In creating an annual event that brings together local folk artists with the native art and customs of resettled refugees, the Schweinfurth Art Center gives Auburn the chance to travel to and interact with foreign cultures without driving more than 20 minutes.
Stephanie Schuster, assistant director of the art center, said that the event is not a spectacle or an exhibition of individuals' customs, but a setting for interaction.
A celebration of culture, “Exploring Beauty: Folk Arts in Central New York,” to be held Sunday, gives visitors a chance to learn and appreciate the depth of their community. The program started from a collaboration the Schweinfurth initiated with the AME Zion Thompson Memorial Church, bringing in “The Lost Boys of Sudan” and African American folk artists in a 2001 event called “Tying the Knot.”
In 2002 the collaboration produced “Emerging Traditions,” to introduce residents to the customs and history of communities resettled in the Syracuse, Auburn and Utica areas. The program featured folk artists from Bosnia of the former Yugoslavia as well as the Karen of Burma, the DiDingas and Dinkas of the Sudan and Albanian Kosovars.
The Schweinfurth worked with each group with the goal of educating the community but also to build relationships within the community with the featured artists.
“What we asked them to do was foreign because this was a part of their culture, not something they performed,” Schuster said.
Because of the fear of putting cultural acts up for display, Schweinfurth coordinators worked to make the event one where performers and attendees learned from one another, created a dialogue and interacted, so that the event was a learning experience, but far from an exhibition.
In 2005 the center put on a collaborative event featuring the Sudanese, Karen and local folk artists including Native Americans. At one point in the event, artists were performing a Native American dance, which Schuster said had many similarities to dances of the other folk artists, and the whole group began to dance together.
At the upcoming event, visitors will again have the opportunity to meet with the folk artists and participate in the traditional dances. Other programs have brought together Bosnian dancers with the previously settled Ukrainian community, along with Albanian-Kosovar artists.
“Exploring Beauty” was held already this year in May featuring Latino dancers, Chinese folk artists, Liberian folk artists and more. Sunday's event will follow a similar format with artists from the Onondaga and Oneida Nation, the Sudan, dancers from the Congo and drummers from Ghana. Ongoing folk arts demonstrations will take place throughout the program and will include: Etse David Nyadedzor, Ghanaian drum-maker; Elzubair, (Bargo) painter of Dafur, Sudan; Al Cleveland, (Mohawk/Cree) flutist and traditional flute carver; Danielle Schenandoah (Oneida Wolf Clan) traditional jewelry-maker; Jolene D. Schenandoah Patterson (Oneida Wolf Clan) cornhusk doll maker; Ada Jacques (Onondaga, Turtle Clan), traditional potter; Annie Green (Algonquin Hawk Clan) beaded purse and moccasin-maker.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for our community to really learn about the cultures of the resettlement communities that is non-hierarchical and creates a dialogue,” Schuster said. “These stories are so moving and powerful. The fact that we do live in central New York and are resettlement communities is a gift and we should appreciate the depth it brings to our region.”
“Exploring Beauty” is sponsored through the New York State Council of the Arts.
If you go
What: “Exploring Beauty: Folk Arts in Central New York”
When: 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Schweinfurth Art Center, 205 Genesee St., Auburn
Cost: Free
For details: Call
255-1553 or visit www.myartcenter.org
A celebration of culture, “Exploring Beauty: Folk Arts in Central New York,” to be held Sunday, gives visitors a chance to learn and appreciate the depth of their community. The program started from a collaboration the Schweinfurth initiated with the AME Zion Thompson Memorial Church, bringing in “The Lost Boys of Sudan” and African American folk artists in a 2001 event called “Tying the Knot.”
In 2002 the collaboration produced “Emerging Traditions,” to introduce residents to the customs and history of communities resettled in the Syracuse, Auburn and Utica areas. The program featured folk artists from Bosnia of the former Yugoslavia as well as the Karen of Burma, the DiDingas and Dinkas of the Sudan and Albanian Kosovars.
The Schweinfurth worked with each group with the goal of educating the community but also to build relationships within the community with the featured artists.
“What we asked them to do was foreign because this was a part of their culture, not something they performed,” Schuster said.
Because of the fear of putting cultural acts up for display, Schweinfurth coordinators worked to make the event one where performers and attendees learned from one another, created a dialogue and interacted, so that the event was a learning experience, but far from an exhibition.
In 2005 the center put on a collaborative event featuring the Sudanese, Karen and local folk artists including Native Americans. At one point in the event, artists were performing a Native American dance, which Schuster said had many similarities to dances of the other folk artists, and the whole group began to dance together.
At the upcoming event, visitors will again have the opportunity to meet with the folk artists and participate in the traditional dances. Other programs have brought together Bosnian dancers with the previously settled Ukrainian community, along with Albanian-Kosovar artists.
“Exploring Beauty” was held already this year in May featuring Latino dancers, Chinese folk artists, Liberian folk artists and more. Sunday's event will follow a similar format with artists from the Onondaga and Oneida Nation, the Sudan, dancers from the Congo and drummers from Ghana. Ongoing folk arts demonstrations will take place throughout the program and will include: Etse David Nyadedzor, Ghanaian drum-maker; Elzubair, (Bargo) painter of Dafur, Sudan; Al Cleveland, (Mohawk/Cree) flutist and traditional flute carver; Danielle Schenandoah (Oneida Wolf Clan) traditional jewelry-maker; Jolene D. Schenandoah Patterson (Oneida Wolf Clan) cornhusk doll maker; Ada Jacques (Onondaga, Turtle Clan), traditional potter; Annie Green (Algonquin Hawk Clan) beaded purse and moccasin-maker.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for our community to really learn about the cultures of the resettlement communities that is non-hierarchical and creates a dialogue,” Schuster said. “These stories are so moving and powerful. The fact that we do live in central New York and are resettlement communities is a gift and we should appreciate the depth it brings to our region.”
“Exploring Beauty” is sponsored through the New York State Council of the Arts.
If you go
What: “Exploring Beauty: Folk Arts in Central New York”
When: 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Schweinfurth Art Center, 205 Genesee St., Auburn
Cost: Free
For details: Call
255-1553 or visit www.myartcenter.org
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