UNIVERSITY NEWS - OCTOBER 2003

MEDIA CONTACT: Stacia Smith
561-297-2971 or ssmith@fau.edu

FAU Presents Yearlong Program on Latin America and the Caribbean

BOCA RATON, FL (October 1, 2003) - To highlight the richness of the culture of the Caribbean and Latin America, Dean William A. Covino and the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters at Florida Atlantic University present a yearlong series of public programs entitled "Voices and Images from Latin America." The series will showcase Latin artists through art exhibitions, public lectures, a film series, workshops and a music festival. These events will take place at FAU's Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Road and the Davie campus, 2912 College Avenue.

The Fall series begins on Thursday, October 9 at 7 p.m. at FAU's Boca Raton campus in the Dorothy F. Schmidt Performing Arts Center, Room 101 with a public lecture by archeologist Clifford Brown. Brown will discuss studies conducted at Mayapán, Yucatán, the last great Maya capital. The series continues on Friday, October 10 at 7 p.m. in the Boca Raton campus' Social Science Building, Room 250 with a public lecture by Nick Hopkins and Kathyrn Josserand, professors at Florida State University. Their lecture and slide show will present an overview of the history of the Classic Maya. Both lectures are free.

A related workshop will be held on Saturday, October 11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Boca Raton campus' Social Science Building, Room 190. Hopkins and Josserand will combine guided instruction and hands-on analysis of hieroglyphic texts from Piedras Negras and its neighbors. There is no charge for FAU students; a $35.00 donation is requested from the public for workshop materials. Preregistration is required.

The art exhibition "Corporal: Contemporary Women Artists from Latin American" will open in the Schmidt Center Gallery on the Boca Raton campus Thursday, October 24 at 7 p.m. with a lecture by world-renown Mexican novelist and art critic Elena Poniatowska. Poniatowska's writings reflect her life-long commitment to giving voice to the Mexican people through innovative writing and social activism. Following her talk, the gallery will open its exhibition of "Corporal," containing 30 pieces by 15 women artists from Latin America and the United States. The works represent use of a wide range of artistic practices in contemporary art including painting, photography, video, sculpture and installation. The exhibition runs from October 24 through January 15, 2004. The Schmidt Center Gallery is open to the public Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 12 to 4 p.m.; Wednesday, 12 to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m.

As a complement to the exhibition, art historian Dr. Carol Damian will present a lecture entitled "The Andean Goddess: Yesterday and Today, " which draws from her book on the Cuzco, Peru school of colonial painting and her knowledge of contemporary Latin American women's art. The lecture takes place Thursday, November 13 at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Building of the Boca Raton campus, Room 101.

The final Fall event of the series is a concert dedicated to Spanish and Latin American music on Monday, December 1 at 8 p.m. in the Liberal Arts Auditorium of the Davie campus. FAU's Trio Amadé will present "Obsesión," a performance including Astor Piazzolla's "Four Seasons," Emilio Colón's "TaNgo," and "Piano Trio in C minor" by Mendelssohn.

The Spring series of "Voices and Images from Latin America" will include a Venezuelan film festival; a Latin American music festival featuring a piano gala and vocal performances; several public lectures on Latin American literature and culture, and another art exhibition dedicated to artists from South America.

"Voices and Images from Latin America" was developed by the Latin American Studies program (www.lasc.fau.edu), the Ann Adams Maya fund, the School of the Arts and the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in FAU's Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. The programs have been made possible in part by the Ann Adams Maya Fund, the Division of Cultural Affairs, Florida Arts Council; The Palm Beach County Cultural Council and FAU Student Government through student activity fees. For more information on the series, contact Michael J. Horswell, director of Latin American Studies at FAU, at 561-297-3863 or mhorswell@fau.edu.
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