UMF Presents Annual Arts Nights Celebration
Starts: 5:30 PM
Location: Emery Community Arts Center
The University of Maine at Farmington is excited to again present its annual Arts Nights celebration Monday, April 24 and Tuesday, April 25, 2017. Free and open to the public, this array of creative events by UMF students takes place throughout the Emery Community Arts Center.
On Tuesday, April 25, UMF Visual and Performing Arts seniors will present their final projects in back-to-back artistic sound, cultural and theatrical presentations throughout the ECAC beginning at 5:30 p.m. and continuing into the evening. These include:
Abigail Parkinson, Monmoth
“Fandom Fortunes”
Exploring the spiritual and almost religious sides of fandom, Parkinson will be presenting a tarot deck of her own making in the form of a live card reading for volunteers. She has spent the last semester studying the symbolism of tarot in connection with recognizable figures in geek culture, and her deck features characters from Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and more.
Danielle Lefebvre, Leominster, Mass.
“Players’ Market: A Farmington Music Blog”
Players’ Market is a local music blog set out to capture the culture of the live music scene in Farmington. He hopes to keep the community updated at least weekly with musical events they can see around town and how to find out more about their favorite local artists.
Zack Peercy, Farmington
“Writer at Work”
Based on the Philosophy and Performances of Harlan Ellison, Peercy will attempt to demonstrate that writing is a job, not an artistic whimsy. On April 24, from 9 a.m. to 5p.m., he will set up his work station comprised of a writing desk, typewriter and chair in the Olsen Student Center. His hope is to complete eight short pieces, based on sealed prompts from the community and abroad, before punching the time clock.
Keith Clark, Presque Isle
“2 Late: A Radio Talk Show”
Humanity has long wondered what seeing the afterlife could be like. This evening, the afterlife's own talk radio show, 2 Late, will be broadcasting live, even though its ghostly host is not so lucky. Each living caller to this show gets a unique chance to ask questions about the afterlife. Infused with Clark's unique brand of humor, this performance hopes to bring some light to a dark part of human existence.
Parker Chapin, Augusta
“The Fiddle in Celtic Music”
A talk that aims to draw a history and analysis of Celtic music with a focus on the fiddle, how it was invented and entered the Celtic musician’s toolkit, how it influenced composition of Celtic folk tunes, and how these tunes are intertwined with culture and history.
Devin Gilman, Farmington
“I Feel Powerful When I Am Naked: A Brief Examination of the Neo-Burlesque Scene”
For many decades both women and men have flocked to the stage, and have embraced the power of striptease to enhance the visual aesthetic of the burlesque performance. By examining the historical influences of the burlesque culture in the U.S., we can see the impacts it still upholds today to the performers reimagining the Neo-Burlesque scene.
Samuel Cobb, Randolph
“The War of Lost”
When a world has known nothing but war, and a time of peace finally falls across the land, will things finely begin to change? Or will a dark shadow fall over the land, which has all ready seen so much bloodshed? This is an effort to examine these questions and many other questions of our own fights.
Samuel Burnell, Windham
“signal decay”
Nostalgia has a quiet intensity. We attach it to present moments, old possessions and vague auras, manipulating its warmth to our benefit. Through it, we indirectly inform our feelings towards media of the past. This audiovisual performance is built from culturally decayed media, colored by instances of affection, epiphany and melancholy through destructive, additive processes. Bringing together analogue electronic synthesis, heavily-treated footage and sound improvisation, signal decay addresses the uncertain present by invoking the recent past.
