UNCG’s yearlong celebration of a transformational decade continues, with a variety of events. History, music, literature, film, visual art, and more reflect on themes that resonate today more than ever: civil rights, feminism, freedom of speech and press, creative expression, political divide, social unrest, environmental concerns. Mark your calendar for the following:
Exploring UNCG in the 1960s: An exhibition presented by UNCG Libraries
Hodges Reading Room, Jackson Library
Throughout the spring semester, the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives host an exhibition focused on the UNC Greensboro campus in the 1960s, based on research conducted by students in Grogan Residential College.
The 1960s: A Survey of the Decade
Open through Feb. 17, Weatherspoon Art Museum
This art exhibition highlights styles and social issues that emerged during the turbulent decade of the 1960s. Among other work, you’ll see prints that feature musical icons of the decade: the Beatles, James Brown, Dionne Warwick, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys and the Shirelles.
Weatherspoon Art Museum hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Psychedelic Counter-Culture Art Exhibit
Feb. 4 – 9, Greensboro Project Space (Lewis St., downtown Greensboro), MWF, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; TTh 2 p.m.- 4 p.m.
GPS will display the sixties-and-revolution-inspired, colorful, psychedelic work of local artists. Closing night, Feb 9, will offer a special event: From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. enjoy refreshments and comments by the curators, UNCG’s Dr. Emily Edwards and Dr. Lisa Goble. The organizers are planning a Grateful Dead-esque “Shakedown Street” atmosphere.
UCLS presents Carrie Mae Weems, Falk Visiting Artist
February 7, 6 p.m., EUC Auditorium (note: the event begins at 6 p.m.)
Artist Carrie Mae Weems investigates family relationships, cultural identity, sexism, class, political systems, and the consequences of power. The recipient of both the MacArthur “Genius” grant as well as the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Weems has developed a complex body of art employing photographs, text, fabric, audio, digital images, installation, and video. Free and open to the public; reservations not required.
Long Strange Trip: The Untold Story of the Grateful Dead (parts III and IV)
Greensboro Project Space, February 8, 6:30
A screening of the Grateful Dead documentary, with a presentation led by Dr. Rebecca Adams, Gerontology/Social Work
The Faces of Freedom Summer: Photography by Herbert Randall
Greensboro Project Space, Feb. 11 – March 8; performance Feb. 16
Freedom Summer, also known as the Mississippi Summer Project, was a 1964 voter registration drive sponsored by civil rights organizations including the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Aimed at increasing black voter registration in Mississippi, the Freedom Summer workers included black Mississippians and more than 1,000 out-of-state, predominately white volunteers. The Ku Klux Klan, police and state and local authorities carried out a series of violent attacks against the activists, including arson, beatings, false arrest and the murder of at least three people.
Herbert Randall was a freelance photographer who was persuaded by the director of the Mississippi Summer Project, to travel to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to document members of the African American community as well as volunteers in their effort to assist with black voter registration in the South.
Only five of Randall’s photographs were published that summer, and the rest sat in a file for nearly 40 years until he donated his negatives to the archives of The University of Southern Mississippi. When their documentary value became known, the photographs were publicized in the book Faces of Freedom Summer: The Photographs of Herbert Randall.
A performance piece based on this exhibition which will be presented at Greensboro Project Space on Feb. 16.
Herbie Hancock
Feb. 12, 8 p.m., UNCG Auditorium
Now in the sixth decade of his professional life, Herbie Hancock remains where he has always been: at the forefront of world culture, technology, business and music. In addition to being recognized as a legendary pianist and composer, Herbie Hancock has been an integral part of every popular music movement since the 1960’s. A small number of tickets remain. Purchase tickets here.
Exploring the Limits of Music: UNCG’s Grateful Dead Cover Band
Feb. 15, 8 p.m., The Crown at the Carolina Theatre, 310 S Greene St
The counter-culture music scene was one of the most influential elements of the 1960s, and the Grateful Dead embody the spirit of the San Francisco Bay Area’s vibrant 1960’ counterculture. Their unique sound sprang from an eclectic blend of influences: bluegrass, folk ballads, R & B, free-form jazz, classical, and jug band. Members of the UNCG community, who auditioned for a role in the Grateful Dead Cover Band, will perform at the Crown, located upstairs in the Carolina Theatre. (See story and photos in next week’s CW.)
The Profs Do the Movies, Pictures at a Revolution
“The Graduate,” Feb. 17 1:30 p.m., Room 217 (Collins Lecture Hall), Music Building
“Bonnie and Clyde,” March 3, 1:30 p.m., Room 217 (Collins Lecture Hall), Music Building
Ron Cassell (History Emeritus) and Keith Cushman (English Emeritus) present the 15th edition of “The Profs Do the Movies,” their popular Emeritus Society program. This year their topic is “Pictures at a Revolution: Three Movies Nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award for 1967.”
Rebekah Kowal: Acts of Citizenship: Rethinking the Greensboro Sit-Ins in an Age of Resistance
Feb. 19, International Civil Rights Center & Museum, 134 S Elm St.
Dr. Rebekah Kowal is the chair of the Department of Dance at the University of Iowa. She is the author of “How to do things with Dance: Performing Change in Postwar America” (Wesleyan University Press, 2010) and “Staging the Greensboro Sit-Ins” (TDR: The Drama Review 48 Winter 2004). Her new book, “Dancing the World Smaller: Staging the Global in Mid-Century America” is forthcoming (Oxford University Press, 2019).
Images of the Grateful Dead and Deadheads
March 1 – April 30, Tate Street Coffee House, 334 Tate St
During the months of March and April, 2019, UNCG will host a photographic exhibit, Images of the Grateful Dead and Deadheads at Tate Street Coffee House. A closing reception, open to the public, will be held on April 27, 2019, 6-8 p.m. Rebecca Adams, the UNCG professor who took a class on tour with the Grateful Dead in the Summer of 1989, and Lena Rodriguez-Gillet, LDR Galleries, will co-curate this exhibit.
Book Discussion: “What Truth Sounds Like: Robert F. Kennedy, James Galdwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America” by Dr. Michael Eric Dyson
March 9, 3 p.m., Hemphill Branch Library, 2301 W. Vandalia Rd.
This book discussion will prepare guests for an upcoming visit from the author, Michael Eric Dyson, a Georgetown University sociology professor, a New York Times contributing opinion writer, and a contributing editor of The New Republic, and of ESPN’s The Undefeated website.
Michael Eric Dyson
March 18, 7 p.m., Recital Hall, UNCG Music Building
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson is a Georgetown University sociology professor, a New York Times contributing opinion writer, and a contributing editor of The New Republic, and of ESPN’s The Undefeated website. His new book, “What Truth Sounds Like: Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America,” explores the history between the intersections of race and democracy and whether we embrace political resolution or moral redemption to fix our fractured racial landscape. Free event, but seating is limited and will be first-come, first-served.
Exploring a Marginalized Culture Through Art : Nancy Rourke
Artist Talk: March 23, 10 a.m., EUC Auditorium
Rourkism Painting Event, 2 p.m., EUC Kirkland Room
In 1960, American Sign Language was first recognized as a world language. Nancy Rourke is an internationally-known Deaf artist and ARTivist, brought to UNCG by the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. Her work has a centralized focus: resistance, affirmation and liberation art. It is created with words, images, and primary colors to make a political statement about linguistic controversy, genetic engineering, colonialism, and communication barriers while affirming American Sign Language, Deaf culture, identity, acceptance, Deaf history and Deafhood.
The 10 a.m. artist talk is free and open to the public. Seating for the painting event is limited and tickets are required at $15 a person. Purchase tickets here. A lunch for those participating in the painting event will be provided between the events.
