The Chowan University School of Fine and Applied Arts will host a weeklong Cultural Arts Celebration beginning Friday, October 5, through Friday, October 12.

The theme of the Cultural Arts Celebration is The Healing Arts. Throughout the week an array of arts events to include music, theater, and visual arts are scheduled. All events are free and open to the community. 

On Friday, October 5, the Friends of Music Artist Series Concert featuring tenor, Tshombe Selby will begin the celebration at 7:00 pm in Turner Auditorium. In the upcoming season, Tshombe will sing the role of Alfredo in La Traviata, record his first CD, and concertize throughout the United States and Europe. Selby continues his studies with Carol Castel, and with a team of coaches from her studio, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Juilliard School. 

Starting Saturday, October 6, the Theatre Installation: Theatre- A Healing Art, by Steve Harders will be available in the Green Hall foyer for patrons to view. This exhibit displays props and photos from two recent children’s plays produced at Chowan– A Thousand Cranes by Kathryn Shultz Miller (Fall 2015) and The Sapphire Comb by Moses Goldberg (Spring 2017). Both plays illustrate the power of transformation, healing, and change.

The Working with Clay and Flow workshop by Dr. Julie Parker is also on October 6, 1:00 pm-2: 30 pm, in Green Hall. Dr. Parker, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Chowan University, earned the Ph.D. in psychology from Saybrook University, San Francisco. She specializes in graphite drawing and oil painting. Seating is limited. To reserve your seat, contact Rob Buller by email: buller@chowan.edu.

Monday, October 8, Dr. William “Bill” Eger will present a lecture titled Socio-Political Wellness Through Religion at 6:30 pm in Green Hall. Dr. Eger is a researcher, author, historian, and teacher. He earned the Ph.D. in international studies with a concentration in U.S. foreign policy from Old Dominion University. He has researched and extensively written about the contributions culture and religion make to politics and government.

On Tuesday, October 9, the What is Art Therapy? panel discussion will feature Zulay Romero, Dr. J. Place, Dr. Julie Parker, and Abigail Williams at 6:30 pm in Turner Auditorium. Romero is a Chowan alumnus with a degree in visual art and specialization in art therapy. She will speak of her experiences in the Master of Science in counseling and art therapy program at Eastern Virginia Medical school, followed by a question-and-answer session. Chowan University Professor’s Dr. Parker and Dr. Place will discuss foundational courses for applying to graduate school in this field. Professor Abigail Williams from Portsmouth, VA, will join the panel discussion. She teaches the Introduction To Art Therapy course for the pre-art therapy degree program at Tidewater Community College (TCC).

Eloise Shelton-Mayo, featured artist for Cultural Arts Week, will instruct the Art Workshop – Oil and Cold Wax on Thursday, October 11, 9:30 am-12: 30 pm in Green Hall. Her reception and Gallery Talk: Remnants and Renewal will take place 5:00 pm-7:00 pm in Green Hall. Shelton-Mayo discovered a passion for painting while studying with Corinne Lilyard-Mitchell at the Visual Arts Center. She is an art adjunct for TCC. A belief in the transformative, healing power of art infuses Shelton-Mayo’s work. Best known for encaustic and now, oil & cold wax, the covering and uncovering with layers of paint and other materials, invites the viewer to delve and discover the textures and nuances in a piece.

Later in the evening, at 5:30 pm, Dr. Christopher Cook, Assistant Professor of Music at Chowan, will debut Music Visualization, an interpretation of Shelton-Mayo’s work. in the Green Hall Small Gallery. Composer Christopher Cook received the Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University where he served as Assistant Director of the Center for Electronic and Computer Music. He is a recent recipient of a Fromm Music Foundation commission from Harvard University and has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the Music Teachers National Association, and the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies. His compositions are widely performed in university and festival settings in the United States and abroad.

The final event of the evening is the Faculty Showcase Recital at 7:30 pm in Turner Auditorium of McDowell Columns Hall. Performing for the event will be soprano Lisa Lowry, baritone Benjamin Thorburn, percussionist Ron Johnson, pianist Mary Hellmann and the newest addition to the music faculty, pianist Deborah Kiszely-Papp. The concert will include a wide range of music from Vaughn Williams, Samuel Barber, Kreisler, and Chowan University composer Christopher Cook.

To close out the weeklong celebration, Steven Harders, Professor of Speech & Drama at Chowan, will facilitate Zazen Meditation workshops on Friday, October 12, at 11:00 am & 1:00 pm in Green Hall. In these workshops, sponsored by the Wise Life Club, participants will learn three key aspects of zazen, a form of meditation that comes from the Japanese Zen tradition, and then put them into practice during a brief meditation session. Each workshop is limited to 15 participants. To sign up, please email Professor Harders at hardes@chowan.edu.

For more information about the Cultural Arts Celebration visit www.artsatcu.com.