A POWER FOR GOOD: Walking the Talk
RAISING AWARENESS
THROUGH THE ARTS
This year’s Great Gig in the Sky, the Upper School’s annual interdisciplinary performance project, featured a compilation of iconic songs of social justice and empowerment instead of the live performance of a single music album, its traditional focus. “Our decision to break with tradition stems from a strong conviction that art plays a crucial role in raising awareness about social issues and justice and effecting positive change,” says Jeff Carnevale, Associate Dean of Students and co-director of the Great Gig. With a stage-filling cast of students performing such songs as “Living for the City” by Stevie Wonder, “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga and “Freedom” by George Michael, the April 2018 event embraced an array of topics during a high-energy, multimedia production.
Above: The Great Gig in the Sky multimedia show featured iconic songs of social justice and empowerment this year.
Social justice was also the theme of the eighth annual Westchester Poetry Festival, cosponsored by Masters and The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center and held in Estherwood Mansion. Somali-born poet and essayist Ladan Osman, who lives in Brooklyn, NY, delivered the keynote reading at the event, which also took place in April. Osman’s work focuses on problems of race, gender, displacement and colonialism. She is the author of The KitchenDweller’s Testimony, winner of a Sillerman First Book Prize.
“OUR DECISION TO BREAK WITH TRADITION STEMS FROM A STRONG CONVICTION THAT ART PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES AND JUSTICE AND EFFECTING POSITIVE CHANGE.” 12 | MASTERSNY.ORG