10 Questions: Reckoning

10 Questions 10 Conversations 30 Leading Minds

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

MONDAYS, OCT. 5 – DEC. 7 7 PM PST

elcome to UCLA Arts 10 QUESTIONS “10 Questions” is a production of the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture (UCLA Arts). Drawing upon the university’s extraordinary community of artists, scholars, scientists, researchers and activists, UCLA Arts’ “10 Questions” transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries through a series of conversations that engage multiple viewpoints and challenge us to grapple with the complexity of our lives. A vital part of the cultural and artistic life of the university and the communities that we serve, UCLA Arts is fueled by our unwavering belief in the fundamental value of creativity and the artist’s unique ability to shape the future and change the world. One of twelve prestigious professional schools at UCLA, UCLA Arts offers leading programs in four degree-granting departments: Architecture and Urban Design, Art, Design | Media Arts and World Arts and Cultures/ Dance, and one school-wide minor, the Visual and Performing Arts Education program (VAPAE). Our internationally acclaimed museums—the Fowler and the Hammer—and groundbreaking performing arts program—the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA—provide a vibrant cultural commons that connects the public to the university—and the university to the broader community—through the vitality of the arts.

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UCLA ARTS presents

1O QUESTIONS: RECKONING Oct. 5 – Dec. 7

Join us in the Zoom classroom live every Monday at 7 p.m.

“10 Questions” invites us all to reckon with the future. As the world struggles to cope with a pandemic, the United States grapples with its embedded racism and inequality, and the world confronts an ever expanding existential environmental crisis brought about by climate change, UCLA Arts returns with “10 Questions: Reckoning,” the third iteration of this hybrid public program/academic class that boldly embraces the challenge of probing some of life’s most essential questions.

“10 Questions: Reckoning” brings together 30 leading minds from across UCLA including faculty from disciplines as diverse as music, dance, theater, chemistry, anthropology, African American studies, gender studies, medieval studies, environmental law, public health and psychology. this arts-driven initiative seeks to create vibrant conversations that not only seed greater understanding of the profoundly interdisciplinary nature of knowledge, but that — in seeing differently, together — help cultivate greater empathy and tolerance across our communities, as well as capacity to help tackle some of the foundational questions of our time.

Conceived and Curated by Victoria Marks and Anne Marie Burke Instructor and Host Victoria Marks Production Team Diana Alvarez, Arsenio Apillanes, Avishay Artsy, Anne Marie Burke, Kylie Carrigan, Louise Forster, Mark Goebel, Ginger Holquin Each Monday evening session lasts from 7 - 8:50 p.m.

Following panelist presentations, there will be an intermission featuring works of art that relate to the discussion topic. A Q&A with panelists will also be included.

UCLA Arts acknowledges our presence on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples.

Series Overview Week 1 Mon. Oct. 5 WHAT IS PRESENCE? Tiffany Brannon, social psychologist Ann Carlson, interdisciplinary artist Mishuana Goeman, gender studies and American Indian studies scholar

Week 4 - Mon. Oct. 26 WHAT IS KINDNESS? Kristy Edmunds, artist, curator and artistic director Daniel M.T. Fessler, evolutionary anthropologist Vickie M. Mays, clinical psychologist and health policy expert

Week 2 - Mon. Oct. 12 WHAT IS JUSTICE? Isaac Bryan, racial, economic, and social justice expert Erin Christovale, curator and co-founder of Black Radical Imagination Ursula Heise, environmental narrative scholar and multispecies justice advocate

Week 5 - Mon. Nov. 2 WHAT IS HOPE? Tananarive Due, author, screenwriter, and producer Herbie Hancock, musician, composer, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, SGI Buddhist Ramesh Srinivasan, information studies scholar and innovation policy advisor for Biden & Harris

Week 3 - Mon. Oct. 19 WHAT IS POWER? William Boyd, lawyer, scholar and environmental advocate Chon Noriega, art historian, media scholar, and curator Jemima Pierre, Black Studies scholar and anthropologist

Week 6 - Mon. Nov. 9 WHAT IS RESILIENCE? Duane Benjamin, musician, orchestrator, and arranger Tracy Johnson, molecular, cellular and developmental biologist Kian Goh, urban studies and climate justice scholar, architect

Week 7 Mon. Nov. 16 WHAT IS HUMOR? Neil Garg, chemistry professor Dominic Taylor, writer and director Scott Weems, cognitive psychologist and author Week 8 Mon. Nov. 23 WHAT IS LOSS? Jenna Caravello, artist Michael Eselun, oncology chaplain Jorja Leap, anthropologist and expert in gangs, violence, and systems change Week 9 Mon. Nov. 30 WHAT IS LOVE? Alicia Gaspar de Alba, writer, scholar, activist, and educator Sharon Hayes, artist Tyrone Howard, teacher, writer, researcher Week 10 Mon. Dec. 7 WHAT MATTERS? Anna Spain Bradley, legal scholar and human rights advocate Peter Sellars, opera, film, theater, and festival director Teo Ruiz, teacher, writer, and medieval and early modern historian

Message from the Host The university is a hothouse for the development of new knowledge, a place where experts plumb the depths of understanding and expand the horizons of their individual fields. And yet, we know that it is in consideration of different ideas and perspectives that we build our capacity to hold complexity, a necessary ingredient for addressing our lived experience and the major problems of our time. The arts have always embraced complexity and possibility, so it is not surprising that UCLA Arts is the source and center for this program. In bringing together some of UCLA’s most extraordinary faculty, a diverse group of students and members of the public from across our communities, “10 Questions: Reckoning� calls upon our shared humanity and invites us to find deeper meaning and purpose as we tend to our lives, individually and collectively. I am so pleased to have you with us on this journey and hope this program stirs you to plumb the depths of your own experience in ways that open exciting new ideas, viewpoints and possibilities.

Victoria Marks

eek 1, Oct. 5

hat is Presence?

Tiffany Brannon Tiffany Brannon is an assistant professor in the UCLA Department of Psychology. Her research examines sociocultural identities in negatively stereotyped groups and investigates the potential for these identities to serve as psychological resources and function as powerful agents of social change.

Ann Carlson Ann Carlson is an interdisciplinary artist and lecturer in the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance. Her work borrows from the disciplines of dance and performance as well as visual, conceptual and social art practices.

Mishuana Goeman Dr. Mishuana Goeman, Tonawanda Band of Seneca, is a professor of gender studies, chair of American Indian studies, affiliated faculty of critical race studies in the Law School, and the inaugural special advisor to the chancellor on Native American and indigenous affairs at UCLA. Her research examines colonialism, geography and literature to generate anti-colonial tools in the struggle for social justice.

eek 2, Oct. 12

hat is Justice?

Isaac Bryan Isaac Bryan is director of public policy at the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies and the founding executive director of the center’s Black Policy Project. Bryan’s work focuses on helping to advance activistled movements and policy change around issues of racial, economic, and social justice.

Erin Christovale Erin Christovale is associate curator at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. She is also cofounder, with Amir George, of the experimental film program Black Radical Imagination. Her curatorial work focuses on experimental moving image, and she has worked to raise the profiles of emerging L.A. artists of color.

Ursula Heise Ursula K. Heise is the chair of the UCLA Department of English and co-founder of the Lab for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS) at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Her research and teaching focus on contemporary literature and the environmental humanities; arts and cultures in the Americas, Germany, Japan, and Spain; science fiction; and narrative theory.

eek 3, Oct. 19

hat is Power? illiam Boyd William Boyd is on the faculty of the UCLA School of Law and UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

His primary research and teaching interests are in energy law and regulation, climate change law and policy, and environmental law. Professor Boyd also has longstanding interests and experience in interdisciplinary field-based research on resource use and environmental change.

Chon Noriega Chon Noriega is a professor of cinema and media studies and director of the Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) at UCLA. His research and teaching focuses on the arts; avant-garde film and video; the conjunction of film and television history; racial, gender and sexual difference within both alternative and national cinemas; and media access for underrepresented groups.

Jemima Pierre Jemima Pierre is an associate professor of African American studies and anthropology at UCLA. Her research and teaching interests are located in the overlaps between African studies and African diaspora studies and engage race and political economy; transnationalism and diaspora; and the cultural politics of knowledge production.

eek 4, Oct. 26

hat is Kindness?

Daniel M.T. Fessler Daniel M.T. Fessler is an evolutionary anthropologist whose principal focus is contemporary humans. His research examines a variety of aspects of human behavior, experience, and health from an integrative perspective in which humans are viewed as both the products of complex evolutionary processes and the possessors of acquired cultural idea systems and behavioral patterns.

Kristy Edmunds Kristy Edmunds is the executive and artistic director at UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance. In collaboration with master artists, she has curated unique platforms that survey the breadth of their artistry, while placing equal emphasis on the support and commissioning of new work by some of today’s leading performance creators across disciplines.

Vickie Mays Vickie M. Mays, Ph.D., MSPH is a clinical psychologist and health policy expert and Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Health Policy at UCLA. Her research on race-based discrimination has examined how discrimination and racism reduces the life-expectancy of Blacks in the United State and its negative effect on the physical health of Black Americans.

eek 5, Nov. 2

hat is Hope?

Tananarive Due Tananarive Due is an award-winning author who teaches Black Horror and Afrofuturism in the UCLA Department of African American Studies. She has been a leading voice in black speculative fiction for more than 20 years.

Herbie Hancock Herbie Hancock is a jazz icon who has been an integral part of every popular music movement since his arrival on the scene in the ’60s. In 2011, he was named a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Goodwill Ambassador in recognition of his “dedication to the promotion of peace through dialogue, culture and the arts.”

Ramesh Srinivasan Ramesh Srinivasan is a professor in the information studies and design media arts departments at UCLA and founder of the UC-wide Digital Cultures Lab. He was a surrogate for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign on issues of technology policy. His research investigates technology’s relationship to democracy and politics, public health, social change, distance learning, economic development, migration studies, and cultural heritage.

eek 6, Nov. 9

hat is Resilience?

Duane Benjamin Duane Benjamin is an accomplished Musician, Orchestrator and Arranger who plays Trombone and Electric Bass. He has made a successful living in the music industry for over 40 years, performing and recording with the top industry legends.

Kian Goh Kian Goh is an assistant professor of urban planning at the UCLA. She researches the relationships between urban ecological design, spatial politics, and social mobilization in the context of climate change and global urbanization.

More broadly, her research interests include urban theory, urban design, environmental planning, and urban political ecology.

Tracy Johnson Dr. Tracy Johnson is the Maria Rowena Ross Chair of Cell Biology and Biochemistry. Her research is focused on the mechanisms of eukaryotic RNA processing, particularly pre-messenger RNA splicing. Her lab has most recently been interested in the coordination of these reactions with RNA synthesis and chromatin modification.

eek 7, Nov. 16

hat is Humor?

Neil Garg Professor Garg is a distinguished professor and the inaugural holder of the Kenneth N. Trueblood Endowed Chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA. His research is directed toward the development of synthetic strategies and methods that enable the synthesis of complex bioactive molecules.

Dominic Taylor Dominic Taylor is acting chair of the UCLA Department of Theater. A writer-director and scholar of African-American theater, Taylor has reshaped the School of Theater, Film and Television’s curriculum for African American theater with a cycle of courses that begin in 1619 and go through contemporary African American life.

Scott

eems

Scott Weems M.A. ‘00, Ph.D. ‘03 is a cognitive neuroscientist with degrees in psychology, education, and creative writing. His research interests include the science of humor and laughter.

eek 8, Nov. 23

hat is Loss?

Jenna Caravello Jenna Caravello is an animator and media artist working with VR, motion capture, and video game platforms. Her single-channel and interactive projects explore the role of symbolism and narrative in personal, collective, and digital memory.

Michael Eselun Michael Eselun is the Dr. John Glaspy Chaplain in Oncology Care for the Simms/Mann�UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology. In addition to oncology work, he has worked extensively in palliative care, hospice care, and acute psychiatric care. Through his work, he addresses the deeper questions of life, mortality, and meaning with vulnerability, insight, and humor.

Jorja Leap Jorja Leap teaches in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, is executive director of the UCLA Social Justice Research Partnership, and is co-founder of the UCLA Watts Leadership Institute. As an anthropologist and expert in gangs, violence, and systems change, she develops, coordinates and directs real-life scholarly efforts that involve research, evaluation, and policy recommendations at the local, state, and national level.

eek 9, Nov. 3O

hat is Love?

Alicia Gaspar d e Alba A native of the El Paso/Juarez border, Alicia Gaspar de Alba is a professor of Chicana/o studies, English, and gender studies at UCLA. A writer, scholar, and activist, she uses prose, poetry, and theory for social change. She served as chair of both Chicana/o studies and LGBTQ studies during her time at UCLA.

Sharon Hayes Sharon Hayes ’03 is an artist who engages multiple mediums in ongoing investigation into specific intersections between history, politics and speech. Hayes’ work is concerned with developing new representational strategies that examine and interrogate the present political moment as a moment that reaches simultaneously backward and forward.

Tyrone Howard Tyrone C. Howard is a professor in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies’ at UCLA; the inaugural director of the new UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families; and the director of the UCLA Transformation of Schools. His research focuses on race and equity in education.

eek 1O, Dec. 7

hat Matters?

Anna Spain Bradley Anna Spain Bradley is the vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion at UCLA. An expert in international law and human rights, Vice Chancellor Spain Bradley’s current research imagines global mechanisms to address racism and promote human rights.

Teo Ruiz Teo Ruiz is a Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus at UCLA. His research and scholarship focuses on the social and cultural history of late medieval and early modern Spain and the Western Mediterranean.

Peter Sellars Peter Sellars is a Distinguished Professor in the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance. He has gained international renown for his transformative interpretations of artistic masterpieces, created collaboratively with an extraordinary range of artists. His works connect the contemporary and the timeless, with an understanding of art’s power as a means of social action and moral expression.

“I can think of no better way to truly consider the import of the ideas explored in this series than inviting a younger generation of artists to participate, engaging with university students and professors as they endeavor to understand the implications of these essential questions.

After all, these young folks are the very ones that will be tasked with not only thinking about these questions but actualizing their possibilities .�

Kevin Kane, director, UCLA Visual and Performing Arts Education Program

Arts Education + Community Engagement

This year, UCLA Arts is extending the 10 Questions project deeper into the community through a partnership with its Visual and Performing Arts Education (VAPAE) program that will engage middle and high school students from five public schools from across the city. Each cohort of students will generate their own conversations and create artwork in response to questions, which will then be shared with our audiences as part of the public program.

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS UCLA Community School L.A. Co. High School for the Arts Marina Del Rey Middle School Venice High School John Marshall High School

Listen to UCLA Arts

Listen to UCLA Arts’ podcast, Works in Progress In-depth interviews with 10 Questions: Reckoning panelists New episode every Wednesday Listen at podcast.arts.ucla.edu or wherever you find podcasts

Thank you collaborators and partners

PARTICIPATING UNITS

UCLA College UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance UCLA Fielding School of Public Health UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music UCLA Law UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Simms-Mann/UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology

SPECIAL THANKS

Brett Steele, Roger Wakimoto, Michael Chung, Kevin Kane, Caroline Kong, Jason Pang, Kearra Amaya Gopee, Jackie Davis, Triwi Harjito, Behre Ozalpe, KJ Wade, Phoebe Webster, UCLA Research and Creative Activities, UCLA Center for the Advancement of Teaching

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