimon Hounsou
This origin story weaves together a personal, cultural, and spiritual journey - capturing the vibrant tales of Voodoo, West Africa, and the return home of two-time Oscar-nominated actor Djimon Hounsou. (2018, 65 min., doc.)
Saturday, September 29: Advocating for a New Activism and Music Performance

Exhibition Tours / African collection
12:15-12:45 p.m.
Neuberger Museum of Art
Free (RSVP required)
Panel Discussion: North-South Partnerships, Redefined
2:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
Upper Lobby of the Performing Arts Center
Free

Join panelists including His Excellency Hector Posset, The Ambassador of the Republic of Benin to the United States and Mexico; Marie-Cécile Zinsou, President of the Zinsou Foundation; Hector Sonon, political cartoonist and illustrator; and Provost Barry Pearson of Purchase College. A distinguished panel of diplomats, artists, and arts leaders will discuss how the arts can help create a global community dedicated to cross cultural dialogue and understanding.

A Conversation and Lecture with Angélique Kidjo
Artist As Activist: A Passion for Freedom and Social Justice
5:00 -6:30 pm
PepsiCo Theatre, The Performing Arts Center
Tickets: $52.50
Three-time Grammy Award-winning singer, activist, and humanitarian, Angélique Kidjo was named one of The Guardian’s 100 most inspiring women in the world, was the first woman to appear on Forbes’s list of the Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa, and is included on the BBC’s list of Africa’s 50 most iconic figures. As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Kidjo travels the world advocating on behalf of women, children, and human rights. In 2007, she founded the Batonga Foundation to provide secondary education for girls across Africa and empower the female leaders of tomorrow. From Fair Trade initiatives and curbing climate change to urging a ceasefire in war-torn Sudan, Kidjo has proven that artists can be the best agents for change with their unbound imagination and unique way of envisioning the world. In this talk, Kidjo will discuss the responsibility of artists to use their platform for social justice, the many ways in which we can all give back, and the enormous impact each of us can make in the world.
VIP Meet & Greet with Angélique Kidjo Location: Upper Lobby, The Performing Arts Center Time: 7:00pm
Upper Lobby, The Performing Arts Center
Tickets: $50 (Limited capacity: can only be purchased in combination with Kidjo Conversation or BIM U.S. Premiere Concert.)
Meet Angélique Kidjo, the first woman to appear on Forbes’s list of the Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa, and is included on the BBC’s list of Africa’s 50 most iconic figures.

U.S. Premiere Concert
Benin International Musical (BIM)
8:00pm
PepsiCo Theatre, The Performing Arts Center
Tickets: $52.50
Kidjo Lecture & BIM Concert Combo $87.50
Associating voodoo rhythms and traditional songs, electronic melodies in piquant Beninese style with trip pop grooves, hip hop and rock, this collective of Beninese artists is rapidly gaining international acclaim. Initiated by Hervé Riesen, Deputy Director for Stations and Programs at Radio France and produced by Jérôme Ettinger, BIM is a project of Radio France in partnership with ORTB, the EBU, Rolling Stone Magazine, and TV5 Monde. The band will be accompanied by a film crew who will document their first appearance in the U.S.
Pop-up Store: Ayodele Designs
Location: Upper Lobby, The Performing Arts Center
Time: Fri. 9/28 & Sat. 9/29, 12:00-8:00pm
Exclusive: For the first time in the U.S., Benin’s Ayodele wax fabric creations will be available for sale. From jewelry to furniture, linens to handbags, festival participants will discover chic, fun, affordable designs. Proceeds benefit Purchase College partner The Zinsou Foundation, an arts and education organization, located in Benin.

All events open to the public. Events are free of charge unless except where prices are listed; Festival Patron Passes also available. Staff, faculty and student discounts also available for ticketed events. See www.artscenter.org for more details, or call 914-251-6200.