What does it take to develop an opera? To tell a resonating story inspired by an historic Afro-Cuban artist and activist? Join the creators of a new artist project at FAR Center for Contemporary Arts on Friday, February 25th for an intimate, behind the scenes look at and chance to participate in the creative process of making “Aponte: An Opera” (working title).
A panel discussion and Q&A will be led by the creative team which currently includes Teresita Fernández (Visual Artist); Yosvany Terry (Composer); Bárbaro Martínez-Ruiz (IU Associate Professor of Art History); Jessica Lanay (Librettist and IU doctoral student in Art History); and Ian Askew (Librettist). (Historian Ada Ferrer will not be present.)
Aponte is an opera inspired by 19th-century Afro-Cuban hero José Antonio Aponte, who ignited a slave rebellion in Cuba and created an extraordinary, and now lost, artifact, the “Book of Paintings.”
The creative team reimagines Aponte’s story for our time, beginning with Aponte’s own words—about his art, his humanity, his revolution. It connects the work and passion of making political and social change with the power of art and the imagination to confirm an empowered image of Africans in the Atlantic world (Cuba), amplifying the expansive traditions, rich body of knowledge, moral philosophy, and global history, which informed Aponte’s life.
Friday, February 25th / 4:30-6:00 pm
Far Center for Contemporary Arts / 505 West 4th Street, Bloomington
This event is free and open to the public. Due to limited seating, event registration is requested.
The College of Arts