Rokia Traoré will be the artist in residence at New York University's Institute of African American Affairs this semester. Through three programs curated by Traoré, she will share her work, ideas, and philosophy. The events, taking place at NYU October 26–30, including two lecture-performances and a culminating concert, are free and open to the public.
Rokia Traoré will be the artist in residence at New York University's Institute of African American Affairs this semester. Through three programs curated by Traoré, she will share her work, ideas, and philosophy as an international arts and culture advocate who promotes venues dedicated to the community and critical thinking through the arts and culture. The programs, taking place at NYU October 26–30, will be moderated by Michael E. Veal, Professor of Ethnomusicology at Yale University. All programs are free and open to the public.
The events begin with a lecture with musical interludes at Tishman Auditorium at NYU Law School's Vanderbilt Hall on Friday, October, 26. Traoré will discuss her professional artistic experience in Mali and how that led her to better recognize the need for cultural-artistic public spaces there and elsewhere in Africa to reinforce education and community building.
On Monday, October 29, she will be joined by special guest speakers for a discussion about leadership and how to improve spaces for culture and art in sociopolitical debates in Africa. That conversation with musical interludes will take place at the Rosenthal Pavilion of NYU's Kimmel Center.
The culminating event of Traoré's residency is a ticketed performance of her Dream Mandé – Djata at NYU Skirball Center on Tuesday, October 30. The piece is a musical monologue written by Traoré, structured around the griot tradition of oral history storytelling while also reflecting changes to the form as a contemporary project. The narrative tells of Soundiata Keïta and the Mandé Empire through French or English texts interwoven with classical songs of the Mandingo epic history.
For free tickets to the final performance, visit nyuskirball.org. To RSVP for the first two events and to discover more about the Artist-in-Residence Program, first initiated by IAAA in 1996, visit nyuiaaa.org.
Rokia Traoré released her latest album, Né So, on Nonesuch in 2016. "Traoré has made the album of her career,” the Times exclaimed. “This accessible yet sophisticated album offers its own defiance against hard times." To pick up a copy, head to iTunes or the Nonesuch Store. The album can also be heard on Spotify and Apple Music.
- Log in to post comments
