 invites the community to The Blaxtravaganza: Celebrating Black Futures on March 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8.){kind=link}
The University of Illinois History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library (HPNL) invites the community to The Blaxtravaganza: Celebrating Black Futures on March 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8.
The series of events highlights the accomplishments of Black professors on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus.
Writing a book chapter about several Black College of Fine and Applied Arts faculty members in 2021 was a watershed for Prof Courtney Becks. Learning about their research processes, careers, and lives through interviews was the relationship- and community-building work well suited to her way of existing in the world. The Blaxtravaganza: Celebrating Black Futures extends that work.
The events are:
- March 2 – David Wright Foladé, Professor of English, will read from his latest novel (now out in paperback!) Black Cloud Rising at 4 p.m. in Room 220 of Main Library, 1408 W. Gregory Drive.
- March 3 – Alexandra Barbier, Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Dance, whose work centers African American vernacular dance forms, will present Stations of Black Loss – Work(s) in Progress at 4 p.m. in Room 220 of Main Library, 1408 W. Gregory Drive.
- March 4 – Courtney Becks, African American and Jewish Studies Librarian, will share a table reading of a work in progress, her play The Socialization of Love, at 4 p.m. in Room 422 of the Levis Center, 919 W. Illinois Street.
- March 6 – Reiko Huffman, Assistant Professor of Scenic Design in the Department of Theatre, presents Scenic Design and the Process at 4 p.m. in Room 220 of Main Library, 1408 W. Gregory Drive.
- March 7 – Nekita Thomas, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design in the School of Art + Design, will hold the interactive Design and the Black Spatial Imaginary Workshop: Creating Black-Affirming Public Spaces at 4 p.m. in Room 220 of Main Library, 1408 W. Gregory Drive.
- March 8 – La Fête DJs N the Library. The closing celebration: a joyful jawn, with food, (non-alcoholic) drink, and the musical stylings of bla(CK)mau— the DJ collective made up of Stacey Robinson, Chris Kinson, and Kamau Grantham— at 7 p.m. in the Music and Performing Arts Library, 1114 W. Nevada Street.
The Blaxtravaganza: Celebrating Black Futures is supported in part by the Humanities Research Institute’s Supplemental Event Fund.
All events are free and open to the public.
h/t UP Center