Art from the Beloved Countries — love of country, homeland, and communities of shared artistic expression
By Grisha Syssoyev
On Feb. 24, the Center for the Arts at Kayenta will host Art from the Beloved Countries, an evening of African and Afro-Caribbean literature, art, dance, and music. Art from the Beloved Countries is a benefit performance: Proceeds will go to support the work of KIND, the leading organization defending the legal rights of children who enter the U.S. immigration system alone.
On Jan. 11, the press reported that during a bipartisan meeting in the Oval Office to discuss protections for immigrants and refugees from Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries, the President of the United States dismissed these nations in terms too vulgar to bear repeating.
In response to such disturbing sentiment — and in honor of Black History month — Us. Here. Now. The New World Drama Series is staging a vibrant celebration of African and Afro-Caribbean literature, art, and music. The evening includes readings of poetry and literary excerpts from the works of world-renowned African and Caribbean writers — including Haitian-American novelist Edwidge Danticat, winner of the National Book Award and 2009 MacArthur Genius Award, and Nigerian novelist and public intellectual Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, winner of the 2008 MacArthur Genius Award — interspersed with dance and music performed by members of Dixie State University’s African exchange student community. The performance will be followed by refreshments and an informal discussion. Works by the Utah-based Senegalese visual artist Djibril N’Doye will be on exhibit in the lobby.
This performance event was spearheaded by DSU theater and communications major Abby Taylor and director Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva. Asked to encapsulate the event, Ms. Taylor demurred.
“I think this event will speak for itself,” she said. “I won’t do it justice in my opinion or my perspective. My eyes are somewhat … I have a small scope. It’s going to be better for me to let the performers do the talking, and do what they do so naturally. I’m not asking anything unusual of these international students; it’s in their blood, they are so rich with their culture … you’ll see the light in their eyes.”
Syssoyeva said that the unifying potential of theater can aid in building communities.
“Theater has many kinds of work that it can do, and one of those is to create communities,” Syssoyeva said. “These can be communities of exclusion, and too often are. Or they can be communities of inclusion: theater making that serves to build bridges, invite listening, create shared space.”
Syssoyeva characterized the event as both an honor and a duty on her part.
“Our DSU exchange students are our guests in St. George, and it seems to me that as their hosts it is our responsibility to invite them to share with us who they are,” she said. “Performance is one way of doing that.”
Art from the Beloved Nations takes place Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m., at the Center for the Arts in Kayenta. A recommended donation is $25 or $10 for students.
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