ArtsFest visiting guest artists and speakers

Image

ArtsFest Guest Artists are supported by The Palmer Family Foundation Fund through The Foundation for Enhancing Communities.

Thanks to the generous support of the Palmer Grant, we are excited to present four nationally recognized invited artists as part of this year’s events. We welcome to campus, visual artist Jada Patterson, printer Amos Paul Kennedy Jr., and Project ChArma.

Image

Behind the Broadway Curtain: Lessons from a 5-Time Tony Award Winner
Monday, April 6,  5 p.m., Patterson Board Room

Join President Wes Fugate as he welcomes five-time Tony Award and Grammy Award–winning Broadway producer Sue Gilad to campus for an insider’s look at the business of bringing Broadway shows from page to stage. Gilad will share behind-the-scenes insights into producing hit productions, from development through opening night.

A special highlight of the evening will be a conversation about the West End hit Burlesque the Musical, which President Fugate co-produced alongside Gilad, offering a unique perspective on the collaboration behind a major international production.
 

Image

Pittsburgh-based visual artist Jada Patterson was born in Wisconsin, raised in Milwaukee, and began their formal studies at the Kansas City Art Institute, then earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics and art history. They continued their artistic development through programs at the Ox-Bow School of Art, Charlotte Street Foundation, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and Berea College, among others. Patterson currently serves as a host at the John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina.

Their work examines themes of beauty, adornment, girlhood, and the human condition. At the epicenter of their artistic exploration is a focus on identity, material culture, personal history, and Black traditions of hair and body adornment, particularly as they relate to girlhood.

"A Seed's A Star" Exhibit by Jada Patterson
Open throughout ArtsFest, Cooley Gallery, John Stewart Memorial Library
The exhibition will showcase the work of Patterson, a multidisciplinary artist and craftsperson who investigates the intersection of traditional craft and high art.

Artist Talk with Jada Patterson
Thursday, April 10,  3 p.m., First floor of JSM Library
 Pittsburgh-based visual artist Jada Patterson will deliver a public talk covering their work. 

Image

Working with handset wood and metal type, Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. embraces the physical labor and tactile beauty of traditional printing methods. He overprints vibrant colors in dense, rhythmic layers, allowing chance and repetition to become part of the message. No two prints are ever the same—each carries its own visual weight and emotional resonance. Quoting civil rights leaders, community voices, and proverbs rooted in cultural wisdom, Kennedy’s work confronts injustice while educating and inspiring. His posters transform everyday materials into instruments of empowerment, reminding us that knowledge, like art, belongs to everyone.

"Consider Everything An Experiment" exhibit of prints by Amos Paul Kennedy Jr.
Open throughout ArtsFest, Bogigian Gallery, Lortz Hall
You are invited to experience the powerful work of Amos Paul Kennedy Jr., a visionary artist and educator who transforms the tradition of letterpress printing into a vehicle for social justice and collective learning. Kennedy’s prints—bold, layered, and unapologetically direct—blend typographic form with the urgency of protest, creating a body of work that speaks as much to the heart as to the eye. Each poster is a declaration, a reminder, a lesson—designed not only to be seen, but to be felt, remembered, and shared.

Documentary Screening “Proceed and Be Bold”, followed by a Gallery Walk and Talk
6 to 9 p.m , Monday, April 6, Allen Auditorium, Warfield Hall and then Bogigian Gallery, Lortz Hall
A documentary on the work of Amos Paul Kennedy Jr., a visionary artist and educator who transforms the tradition of letterpress printing into a vehicle for social justice and collective learning. 

Q&A with Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. 
6 to 7:30 p.m , Tuesday, April 7, Lenfest Learning Commons, JSM Library
 

Image

PROJECT CHARMA We are a project-based dance theater company dedicated to using art as activism. We collaborate with teaching artists, hip hop lovers, DMV representatives, parents, and students to promote social change through movement. Pronounced “Karma” because it guides our lives. Follow us on IG & FB: @projectcharma or at www.projectcharma.com

Ama Law Bio:Mariama "Ama" Law was born into African dance culture through Kankouran West African Dance Company, as both parents are founding members. While at University of Maryland (UMD), Ama enjoyed choreographing, directing and dancing with DyNaMiC hip hop dance team. Ama graduated with a B.S. in Biology and a certificate in Women's Studies. After undergrad, Ama intensely studied in New York completing a professional semester at Broadway Dance Center under the likes of Luam Keflezgy, Hollywood, and Sheila Barker. Ama was inspired by various mentors in New York and returned to the DC, Maryland and Virginia (DMV) area inspired to share and create.

As an alumni of local DMV hip hop groups Culture Shock DC and KickRocks crew, Ama enjoys staying grounded and connected with the community. They dedicate their career to the creative possibilities of intersecting dance traditions to facilitate important conversations about social change. They have taught and choreographed at various institutions including the Kennedy Center, Dance Place, Howard University, UMD, Howard Community College, and Bates Dance Festival. Ama was a Professorial Lecturer of Dance at American University, coordinating concerts, festival participation, and directing the American University Dance Company. Currently, Ama is involved in the rotation of lovely humans teaching at Dance Place DC as part of the Rooting the Dance Series! In the theatre world, Ama enjoys directing and choreographing for plays and musicals. She was nominated for BroadwayWorld’s Best Choreographer (professional) for Constellation Theater’s IS GOD ISin 2024.

Together with Chris Law, Ama creates work as Project ChArma, a project-based dance theater company dedicated to using art as activism; pronounced "karma" because it guides their lives. Project ChArma has been on several curatorial teams to present National Dance Day at the Kennedy Center, having a lead role in the 2023 event celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop. The company premiered Chronicles of Nina... What now? at the Kennedy Center in April 2024 as recipients of the Local Dance Commissioning Fund!

Ama received an MFA in dance from UMD in 2019 and has returned as an Artist-in-Residence, conducting movement research and developing a collaborative teaching relationship with UMD students, staff, and local community members. In this role she has directed three main stage productions, including the co-direction of Ntozake Shange’s choreopoemfor colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf. Ama is a passionate educator, always searching for new avenues to provide inspiration to the future generation of movers to not only become fierce, but knowledgeable individuals.

Spirit-led Dance in the New America with Ama Law of Project ChArma
Thursday, April 9,  1-2:30 p.m., Appenzellar-Buchanan Dance Studio
Our movement style has always been shaped by a blend of influences: Hip-Hop culture, West African polyrhythms, and post-modern dance flow. In this dance workshop, we will explore solidarity through these forms. We’ll start with line dances—literally “jumping in” to learn sequences, embodying the Africanist principle of “each one teach one.” We’ll review popular line dances, invite participants to share new ones they bring, and close by creating a unique group sequence that marks our coming together in this new space and time. We’ll discuss the historical significance of these dances in African-American resistance, survival, and progress.