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TCC welcomes students and the community for second year of “My Thoughts. My Voice. My Art.”

Tidewater Community College welcomes students and the community to participate in programming for “My Thoughts. My Voice. My Art.” MTMVMA is a series of online events addressing the themes of diversity, adversity, inequality, social justice and empowerment during a time of social change. Events include art exhibits, music and theatrical performances, lecture and panel discussions, literary presentations and more.

The offerings:

Sept. 30

Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Challenges for Latinx Across the Borders
4 – 5 p.m. — via Zoom | https://vccs.zoom.us/j/86023731487 | Passcode: 23501
Produced by Dr. Gabriela Christie Toletti
Presented in partnership with Global and Intercultural Learning Committee

Dr. Juan Raúl Ferreira is a lecturer, journalist, writer, human rights activist and international consultant. He has been a Uruguayan representative and senator, ambassador in Argentina, and president of the National Institution of Human Rights. Dr. Ferreira will analyze the unique challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed for Latinx across the borders. Some Latin American governments have “used” this crisis to impose unpopular policies knowing that there would be no mobilization against them. Dr. Ferreira will address underlying inequities and threats that the pandemic has unveiled, and he will present strategies to advance human rights.

Oct. 12

Theater as an Agent of Social Change
7:30 – 8:30 p.m. — YouTube Live | bit.ly/tcc-roper
Produced and moderated by Paul Lasakow

Through tragedy, comedy and satire theatre has held up a mirror to the world. Drawing on the experience of guest panellists, this program will engage participants on how the art form can both reflect society and help propel it toward justice and equity for all. Panelists include Philip Crosby, Richmond Triangle Players; Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, Virginia Commonwealth University and The Conciliation Project; Tom Quaintance, Virginia Stage Company; and Deborah Wallace, Old Dominion University. Questions and comments from the audience may be submitted through the YouTube live stream chat function.

Oct. 19

Healing Through the Arts: A Conversation with LGBTQ+ Artists in Hampton Roads
7:30 – 8:30 p.m. — YouTube Live | bit.ly/tcc-roper
Produced by Paul Lasakow and moderated by Casey Butler
Presented in Partnership with the Norfolk LGBT Life Center

Casey Butler, the community engagement coordinator for the LGBT Life Center, will lead an engaging talk with local LGBTQ+ artists. The group will discuss their past experiences, current barriers and opportunities for LGBTQ+ artists in Hampton Roads, and future practices to achieve equity for the most marginalized within the community. Questions and comments from the audience may be submitted through the YouTube live stream chat function.

Oct. 26

Clay Jenkinson on the Native American Photography of Edward S. Curtis: Art, Advocacy, Appropriation and the Myth of the Vanishing Indian
7:30 – 8:30 p.m. — YouTube Live | http://bit.ly/tcc-roper
Produced by Clay Jenkinson and Paul Lasakow
Featuring Clay Jenkinson, humanities scholar and star of public radio’s “The Thomas Jefferson Hour,” with Thomas Siegmund, professor of photography at TCC.

Humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson and Professor Tom Siegmund will discuss the thirty-year photographic odyssey of Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952). Believing that Native American culture would soon disappear from the American landscape, Curtis travelled through the American west to photograph Native Americans “before it’s too late.” The result was the twenty-volume North American Indian, the most ambitious ethnographic and photographic undertaking in American history. Everyone has seen some of Curtis’ most iconic photographs, even if they don’t know Curtis by name: “Canyon de Chelly,” “The Vanishing Race,” “Chief Joseph,” and “Vash Gon.” 

Topics will include Curtis’ achievement and romanticization of Native Americans, his occasional manipulation of individuals and tribal authorities, his misguided notion that Native Americans were about to vanish permanently from American life, and his transgressions of crossing the boundaries of the sacred. Questions and comments from the audience may be submitted through the YouTube live stream chat function.

Nov. 18

Poetry from the Pandemic
12:30 -1:30 p.m. — Zoom | https://vccs.zoom.us/j/86023731487 | Passcode: 23501
Produced by: Dr. Gabriela Christie Toletti

This event features poetry readings by local poets, professors and students who have resorted to poetry as a mode to connect with others and as a springboard to overcome challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Through poetry, we can empower others, build new connections, and embark on a personal growth journey. For information about submitting poetry for this event, please e-mail gtoletti@tcc.edu.