Reflections on “Hew Locke: Passages”
Celebrate the final days of Hew Locke: Passages with performances by Yale faculty and students that respond to the exhibition.
This afternoon program marks the culmination of the exhibition Hew Locke: Passages with performative interpretations and reflections by artists Taisha Carrington and aru apaza, spoken-word performers from Yale’s WORD, and dancer and choreographer Lacina Coulibaly.
After, join Aliyah Efotte, Post-Baccalaureate Research Education (PREP) Scholar in the History of Art at Yale University, in the galleries for a closer look at key works in the exhibition.
About the performers
Taisha Carrington is a Barbadian multidisciplinary artist working in performance, sculpture, body adornment, and installation. Her work seeks to promote solidarity with the land and investigates the liminality of life in the Caribbean after colonialism and into the Anthropocene.
aru apaza works across sound and sculptural painting, rooted in an Aymara worldview that embraces cyclical compulsion and rejects notions of purity. Their practice celebrates radical forms of kinship, mutation, and disruption through experimental gestures, bringing opposing narratives together in moments of tenderness. Their work is for their lineage—past and future.
WORD is Yale’s oldest and hypest spoken-word group. A community of writers dedicated to sharing performance poetry with the Yale community, New Haven, and beyond, WORD organizes performances on campus, conducts workshops with K-12 schools, and creates collaborative art with other student groups. As a resident group of the Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale, WORD recognizes the Black legacies that gave rise to spoken word and aims to extend those legacies to upcoming writers of all backgrounds during their four years at Yale.
Lacina Coulibaly is a professional dancer, choreographer, and instructor who merges traditional African dances with contemporary influences. His performance was featured in the award-winning creation “Vin Nem,” featured in the documentary film Movement (R)Evolution Africa (2007). He has collaborated with esteemed international dance companies such as Salia ni Seydou, Faso Danse Theatre, Tché Tché, Anikaya, and Urban Bush Women, and with artists such as Emily Coates, Amy Sullivan, Kota Yamakazi, Seydou Coulibaly, and Nora Chipaumire. His most recent work, “Until the Lion Tells the Story …,” delves into ancient African civilizations, emphasizing the importance of history in strengthening communities. He teaches and directs dance projects with students at Barnard College, Sarah Lawrence College, ACES, Florida University, Brown University, New School, UCLA, and CDC la Termitière.
