COMMUNICATION
IS
A newsletter for UNIVERSITY of MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends
THE October 1, 2010
CIRCLING
THE
NATION
South African artist shares knowledge with UMES “Every (drawn) line tells a story,” said Dr. Nombeko Mpako, a visiting senior lecturer with the Department of Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology at the prestigious University of South Africa. “The artist has deliberately chosen to use that line to communicate a story. It’s not (put there) by accident.” Mpako recently visited UMES to share her knowledge in African art and contemporary African arts and crafts to students and faculty through a series of lectures and presentations in the UMES Department of Fine Arts. “Art, especially for the African people, from the beginning of mankind, has always been used to fulfill various social meanings and functions,” Mpako said. Mpako’s teaching career began as a tutor at a South African adult education center in 1984. Over the years, she has taught at both the undergraduate and post-graduate levels and completed research projects that focus on art as it relates to African customs, traditions and rituals. In honor of Mapko’s campus visit, Fine Arts and Library Services hosted a mini exhibition, “Reflections
Jazz Ensemble travels to Jamaica prepares for fall concert
Leading the UMES Jazz Ensemble from left to right are Brian Perez, music theory lecturer; Dr. John Lamkin, director of bands; and Patrick McHenry, percussion lecturer.
INSIDE
A Kifebwe mask made of wood and raffia from the Songye people of the Democratic Republic of Congo is an item in the Virtual Museum of African Diaspora.
on African Diversity,” displayed at the Frederick Douglass Library. The exhibit featured selected works from Associate Professor Christopher Harrington’s vast collection of art and artifacts of the African Diaspora. The collection is divided into three categories: works by contemporary African-American artists, Negro League Baseball ephemera and African art, which focuses on the traditional arts of Central and West Africa – the area to which African-Americans can trace their ancestry. The Virtual Museum of African Diaspora, which features the collection, can be visited at www.v-mad.org. According to Harrington, the short-term goal of the virtual museum is to create an educational and interesting web-based exhibition of the contribution of Africans and African-Americans. The long-term goal, he says, is to spur interest in procuring funding to create a permanent, physical museum at UMES. “The objects from the Virtual Museum of African Diaspora could serve as the nucleus of the collection,” Harrington said. “It is hoped that it will inspire further donations from the community.” For more information, contact Solomon Isekeije, interim chair, Department of Fine Arts, UMES, at 410651-6487 or by emailing sisekeije@umes.edu.
Refueled by a spring trip to Jamaica, the UMES Jazz Ensemble prepares for the upcoming fall semester’s schedule chock full of campus and community performances, some of which will help fund next year’s trip. At the close of the academic year, 19 members of the ensemble packed their bags and instruments along with Director of Bands Dr. John Lamkin, Lead Vocalist Eartha Lamkin, Music Theory Lecturer Brian Perez and Percussion Lecturer Patrick McHenry and headed to Jamaica—the land of island breezes, beautiful beaches and the sweet sounds of jazz. The Ocho Rios International Jazz Festival, held in various locations throughout the country, was the group’s destination. First stop, Ocho Rios, the venue for the opening concert, then over the mountains to Kingston and back for several “gigs” as Lamkin calls them. According to Lamkin, one of the memorable moments was during the last performance when the Big Band was playing in a park near the hotel, one of the sponsors of the festival got up and sang a duet with Eartha Lamkin and the band. “That was wonderful….a really good time,” said Lamkin. “It was obvious that people in the audience were enjoying the band and the vocalists.” Not all work and no play, the students had some time for sightseeing at Dunn’s River Falls and shopping in the nearby open air market to “…dicker with the vendors.” “I taught them how to do it,” said Lamkin. “The kids enjoyed that.”
Page 2 Broadband Comes to the Lower Shore Philanthropist Pays for Text Books
continued on page 7 Page 3 Facilities Director Writes Book UMES Student Receives Award Yearbook Goes Digital
Page 4-5 Founders’ Week
Page 6 Athletics
Page 7 Saxophone Concert
Page 8 Calendar of Events Campus Activities