4 minute read
Building Digital Bridges from CVPA to World-Class Artists
Expanding
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commitment
RADHA BLANK American
filmmaker, writer, and actress
Reflecting on our enduring commitment to equality, justice, and freedom at Mason, the College actively listened and created opportunities for Black voices to be lifted up and celebrated throughout the year. One such opportunity was a new speaker series, The Artist-Activist: Centering Black
Voices. Nationally renowned artists spoke about the essential intersection between the creative sector and social justice movements, providing an opportunity for
Mason students, faculty, and staff, as well as the greater community, to engage in dialogue around creative process, activism, and racism. Curated by a panel of antiracist Mason educators, the conversations were free, open to the public, and streamed online as part of Mason Arts at Home and Hylton at Home.
The Film and Video Studies program expanded its ongoing commitment to diverse and inclusive storytelling with the Visiting Filmmakers Series Online. This long-running curated series is helmed and directed by Cynthia Fuchs, also the interim director of the Film and Video Studies program. During both semesters, the series centered around the Black Lives Matter global movement, with directors, filmmakers, writers, and performers sharing their work and insights with Mason students.
The Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music utilized its collective efforts and creative energy to shed light on the talents of historically underrepresented voices. The School established a monthly educational series that included masterclasses and roundtable discussions highlighting Black musicians and their contributions.
Additionally, in an exciting collaboration between the Center for the Arts and the Mason community, three students from the School of Dance partnered with world-renowned choreographer Rafael Palacios— director of Colombian company Sankofa Danzafro—to explore, express, and share their experiences as Black women through movement. This collaboration, the Black Voices Project, resulted in three world premiere dance-films presented as part of Mason Arts at Home, and was supported by faculty and staff from across CVPA.
CAN—AND SHOULD—
INSPIRE US TO THINK
DEEPLY ABOUT
OURSELVES AND
OUR SOCIETY.”
ADRIENNE BRYANT GODWIN,
Director of Programming, CVPA
OLIVIA McCALL , Mason student during Black Voices Project
Rehearsal
CHRISTOPHER
d’AMBOISE Heritage Professor of Dance
Virtual Instruction
Leaps off the Screen with the LIVE Center
A TEACHER IN A
REMOTE LOCATION
Conceived and spearheaded by Heritage Professor of Dance
Christopher d’Amboise, the LIVE Center (also known as the Center for
Live Interactive Virtual Education) was launched in 2020 and is a home for innovative virtual education and collaboration solutions for the School of Dance and all academic units within the College.
The genesis of the LIVE Center dates back to 2019, when Professor d’Amboise first identified a need for video conferencing that allowed for life-sized, full-body interaction in educational settings. This idea propelled the creation of the Moving Story Window Wall, through which a teacher in a remote location can be projected live and life-sized onto the wall of a studio while a live feed of the students is also projected for the teacher. This concept is the basis for the flagship initiative of the LIVE Center, which expands the possibilities for virtual teaching, performances, and innovative events at Mason and beyond.
Using this technology, the School of Dance presented the world premiere of Running to and Toward: A Dance Film by Hope Boykin, which features 38 junior and senior dance majors. School of Dance Director Karen Reedy commissioned
Boykin to create a new work during the Fall 2020 semester, to continue the program’s legacy and commitment to engaging dance majors with important artists in the field—even during the pandemic.
The LIVE Center also allowed outdoor events to take place, including Mason
Drive-in Dance, a unique performance of student choreography that used a parking lot as a stage and invited audience members to use their headlights to light the performers and Beyond the Stage, two evenings of dance film screenings celebrating student choreography and performance for the camera. d’Amboise, who also has an MFA from Mason, sees many future applications for the Window Wall, including projecting classes on exterior campus walls so students passing by can see what’s happening inside the studios, and projecting multidisciplinary performances in unique public spaces.
