Alash Ensemble, a trio of Tuvan throat singers and instrumentalists, perform Oct. 17.
Fall season events from Mary B. Martin School of the Arts at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee, feature social and political activism and activists in visual and performing arts and film, as well as a spectrum of music.
“As always, we have a one-of-a-kind mixture of music, film, visual arts and circus and aerial arts with a message,” says Anita DeAngelis, director of the Martin School of the Arts. “In fact, many of our events and artists have messages, because we love to get conversations started with issue-oriented programming.”
The fall opens with visual arts focusing on social and political activism and expression in academics and the arts. On Monday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m., the Martin School screens its first indie film of the year’s South Arts Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers series, “Same God,” a 2018 documentary by filmmaker Linda Midgett. “Same God” follows the journey of Wheaton College professor Larycia Hawkins, who posted a photo of herself in a hijab in support of Muslim women and was subsequently asked to leave the school. A Q&A and reception with the filmmaker follows the free screening.
Locations for the film series will be announced on the website.
An annual opportunity for social expression, the “FL3TCH3R Exhibit: Social and Politically Engaged Art” opens at ETSU’s Reece Museum on Sept. 30 and runs through Dec. 13. Entries for the 2018 “FL3TCH3R Exhibit” are selected by renowned illustrator, author and activist Sue Coe. Coe’s juror talk and the awards reception are Thursday, Nov. 7, with the talk starting at 5 p.m. at Reece Museum and the reception to follow.
Soothing chords of collaboration across continents reverberate Thursday, Oct. 17, as the Alash Ensemble, a trio of Tuvan throat singers and instrumentalists, mix musically with Baltimore beat-boxer Dominic “Shodekeh” Talifero. The combination of old and new, Eastern and Western traditions takes place at 7:30 p.m. in St. John’s Episcopal Church in Johnson City. Tickets are $20 general, $15 senior 60-plus and $5 for students.
A very personal look at a gamut of social issues, the new documentary “Wrestle” is screened Monday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m., and followed by a Q&A and reception with filmmaker Suzannah Herbert. The film follows four courageous wrestlers and their coach, who are wrestling not only for a championship, but also with factors of race, mental health, drugs, poverty and unstable home lives.
Women’s issues blend with circus and aerial artistry in Webs Circus & Dragonfly Aerial Thursday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m. in ETSU’s Bud Frank Theatre. This physical theater performance employs stilts, duo trapeze, rope, fabric, cube and aerial spider web to tell stories, entertain and share moments of humor, compassion and healing as a response to sexualized violence. Tickets are $20 general, $15 seniors 60-plus and $5 for students.
More voices, instruments and traditions merge Friday, Nov. 15., at First Baptist Church, Elizabethton, Tennessee, as the Becky Buller Band adds its award-winning bluegrass sound to an evening of gospel with the legendary Fairfield Four. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. gospel concert are $25 general, $20 seniors 60-plus and $5 for students.
While troubles might seem to float away as F1D planes waft slowly through the air of an enclosed stadium, the competition is fierce between those who build and fly the delicate craft that weigh less than a $1 bill. The documentary film “Float,” directed by Phillip Kibbe, spotlights the precise process and art of building these aircraft, the science of how they fly and two American competitors vying for the top prize in the world. “Float” screens Monday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. with a Q&A with the filmmaker to follow.
Fall season soars to a close with what 4barsrest website calls the “bold, articulated and elegant” music of Italian trombonist Peter Steiner and pianist-organist Constanze Hochwartner. Steiner combines “European soul and American spirit,” 4barsrest says, and has been trombonist for Vienna State Opera and Vienna Philharmonic and principal trombonist with the Colorado Symphony, as well as guest soloist with symphony orchestras from New York to Dallas and Seattle. Tickets are $20 general, $15 senior 60+ and $5 for students.
For more information about the Martin School of the Arts’ fall events or tickets, visit www.etsu.edu/martin or call 423-439-8587. For disability accommodations, call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at 423-439-8346.
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