By Jonathan Morales

2021年11月3日

u - night ！ – 萨克拉门托 State’s annual arts and cultural event at the Crocker Art Museum – are developed independently, with no required adherence to a theme or topic. But as Sheree Meyer surveyed this year’s submissions, one clearly emerged.

“What I saw as I was reviewing the proposals were the artistic and professional responses to the world as we inhabit it today,” said Meyer, dean of 囊状态’s College of Arts and Letters. “We’re all well aware that, in this time of antiracism and political upheaval and COVID upheaval, art and culture have, in some sense, given us a way to bring the community together as well as to address some of these issues, and I think people will see that in this year’s program."

U-Nite !, to be held virtually Nov. 4-7, is 萨克拉门托 State’s way of bringing the work of its talented faculty out of the campus confines and into the community. It’s a key example of the University’s role as an “anchor university” that is embedded in and engaged with its surrounding region.

The partnership with the Crocker Art Museum, which Meyer calls a fellow “anchor arts institution,” deepens that connection to the community.

克罗克学院的教育主任斯泰西·谢尔纳特-亨德里克（Stacey Shelnut-Hendrick）致电u - ite！ the most ambitious and “probably the most fun” of the museum’s many collaborations with 囊状态.

“For the Crocker, it is always exciting to present the creative work of community members, and 囊状态’s College of Arts and Letters’ faculty are some of the best in their fields,” Shelnut-Hendrick said. “It is wonderful to ensure their artistic work is shared and celebrated with the broader community and that the community has an opportunity to be essentially part of the creative process through their engagement.”

Many of the performances and presentations, as Meyer says, respond to the moment – in particular, the worldwide disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and a global reckoning with racism and systemic injustice sparked by the May 2020 murder of George Floyd.

One such presentation is “Held Breath,” a series of art prints referring to the many ways people have had to, in response to world events, pause and take a breath before moving on. Another presentation, “Cut,” uses the metaphor of a cut flower as a stand-in for the possibilities left unfulfilled due to the isolation caused by the pandemic.

三个设计学院将讨论种族和社会不平等以及可持续性背景下的建筑实例。 此外，一场舞蹈表演将审视亚裔美国人在疫情期间受到的同情和对待。

Meyer said art has the ability to make meaning of experiences, “and by making meaning to bring us new and different perspectives.”

“Whether it’s through dance or whether it’s through architecture, or whether it’s through fiction or even the scholarly work that we do, how are we coming to understand those experiences in ways that sometimes we can’t in that moment?”

A key strength of the event, she said, is its interdisciplinary nature – the ways in which faculty from different disciplines and mediums can cooperatively explore something meaningful. “Seeing and Hearing,” a presentation in which Music faculty will discuss visual art depicting music, is an example.

Last year’s U-Nite ! 由于COVID-19的限制，它是虚拟的，组织者在计划中决定在今年保持虚拟，基于对大流行的不确定性。 尽管不太理想，但与新冠疫情前的U-Nite！梅耶说。

The event’s multiday nature gives viewers an opportunity to watch the entire program – a difficult feat when live performances were concurrent over one night. 活动结束后，这些表演将保留在网上，让人们可以再次观看。 把它们放在网上也意味着全世界都可以访问它们，而不仅仅是那些能够亲自到克罗克的人。

Last year’s virtual event had more than 1,500 viewers, according to Houghton Kinsman, adult education coordinator at the Crocker Art Museum. 博物馆提供了一个博客平台，通过这个平台，虚拟的u - ite！ 演示文稿被观看。

今年的新活动是11月7日周日的直播活动，期间Meyer、Crocker的工作人员和其他u - ite！ 委员会将回顾和讨论前几天的表演和演讲。 In addition, work by Arts and Letters faculty will be displayed in the Crocker’s community exhibition room Nov. 4 - Jan. 2.

“Often our faculty don’t get to share beyond J Street. Folks don’t know what they’re doing,” Meyer said. “What’s exciting (about U-Nite !) is that we get to celebrate our faculty, but celebrate them in a way that invites the community in and shares with the community.”

For the full schedule of events and to view performances, 参观联合国！ 网页.

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