UAB's Department of Art and Art History & Alys Stephens Center Indian Cultural Family Fun Fest

Presented by UAB’s Department of Art and Art History & UAB’s Alys Stephens Center

Bring the kids and enjoy an afternoon of fun for the entire family! Activities will take place between AEIVA and the Alys Stephens Center and will include visual arts projects for children, Indian mandala coloring for all ages, Indian rangoli making in the Art Plaza, Uma Srivastava’s “Hindu Culture Mythbusters” game, a film screening of Sita Sings the Blues, a violin and tabla demo by Ajay Patel, and an Indian dance demo, food trucks, and MORE!

AEIVA Schedule: (subject to change)

1:30pm : Pop-Up Studio: Traditional Paste Resist and Indigo Fiber Motif workshop by Professor Doug Baulos and UAB Alumni Bhavna Krishna. In this workshop participants will experiment with wax resist and other dye processes on organic cotton. Wax can easily be printed or drawn on fabric and dyed several times in a fermented indigo or other natural dye bath, and participants will gain experience with various traditional ways to design using natural dyes including print, paint, or tie, and then dye in the vat. We will experiment both with traditional wooden blocks and look at patola yarn dyeing and weaving, as well as bandhani and leheria. The workshop will discuss using soy milk, alum and how to create natural dyes, and we will look at how India has used natural dyes for Kalamkari Srikalahasti, Andhra Pradesh. We will also discuss the difference between natural and synthetic dyes as well as why some dyes are more eco-friendly. Seats: 20 (Room 250, $5, Advanced registration required)

2 : Indian rangoli making in the Art Plaza
Children’s art-making: shadow puppets and lanterns
Indian mandala coloring stations for kids and grown-ups

2:15 : “Hindu Culture Mythbusters” game by Uma Srivastava

2:40 : Violin and Tabla demo by Ajay Patel

3:10: Film screening of Sita Sings the Blues (Nina Paley, 2008, 82 mins, Animated) Sita Sings the Blues intersperses events from the Ramayana. It is a light-hearted but knowledgeable discussion of historical background by a trio of Indian shadow puppets, musical interludes voiced with tracks from the 1920s by Annette Hanshaw, and scenes from the artist’s own life. The ancient mythological and modern biographical plot are parallel tales, sharing numerous themes.

UAB’s Alys Stephens Center Schedule: (subject to change)

5pm : Cantina Food Truck and Cash Bar

5:30 : Performance by Notinee Indian Dance

6-6:30pm : Inside the Arts Talk | Effeminate Nature within Indian Art Forms
This discussion will feature Pia Sen, Indian dance practitioner and scholar, and Cathleen Cummings, UAB Associate Professor of Art History. Amy Miller, Alys Stephens Center’s Director of Engagement, will facilitate a conversation addressing the juxtaposition of studying a traditional art form within contemporary society. What ancient lessons help ground artistic and spiritual practices of today? And what roles do women play in continuing to preserve the ephemeral nature strongly present within Indian art forms?

7 : Anoushka Shankar Performance, Jemison Concert Hall