By 1808Delaware
Ohio Wesleyan University is set to host a unique daylong symposium that promises to be a confluence of art, environment, and intellectual discourse. Titled “Tempest: Poetry, Music and Art for a Regenerative Earth,” the event is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 28, from 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM. The venue is the Benes Rooms inside Ohio Wesleyan’s Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, located at 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware. The event is open to the public, and attendees can choose to participate in the entire symposium or select portions.
The Minds Behind the Tempest
The symposium is organized by a trio of academic luminaries: Laurie Anderson, OWU professor of Biological Sciences and Environment & Sustainability; Kristina Bogdanov, OWU professor of Fine Arts; and Terry Hermsen, Otterbein University professor emeritus of English. According to the organizers, the event aims to explore “how the arts can engage us with closer listening, historical exploration into the roots of our environmental crisis, and offer us a mirror not only for looking backwards, but inward and toward a transformed future as well.”
A Journey Through Time and Art
The day kicks off at 10:00 AM with a session called “Mapping 500 Years of History” in Benes Room A. This is followed by an open panel discussion titled “500 Years in Perspective – History, Poetry, Music” at 11:15 AM in Benes Room B. The panel features Chilean poet Christian Formoso, musician Jim Bates of The Early Interval ensemble, and environmental historian Ellen Arnold. The discussions will range from the legacy of the Strait of Magellan to early European visions of nature and the music of bygone eras.
The Intersection of Visual Arts and Social Change
After a lunch break at 12:30 PM, the symposium resumes at 2:00 PM with a panel discussion on “The Visual Arts and Social and Environmental Change” in Benes Room B. The panel includes Camila Querin, a scholar of Brazilian political art, and Sarah Hahn, Ohio Wesleyan visiting artist. The discussions will delve into works that engage with ecological destruction and contemporary pieces from indigenous artists.
The Soundscapes of Nature
At 3:30 PM, the symposium takes a unique auditory turn with “It Sounds Like Love,” a session featuring French-American artist Cadine Navarro in Benes Room A. Navarro will engage the audience in listening to the voices of prairie seeds and her new exploration of “the voices of maize” in Mexico.
An Evening of Music and Poetry
The day concludes with a dinner at 5:00 PM, followed by a concert at 7:00 PM featuring The Early Interval ensemble and a poetry reading by the Tempest Poets, a Central Ohio-based group that writes about the environment.
Books by the presenters will be available for purchase after the performance. For more details and to pre-register for limited seating at lunch and dinner, visit Ohio Wesleyan’s Tempest Symposium website.
Source, Photo: OWU
