USC News - University to celebrate Southeast Asia with Asian Arts Week, March 24-30

March 11, 2008

Calendar of events

Links of interest

University to celebrate Southeast Asia with Asian Arts Week, March 24-30

The University of South Carolina will explore Asian culture March 24 – 30 during its Asian Arts Week, a series of events celebrating the varied culture of Southeast Asia.

Asian Arts Week is an annual interdisciplinary arts festival. The program began in 2007 with a study of Japan. This year’s program will feature music, poetry, art and dance from throughout Southeast Asia, including several events featuring little known Bali.

“Our cultural climate is influenced by Asia in everything from the arts and business to fashion and food,” said Anna Redwine, project director. “Asian Arts Week addresses this by providing a forum for dialogue and discovery with programming that is representative of both the rich cultural traditions of Southeast Asia and contemporary developments in the arts and issues of the region.”

All events are free and open to the public. A complete listing of events, times and locations can be found at the conclusion of this release and online at http://www.cas.sc.edu/aisn/asian_week/.

Highlights of this year’s events include the following:

Li-Young Lee: Lee is a renowned master poet from Jakarta, Indonesia. Lee will participate in a master class, a public reading and an intimate discussion about the creative process.

Gamelan Galak Tika: Asian Arts, in collaboration with the School of Music’s Southern Exposure series, will present Gamelan Galak Tika, a traditional Balinese percussion orchestra. The group will perform traditional Balinese music, as well as more contemporary pieces. Evan Ziporyn, founder and director, also will give a public talk.

I Made Bandem and Ni Lu Suasti Widjaja: Bandem and Widjaja are two of the world’s most prominent Balinese dancers. They will perform Balinese dances to the music of Gamelan Galak Tika.

Wayang Kulit: Wayang Kulit is a traditional theater form from Southeast Asia, featuring intricately carved shadow puppets. The Columbia Marionette Theatre will perform a contemporary Wayang Kulit production, which they developed in response to the music of Gamelan Galak Tika.

Opera Jawa: Inspired by a story from the Ramayana, an ancient work of Hindu literature, Opera Jawa, is an Indonesian film that tells the story of a passionate love triangle that leads to inexorable conflict, violence and death.

TB PhotoVoice photographer Narai Daenchai: The TB PhotoVoice Project provides cameras to tuberculosis-affected community members who then document photographically their lives. The project also serves as a starting point for discussion about what can be done to improve the lives of those affected by TB.

Asian Arts Week is made possible with grant funding from the university’s Arts Institute and is co-sponsored by the Center for Asian Studies, the Walker Institute of International and Area Studies and the Institute for Families in Society in cooperation with the departments of film studies, English, anthropology, art and theatre and dance.

For more information about Asian Arts Week, visit http://www.cas.sc.edu/aisn/asian_week/, or contact Anna Redwine at 803-777-0437 or redwine@sc.edu.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Events will be held every day from Monday, March 24, to Sunday; March 30. Some dates and times have not been set, so visit http://www.cas.sc.edu/aisn/asian_week/ regularly for an updated listing.

March 5 - April 1
- TB PhotoVoice exhibit, Columbia Museum of Art

March 24
- World Tuberculosis (TB) Day

March 27
- Narai Daenchai photo lecture, noon, Columbia Museum of Art

March 28
- Lunch and master class with poet Li-Young Lee, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Alumni House. Seating for this event is limited. Reserve space by calling Charlene Spearen at 803-777-5492.
- Gamelan Galak Tika Director Evan Ziporyn lecture, 2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. School of Music, Room 210
- Asian Arts Week reception, 6:30 p.m. Columbia Museum of Art
- Li-Young Lee reading and university dance response, 6:30 p.m. Columbia Museum of Art
- Wayang Kulit performance, 6:30 p.m. Columbia Museum of Art

March 29
- Balinese music and dance lecture with I Made Bandem, 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. School of Music recital hall
- Poet Li-Young Lee intimate discussion, 6 p.m. School of Music, Room 006
- Gamelan Galak Tika at Southern Exposure, 7:30 p.m. School of Music recital hall

March 30
- Screening of “Opera Jawa,” 2 p.m. Columbia Museum of Art

ADDITIONAL LINKS OF INTEREST

For more information about Gamelan Galak Tika: http://www.galaktika.org/

For more information on Evan Ziporyn, the director of Gamelan Galak Tika: http://www.ziporyn.com/

For more information on the Columbia Marionette Theatre: http://www.strungout.org/au.html

For more information on Opera Jawa: http://outnow.ch/Media/Img/2006/OperaJawa/

For more information on TB PhotoVoice: http://www.tbphotovoice.org/tbpv2/

Columbia, SC 29208 • 803-777-5400 • uscnews@sc.edu