events – Page 4

coe’s allison orr launches new book

Allison Orr’s book launch for her new book Dance Works, Stories of Creative Collaboration was held on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, in the Romance Languages Lounge. The ceremony was accompanied by a live set by DJ Mo Torres and DJ Lloyd.

The book launch was a celebration of Allison’s accomplishments, both on and off of the Wesleyan University campus. Off campus, Allison is the artistic director of Forklift Danceworks, an award-winning dance company based in Austin, Texas. Her work draws inspiration from the habitual motion of labor, and highlights unlikely dancers. By incorporating ensembles of real workers, her choreography challenges traditional notions of dance. It acknowledges that everyone and everything is in constant motion, and all people are part of a collective dance. Allison finds the beauty within worker’s daily motions; it is these motions which build our cities and lives. Through her work, Allison engages entire communities through art. In addition to her contributions within the dance world, Allison Orr is a research fellow in the Bailey College of the Environment and her book was written at the encouragement of College of the Environment Director Barry Chernoff.

coe hosts ct food justice gathering

by kwu01

Wesleyan’s Bailey College of the Environment and Cultivating Justice co-hosted the Connecticut Food Justice Gathering at Wesleyan on April 29, 2023. The gathering was a chance for knowledge exchange, to build power across intersectional issues, and for the Wesleyan community to learn more about the food justice movement in Connecticut. On the Bailey COE side, the event was organized by Malana Rogers-Bursen, project coordinator for food security, environmental justice, and sustainability.

zitner ’23 presents “the garden festival”

by acmorris

The environmental studies (ENVS) linked major requires a senior capstone project (thesis, essay, performance, etc) on an environmental topic. English and environmental studies major Talia Zitner’s senior capstone project is The Garden Festival, an event that aims to make sustainability more accessible and exciting to the Wesleyan community, through a number of sustainable vendors, featured student organizations, and musical performances curated by The Shed Collective. The event will take place on Friday, April 21 from 3 to 10 pm in the backyard of Russell House. Learn more about Talia, and the event, below!

pearl’s ocean filibuster explores human-ocean relationship

by acmorris

Ocean Filibuster, a performance developed by Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl, co-artistic director of the Obie-winning company PearlDamour, explores the complex relationship between humans and the ocean and centers around the debate between two fictional rivals, Mr. Majority and the Ocean, as they launch into a battle which will determine whether or not the Ocean will be abolished. The project draws together the work of scientists and creatives to generate a dynamic story which illuminates the urgency of our current environmental crisis. The Wesleyan performance of Ocean Filibuster will take place May 4-6 at the CFA.

dancing with, and learning from, trees

by Laurie Kenney

Marcela Oteiza, associate professor of environmental studies and dance and chair of theater, has been involved with the Justice Dance Performance Project (JDPP) since 2011. Her latest collaboration with the group, In the Presence of Trees, is a four-part site-specific outdoor dance-theater performance series following the changing of the seasons while celebrating the wisdom and value of trees, especially in the urban forest.

The series, which began in summer 2022 with a performance in Bushnell Park, in Hartford, CT, will come full circle on May 7, when the troupe returns to Bushnell Park to perform In the Presence of Trees: Spring, the fourth and final event of the series. Like previous series performances, the event will be free and open to the public.

bryant terry provides food for thought

by lfranklin

*The COE hosted a sold-out Evening with Bryant Terry on March 29. Photos by Ken Wu ’23.*

On Wednesday, March 29, the College of the Environment hosted “An Evening With Bryant Terry,” inviting members of the community to a cooking demo, dinner, Q&A, and book signing with Terry, a vegan chef, activist, author, and community-builder. The sold-out event was executed by Bon Appétit staff, headed by Michael Strumpf.

zepeda ’23: from “wild idea” to successful event

by nzepeda

*Snow Raven (photo by Nélida Samara Zepeda*)

I met Snow Raven after Wesleyan’s shift to remote learning during the spring of my freshman year in 2020. Living and studying at my parent’s home, a tiny house by the Russian River in California, amongst nine other beings who inhabit the home, was not a sustainable option for me. With no room to myself, or privacy, there was simply no space for me to cultivate a healthy learning environment, one of the biggest reasons why I chose to travel 3,000 miles away from home to study in Middletown, Connecticut. Having already built community and relationships in Maui, Hawai’i, during my year off before university, I decided to take a leap of faith. I reached out to some friends, packed a bag, and moved back to the Island.