Event Date and Time:
March 27, 2010 – March 27, 2010
9 am to 6 pm
Location:
Kimmel Center for University Life, Rosenthal Pavilion
60 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
DUE TO A LARGER THAN EXPECTED AUDIENCE, OUR VENUE HAS BEEN UPDATED:
(NEW) Kimmel Center for University Life, 60 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012
9:30 am Registration/Welcome (Rosenthal Pavilion, Kimmel Center 10th Floor)
10:00am Scheduled Events (Details provided at check-in)
5:00pm Film Screening, Reception and Book Signing (721 Broadway, Lobby, Riese Family Lounge)
Sarah (Saartjie) Baartman, also known as the "Hottentot Venus," a South African woman who was placed on exhibit in England and France beginning in 1810 and has been described by her protagonists as animal-like and exotic will be the subject of Venus 2010: They Called Her "Hottentot" an Interdisciplinary Symposium. The event, co-hosted by the Department of Photography & Imaging in the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with NYU's Africana Studies and the Institute for African American Affairs, will take place at the Tisch School of the Arts at 721 Broadway (at Waverly Place) on Saturday, March 27, 2010.
Although Baartman has been a point of reference for contemporary black artists, particularly women--from playwright Suzan-Lori Parks to novelist Barbara Chase-Riboud to photographer Carrie Mae Weems--few scholarly discussions have been presented dealing with the issues of her representation. Venus 2010 will discuss the critical works on Baartman as well as impart new scholarly, historical, and artistic contributions that capture the spirit of Baartman as object, icon, inspiration, and catalyst.
The symposium is coordinated by Deborah Willis, professor and chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging; Manthia Diawara, professor and academic director, Department of Cinema Studies, Tisch School; and Awam Amkpa, associate professor and academic director, Department of Drama, Tisch School and Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, Faculty of Arts and Science. It follows the publication of the anthology, Black Venus 2010: They Called Her "Hottentot," (Temple University Press) edited by Willis.
In addition to performances, a film screening, and a book signing with Willis, the symposium will feature four panel discussions: Sarah Baartman in Context, Sarah Baartman's Legacy in Art and Art History, The 'Hottentot Venus' in Art and Film, and Iconic Women in the Twentieth Century. Panelists comprise poets, historians, architects, ceramicists, photographers, installation artists, and writers. Each panel will begin with a poetry reading followed by a focused discussion and/or film presentation.
Presenters are: Deborah Willis, Holly Bass, Lisa Gail Collins, Renee Cox, J. Yolande Daniels, Carole Boyce Davies, Michaela Angela Davis, Manthia Diawaram Cheryl Finley, Terri Francis, Lyle Ashton Harris, Michael Harris, Linda Susan Jackson, Charmaine Nelson, Ada Pinkston, Carla Williams, Fo Wilson and keynote Elizabeth Alexander.
The Department of Photography and Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts is a four-year B.F.A. program centered on the making and understanding of images. Students explore photo-based imagery as personal and cultural expression. Situated within a university, the program offers students both the intensive focus of an arts curriculum and a serious and broad grounding in the liberal arts. The faculty and staff consist of artists, professional photographers, designers, critics, historians, and scholars working from a wide range of perspectives and media.
