Center for Arts and Religion News
From the Spring 2019 edition of Skylight
In February, CARe Director Dr. Elizabeth S. Peña and GTU faculty member Dr. Kathryn Barush (pictured) presented papers at the College Art Association’s 107th annual conference in New York City. This conference featured more than 300 sessions on a wide range of art-related topics. As part of the session on Religious Object and Modern/Contemporary Audiences, Dr. Peña discussed the display of Hindu and Buddhist sacred objects in museum contexts, and Dr. Barush (who was session co-chair) spoke on the ways in which religious relics and souvenirs have been incorporated into contemporary art.
CARe Assistant Curator Lydia Webster (pictured) is teaching “Gallery 101” this semester, where she is instructing students on best practices in coordinating and implementing art gallery exhibitions. At the culmination of this class, students will co-curate CARe’s second annual Bay Area MFA Show (“Community, Identity, Ritual”) featuring the works of newly graduated Master of Fine Arts students from five Bay Area institutions—UC Berkeley, San Francisco Institute of the Arts, California College of the Arts, San Francisco State University, and Mills College. Students in Lydia’s class are learning the principles of exhibition design, outreach, and visitor experience.
In early March, CARe inaugurated an exciting new partnership with Cal Performances with a 3-day program surrounding XENOS, a dance performance by Akram Khan. A cohort of CARe members, GTU students and faculty, and others participated in four events designed to advance artistic literacy. Programming included a workshop on “The Exploration of Spirituality and Storytelling in Dance,” a public forum preceding the performance of XENOS at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall, and a gathering in the Doug Adams Gallery the following day to celebrate and reflect on the experiences. CARe looks forward to exploring more music, theater, and dance with Cal Performances!
Read more at www.gtu.edu/care