NSCC Celebrates Arts in April

North Shore Community College invites the public to experience Arts in April, a free, week-long celebration of the arts that will be held on both the Danvers and Lynn Campuses from April 12 through April 20.

Catch visiting writer, Steve Almond, as he discusses and reads from his works, take a drawing class, learn how to salsa or create a Soul Collage®.  Express your creativity at an Open Mic session, participate in discussions or watch a film.  Enjoy all these events and more – free of charge!

Schedule of Arts in April events on the Danvers Campus, 1 Ferncroft Road (For a complete list of events on both the Danvers and Lynn Campuses, go to www.northshore.edu)

Thursday, April 12

Launch of Spark, NSCC’s Student Creative Art & Literary Magazine – 2:00 - 3:30pm, DS111, (Student Study area near Danvers Bookstore) – Sponsored by Student Life, this year’s Spark Launch will showcase a Student Art Gallery.  Spark contributors will stand by their work and discuss it with anyone interested in learning more about it.  The podium will be available for students wishing to speak about their pieces and their inspiration.  Writing, photography, and painting are very personal; become part of the creative process and learn what motivated these artists.

Friday, April 13

Film Presentation: Train di Vie (Train of Life) – 1:30 - 3:30pm, DS119 (Danvers) – In 1941, the inhabitants of a small Jewish village in Central Europe organize a fake deportation train so that they can escape the Nazis and flee to Palestine.  This Sundance Film Festival "dramedy" includes a shocking ending that makes it unique among Holocaust movies.  Part of the International Film Festival and co-sponsored by the Committee for International Education. 

Tuesday, April 17

Draw! – 8:30 -10:45am, Lobby opposite DB104 (Danvers) – Join a Basic Drawing class and create your own artwork with the assistance of Prof. Jim Chisholm.

Introduction to Soul Collage® - 10:30 -12pm, DB104 (Danvers) – Soul Collage is a creative collage process.  With the guidance of TRiO Counselor Jean Lendall, make your own deck of cards using various materials provided.  Use the collage cards to intuitively answer life’s questions and participate in self-discovery.  Discover your wisdom and change your world!  Space is limited – please email jlendall@northshore.edu to attend. 

“Plastics” – 11am-Noon, DS119 – Hosted by Kathy Hirbour, join Gloucester artist and environmentalist Karen Ristubin for her multimedia performance/lecture on marine plastic pollution, plastics toxicity and public health viewed through the lenses of marine science, economics, politics, and public policy.  Called environmental performance art, it is a moving and riveting presentation that impacts our local community and the world.

Student Creative Dance Performance – 3:00 -3:30pm, DB103 – Watch students from Prof. Elaine Mawhinney’s “Creative Dance” class perform The Ever-Changing Sea (portraying the various moods of the ocean); Relinquish (portraying the realities and emotions of everyday life); Tapestry (a commentary on the complexities of the human condition and the convergence necessary for healing); and All That Jazz (an upbeat, feel-good piece). 

Wednesday, April 18

When Remembering is Not Enough: Responses to the Holocaust, War, and Genocide – 10:00 -1:00pm, Lobby opposite DB104 (Danvers) –In the spring of 2011, Prof. Larry Davis and a group of Salem State University graduate students, teachers, and social workers traveled to Poland as part of a travel/study program.  After visiting various sites related to the Holocaust, they developed this engaging, interactive presentation that explores the horrors of genocide through art, poetry, and images. 

People’s Poetry and Open Mic – 11:00 -12:00 pm, DB123 (back of Danvers Berry Cafeteria) - Please join students, faculty, staff, and the community for an afternoon of creative expression.  Bring your best poetry, raps, comedy, political and personal rants, music, drama, humor, and oral interpretation to share in a free, open, and democratic setting.  Feel free to contact Prof. Yusef Hayes (yhayes@northshore.edu) to sign up, or sign up on the day of the event.

Is Beauty Really in the Eye of the Beholder? – 2:00 -3:00 pm, DB303 (Danvers) – Is art trivial or vital?  Is beauty real or imagined?  Find out as the Philosophy Club discusses the nature of Beauty, Art, Meaning, and Truth.   “I feel strongly that the visual arts are of vast and incalculable importance.  Of course I could be prejudiced.  I am a visual art.” – Kermit the Frog   

Introduction to Salsa – 2:00 -3:00 pm, DS111 (Student Study area near Danvers Bookstore) – Interested in dancing like the stars?  Join us for a salsa dance lesson with Nancy Murphy and learn basic dance moves to get you onto the dance floor.  Nancy is a long time dance instructor on the North Shore and has taught salsa at the Boston Ballet’s fundraising event in Nahant. 

Thursday, April 19^th

Visiting Writer: Steve Almond - 9:30 -10:45am & 11:00 -12:15pm, MS111 (Student Study area near Danvers Bookstore) – Steve Almond is a masterful writer of fiction, memoir, essays and reviews.  A story in his recently published collection God Bless America was included in Best American Short Stories of 2010.  Come hear him talk and read from his work.

Introduction to Soul Collage® - 12:00 -1:30pm, DB104 (Danvers) – See 4/17 listing.  Space is limited – please email jlendall@northshore.edu to attend.   

Friday, April 20

Frederick Douglass and the Lynn Abolitionists – 10:30 -11:20am, DS119 (Danvers)

– Join Prof. Julia Greene of the Lynn Historical Commission for an illustrated lecture covering the rise of the abolitionist movement in Lynn’s Quaker community and Frederick Douglass’ time in Lynn. 

ON-GOING ALL WEEK

¨   Win tickets to the Peabody Essex Museum by stopping at the Arts in April table at the entrance on either campus and entering our free raffle. 

¨   Display of NSCC Faculty & Staff Authors   (Danvers Libraries)

¨   View Autism Awareness Posters created by Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society students (Danvers Berry Lobby )

¨   Check out the Nathaniel Hawthorne Book Exhibit  (Danvers Library from April 17^th-20^th)

¨   Student & Faculty Art Exhibits - View artwork by NSCC students & faculty in the Danvers Library & across from TRiO (DB104) in Danvers.

¨   Watch for a short, student-staged reading or farce on each campus, compliments of the Performing Arts Council.

¨   Free Popcorn - Danvers campus

For more information, call 978-762-4000, x5512 or email lmessina@northshore.edu