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Notes from the Field- A successful Lecture Series in Chaotic 2020

2020 has certainly had its challenges for all of us, but the Arts Management Faculty have risen to the challenge and provided the community with two very interesting and thought provoking lectures in their new series Notes from the Field.

Launched in spring 2020 in response to student concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, Notes from the Field is an ongoing discussion series in which influential artists and arts professionals meet with the Purchase College community to discuss burning issues and important industry topics.

November 9, 2020, was a Conversation with Robert Garland, former principal dancer and current Resident Choreographer and School Director with Dance Theatre of Harlem in his lecture titled: Black Artists in this Moment: Assumptions and Expectations.

A native of Philadelphia and a graduate of the Juilliard School, ROBERT GARLAND became a member of the DTH Company in 1984, achieving the rank of principal dancer and performing until 1997. After he choreographed a ballet for the DTH School Ensemble, Arthur Mitchell invited Garland to create a work for the Dance Theatre of Harlem Company. Based on the result, Mr. Mitchell appointed Garland to be the organization’s first resident choreographer in 1997. In addition to choreographing for DTH, Garland has also created works for New York City Ballet, The Royal Ballet, Oakland Ballet, and many others. He was a primary instructor for the Kennedy Center/Dance Theatre of Harlem Residency Program in Washington, DC and occasionally tours with the DTH Company to lead education residency activities. His commercial appearances include music videos, short films, and TV, including Sesame Street and a Nike commercial with retired New York Yankee Derek Jeter.

View the full lecture here

On November 30, 2020, was the second lecture in this series titled, Reimagining Monuments: Free Expression at Lee Circle in Richmond, Virginia.

Featuring Dustin Klein and Alex Criqui, projectionists at Reclaiming the Monument; Sophia Chambliss, Kennedy George, and Ava Holloway, ballerinas and founders of Brown Ballerinas for Change; and Julie B. Ehrlich, Program Advisor and Chief of Staff at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The main topic of this lecture was arts activism and free expression at public monuments, and the role of both individual and arts organizations in reimagining American monuments today.