The first University of the Virgin Islands Humanities Festival will open on March 19 with a reception at the Reichhold Center for the Arts. A week of activities will include lectures, scholarly presentations and performances featuring Caribbean scholars, poets, dramatists, artists and historians.
Titled "The Humanities at the Threshold of the New Millennium," the festival will feature a lecture on "Arts and Articraft" — functional artwork such as decorative woodwork — on the opening day.
It will conclude with a "Jazz on the Green" performance on Sunday, March 26, on the St. Thomas campus golf course by music faculty member Martin J. Lamkin "and friends."
According to a release, through the festival offerings, the Humanities Division "will take the university community and the Virgin Islands community at large on an artistic journey of discovery."
Humanities faculty members Gene Emanuel and Gilbert Sprauve are the festival coordinators. "This festival is a recognition of the enormous amount of talent in our midst," Emanuel said.
While most events will take place on the St. Thomas campus, several will be held on St. Croix, including a discussion with local artists and a literary workshop.
The opening night of the spring Little Theater production, "Play Mas" by Trinidadian playwright Mustapha Matura, will also be a part of the festival. Performances are set for at 8 p.m. on Friday through Sunday, March 24-27.
Among the scholars and artists coming to UVI for the festival are Virgin Islanders Gus Edwards and Clement White.
Edwards, director of the film study program at the University of Arizona, is a playwright whose works include "Black Woman's Blues" and "Louie and Ophelia." Among his cinema credits are the feature film "Go Tell it On the Mountain" and a PBS documentary on the Negro Ensemble Company.
White, who will participate in a round-table discussion with artists, is a foreign language specialist at the University of Rhode Island.
For further festival information, call Emanuel at 693-1348 or Sprauve at 693-1342.
