We believe the arts serve as a voice for the people. Through creative expression artists confront injustice, transcend barriers, and create shared understanding. We believe it is important that the Modlin Center creates space for these important conversations.
Photo by Dance Theatre Harlem
DANCE THEATRE HARLEM
CREOLE GISELLE
Live Streaming | This Weekend
This weekend's New York Times "Six Things To Do At Home" featured Dance Theatre of Harlem's Creole Giselle streaming on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram to kick off Dance Theatre Harlem's On-Demand Virtual Ballet Series.
Creole Giselle, an iconic Dance Theatre Harlem classic, was reconceived by Arthur Mitchell and staged by Frederic Franklin, based on the original by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. When Creole Giselle premiered in 1984 it was acclaimed as a groundbreaking achievement. Featuring an all Black company, Mitchell set the production in a nineteenth-century Creole community in Louisiana prior to the Civil War.
The Creole Giselle, hosted by Virginia Johnson, Dance Theatre Harlem artistic director, was filmed for television broadcast in Denmark in 1987.
The full-length online premiere of Creole Giselle streams online starting Saturday, June 6 at 8pm until 11:59pm Sunday, June 7 on YouTube and Facebook. For the next seven weeks Dance Theatre Harlem will feature company performances and companion activities that provide insight and engagement for online viewers.
Photo by Brian Palmer
GROWING UP IN CIVIL RIGHTS RICHMOND
Online Exhibition Catalogue
Growing Up in Civil Rights Richmond: A Community Remembers, an exhibition organized by University of Richmond Museums, paired oral histories with photographic portraits of 30 Richmond residents whose lives were altered by their experiences as children and youth during the civil rights movement.
“This history is vital to the complex story of America, as well as to understanding many of the issues that continue to face our nation and our city today,” said Richard Waller, executive director of University Museums.
Available in a digital format, the 105-page exhibition catalogue features the interviews, portraits by Brian Palmer, Richmond-based visual journalist; and essays by Laura Browder, Tyler and Alice Haynes professor of American Studies; Ashley Kistler, exhibition curator; Elvatrice Belsches, Richmond-based public historian, author, and lecturer; and Michael Paul Williams, Richmond Times Dispatch columnist. The exhibit's panel discussion in Camp Concert Hall featuring Palmer, Browder, Kistler, Belsches, and Williams is available on YouTube.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE
University Museums is creating a free resource, Civil Rights Richmond: Museum in a Box that will be available both online (soon) and as a portable, physical resource (once COVID-19 dissipates). Generous grant funding from Virginia Humanities makes this resource possible.
Museum in a Box brings the University Museums’ collection to K-12 students and educators. Each box includes lesson plans based on the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) and relevant activities to encourage discussion, observation, and investigation. To be notified when this resource is available, please contact Martha Wright, assistant curator of academic and public engagement, or visit the Museums' website.
VISITING ARTIST PROGRAM:
LYNN NOTTAGE
Pulitzer Prize playwright and screenwriter Lynn Nottage participated in our Visiting Artist Program and presented a lecture on her career and creative process in spring 2018. During lunch, Nottage gathered with students and faculty from the Department of Theatre and Dance and community members for an intimate discussion about using storytelling to create a platform for social change moderated by Chuck Mike, associate professor of theatre.
Department of Theatre and Dance students performed Nottage's play Intimate Apparel, directed by Chuck Mike, in 2015. Discover the hands-on production methods that offer students an opportunity to use the creative process to deeply engage with their characters in this behind-the-scenes video.
Nottage is a contributor to the New York Times Magazine The 1619 Project, an ongoing initiative that aims to reframe the country’s history by exploring the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans. The Pulitizer Center has created a free learning center for educators for The 1619 Project, including curricular resources, a reading guide, and activities to engage students.
University of Richmond Experts Share Research, Knowledge, and Helpful Tips Related to COVID-19
From mathematical modeling of infectious disease to healthy eating to the economic impact,
Sophomore students in the Scholars in Residence Healthcare, the Environment and Biomedicine program created a digital map that tells the story of COVID-19 in real time using photos, video interviews, interactive features, and real-time data..
STUDENT STORY PROJECT
Online
The Valentine is gathering stories about how life has changed during the spring 2020 from Richmond's K-12 students. Stories, journals, drawings, and pictures created by kids today will tell future generations about life in the Richmond region.
VIRGINIA STORIES FROM THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
Online
Learn how some Black Virginians escaped a life of bondage through the Underground Railroad in the Virginia Museum of History and Culture's Curators at Home program.
As part of an initiative to expand representation of Black voices the museum is collecting materials related to recent protests to preserve and share history being made today in Virginia.
Anyone interested in sharing their stories or artifacts can do by emailing the museum.
LEARN MORE
INFORMATION AND QUESTIONS
For information on performances that have been canceled, please visit our website.
Account credits and refunds have been processed for all performances from March 14, 2020. For questions or inquiries regarding account credits and refunds for tickets to canceled performances, please email the ticket office at modlinarts@richmond.edu.
"FIGHT FOR EQUALITY PLAYLIST
The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery have once again brought to the surface the systemic injustice that has no place in our society. Our playlist this week reflects our solidarity with the Black community and The Modlin Center for the Arts’ commitment to be a place of inclusion, diversity, empowerment, and equality. We see you, we hear you, we grieve with you, and we stand with you.
BeBe Winas “Lift Every Voice And Sing”
Mavis Staples “Eyes On The Prize”
Public Enemy “Fight The Power”
The Impressions “People Get Ready”
Sam Cooke “A Change Is Gonna Come”
The Staple Singers “Freedom Highway”
Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit”
James Brown "Say It Loud – I’m Black And I’m Proud”
Mavis Staples “We Shall Not Be Moved”
Gil Scott-Heron “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”
The Staple Singers “When Will We Be Paid”
Joan Baez “Oh, Freedom”
Sweet Honey in the Rock “Ain’ Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round”
Aretha Franklin “Respect”
Sam Cooke “This Little Light Of Mine”
Odetta “This Land”
Bob Dylan “The Times They Are A-Changin’”
Common, John Legend “Glory”
Mahalia Jackson “We Shall Overcome”
While the Modlin Center may be closed, the show must go on. Click here for an ever-growing list of organizations that are offering free online visual and performing arts experiences.
