CALL FOR ARTICLES

RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences

ISSUE ON:

U.S. Census 2020: Continuity and Change

edited by

Zhenchao Qian
Department of Sociology
Brown University

Trevon Logan
Department of Economics
The Ohio State University

Please click here more information and a full description of the topics covered in this call for articles.

Anticipated Timeline

Prospective contributors should submit a CV and an abstract (up to two pages in length, single or double spaced) of their study along with up to two pages of supporting material (e.g., tables, figures, pictures, references that don't fit on the proposal pages, etc.) no later than 5 PM EST on November 16, 2022 to:  rsf.fluxx.io

Artist retrospectives have been a significant part of the history of the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture. Since opening on the UMBC campus more than 30 years ago, the CADVC has delivered retrospectives of visionary artists like Fred Wilson, Adrian Piper, Kate Millett, and more. 

This fall, multidisciplinary artist Oletha DeVane joins these esteemed ranks with a new retrospective of her work, Oletha DeVane: Spectrum of Light and Spirit, now on view at the CADVC through December 17. It’s an exciting show for DeVane, a prolific artist and educator who has been a staple of Maryland’s cultural landscape for more than 50 years.  

“I’m honored, and I don’t think it was expected,” says DeVane. “There was a real sense of commitment [by the CADVC] to do the work, and, that’s what I felt was important — the commitment to to take on a project like this. It’s not simple when you have so many variables and mediums happening in a space.” 

The myriad artworks in Spectrum of Light and Spirit span DeVane’s prolific career, including paintings, works on paper, video artworks, and interactive sculpture. Curator Lowery Stokes Sims worked closely with the CADVC to bring all the pieces together into a cohesive whole, and to develop the interactive elements allow visitors to participate directly in the development of some of the artworks – and occasionally with DeVane herself.    

“Lowery is a curator who’s worked extensively with African American subjects and artists, and she’s a good friend as well,” says DeVane. “I’m so glad I asked her to curate, because she was able to carry the through line of what the work itself has been about over the last 50 years, and that was good for me.”

Sims’ curatorial perspective makes powerful connections between DeVane’s works in the gallery space. 

“Oletha DeVane is a way finder and a storyteller,” Sims says. “Over the last five decades as she has traveled in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, she has been inspired by the stories and characters she encounters, bringing the unexpected to light, while finding new nuances in the old and familiar, and unexpected correlations among those varied cultures.”

Art and outreach

Spectrum of Light and Spirit marks the first exhibition at the CADVC under the guidance of newly-appointed director Rebecca Uchill, who took over after the retirement of long-time director Symmes Gardner. 

“It is a true honor for me to have joined CADVC as this important exhibition came into being,” Uchill says. “Oletha DeVane is an artist of incredible vision and artistic range, and a key figure in art and education in our region. We have much to look forward to in the robust exhibition programming, which will include a series of activations of Nkisi Woman-Universal Nkisi, a community-engaged sculptural project by DeVane on view in the CADVC amphitheater.”

A nkisi is a power figure rooted in Congolese culture, imbued with sacred energy by the community where it is created. Over the course of the exhibition, visitors to DeVane’s large-scale nkisi sculpture will be invited to add beads to its surface. DeVane herself will periodically participate in these activations, including hour-long sessions slated for October 6, 8, and 29.

“The concept of nkisi to me is about power figures, and a female power figure is sometimes unusual,” says DeVane. “The idea is that they are oriented towards community, you know, in terms of how one begins this whole process of healing. How do you achieve justice in a community? How do you approach nature? What is it that we value? All those questions to me were a part of the nkisi spirit.”

In addition to the sculptural and painting works in the exhibit, DeVane’s video works, Beyond Bars: Prison Women Speak, created in collaboration with writer and media personality Tadia Rice, have been updated for this exhibition. The videos make for a profound dialogue with Prison Nation, the photography show on view across campus at the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery through October 14. 

“[Prison Nation] is pretty phenomenal. I was really impressed because the black and white photos are just beautiful,” says DeVane. “Ours is a little different. I chose to set up the photographs and the videos with the idea that the women would be interviewed from the past, the present and the future. It’s really about setting up an opportunity for people to understand that these women are in situations where they’re incarcerated, and happen to have had lives prior, and would like to go back to those lives. Just as our society begins to grapple with the issues around how our prison system works, we have to continue this work.”

* * * * *

Spectrum of Light and Spirit is on view at the CADVC through December 17.  For more information about the exhibit and associated events, visit the CADVC website at  https://cadvc.umbc.edu/oletha-devane/

Dissertation Defense

Lifelong Multitask Learning Algorithms: Nonlinearity, Scalability and Applications

Rami Mowakeaa
Electrical Engineering, CSEE Department

4-6:00 pm Wed., 5 October 2022, ITE 325B

September 15th to October 15th is National Hispanic Heritage Month. Throughout this time, i3b, UMBC and country celebrates the important contributions, heritage, and culture of all Hispanic and Latinos in the United States. 

Honoring our Hispanic/Latin(e/x) community and their influence on our country, we recognize culture and traditions that have shaped all of our communities. Hispanic Heritage Month further celebrates the traditions, cultures, families, love, and service all Hispanic and Latin(e/x) folks. 

History of Hispanic Heritage Month

Beginning on September 15th, Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the anniversary of independence of the Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, dating back to 1968. Additionally, Mexico, Chile, and Belize also celebrate their independence days during this period with Día de la Raza on October 12th.

The term Hispanic, referring to the racial and ethnic groups of folks from hisphanophone (Spanish Speaking) countries, that were historically colonized by Spain. This term is inclusive to those of Spanish origin. The term Latino, excludes Spain, but includes non-Spanish speaking Latin American countries such as Belize, Brazil, Guyana, and Haiti. Some folks may have ethnic roots from Latin America, and may use either, neither, or both Hispanic and/or Latino.

Want to learn more about Latine and Latinx? Click here.

Interested in learning more history? Click here.

For more information on Mosaic Hispanic/Latin(e/x) resources and other cultural diversity based resources, please email Angelina Jenkins, Assistant Director of The Mosaic, Center for Cultural Diversity at arjenkins@umbc.edu. 

October 5 EHS Graduate Seminar 

Philip J. Piety, PhD. Learning & Information Scientist Maryland Education Digital Infrastructures and Analytics Lab