
Symposium: Blackness and the Art of Empowerment in Bahia, Brazil
For many worldwide, the Brazilian state of Bahia represents the epicenter of Afro-Brazilian culture. Its capital city, Salvador, has been lauded as a Black Rome (Roma negra) where African-derived traditions have flourished. Nonetheless, residents of African descent (Afrodescendentes) often face institutionalized racism and other forms of inequality. This one-day symposium brings together Bahian arts activists and US-based scholars to examine the ways in which arts practices can serve as potent modes of social critique and cultural resistance. Register at https://bahiasymposium.eventbrite.com
Symposium Schedule | Click here to view as PDF
Morning Session
9:30 am
Coffee reception in Art Council Amphitheater
10:00 am
Welcome and Introduction
Patrick A. Polk, Curator of Latin American and Caribbean Popular Arts, Fowler Museum at UCLA and co-curator of Axé Bahia: The Power of Art in an Afro-Brazilian Metropolis
10:15 am
Axé: On the White-Hot Tension between Black Racial Empowerment and Religious Hierarchy in Candomblé
J. Lorand Matory, Lawrence Richardson Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Duke University
10:45 am
Candomblé as Artistic Inspiration
Kimberly Cleveland, Associate Professor of Art History, The Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design, Georgia State University
11:15 am
Artist Presentation: Thaís Muniz
11:45 am
Respondent: Aleca LeBlanc, Assistant Professor, Department of the History of Art, University of California, Riverside
12:00 pm
Q