Nowhere is Wesleyan’s overwhelming number of activities more apparent than at the Center for the Arts (CFA), which hosts and sponsors events ranging from lectures to full-scale performances. Jazz legends, photographers, dancers: they’ve all stopped by Wesleyan through the CFA. Don’t go through your four years here without taking advantage at least once of what we have to offer. Two years ago, I had the unique opportunity to see legendary photographer Gregory Crewdson deliver what was essentially a career retrospective. I’d never have had the opportunity to see that anywhere else. So here are a few events this semester that you’d be silly to skip out on, as recommended by CFA Director Pamela Tatge and CFA Press and Marketing Manager Andrew Chatfield.
Planet Hip Hop
“Planet Hip Hop” is part of the larger Muslim Women’s Voices Series, a collection of events taking place across the entire year that is meant to explore Muslim women’s lives and dispel hurtful stereotypes that have unfortunately become all too prevalent. “Planet Hip Hop” chooses to explore this through music. The day’s events include a number of talks and a collaborative performance from UK-based spoken-word group Poetic Pilgrimage and rappers and songwriters Meryem Saci and Maimouna Youssef.
A World of Dreams: New Paintings by Tula Telfair
The first in a number of years from Professor of Art Tula Telfair, this painting show specifically designed for the Zilkha Gallery places Telfir’s talent for landscapes on full display. These massive tableaus range from the realistic to the fantastic and are all totally fictional constructions. It’s a show that will be sure to take advantage of the Zilkha Gallery’s unique space.
In the Heights
What more can I possibly say? It’s “In the Heights,” a touching tale of life in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York. Directed by Associate Professor of Theater Claudia Tatinge Nascimento and with musical direction from Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Nadya Potemkina, this is sure to be a highlight of the theater season. And it’s more than just a great show; boasting student involvement on multiple levels and collaboration between the Theater and Music Departments, this is going to be one of the most all-encompassing events of the CFA season. It’s a homecoming of sorts for the musical; the original play (albeit in a much different form) began its run during Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02’s time here at Wesleyan.