Program Archives
The Apeiron Arts Initiative travel and performance curricula seek offers emerging artists opportunities for self-discovery and meaningful inquiry into the role of the arts in society. We support ethical and responsible travel that allows for collaborative work within and between artistic communities, and we endeavor to share our enthusiasm and discoveries with our local communities through performance and educational programming.
Past programs include: Global Culinary Exploration 2022, NOLA 2019, Yuri Yunakov Ensemble Residency 2019, Balkan Folk Arts Residency 2018, Manjiri Asnare Kelkar Residency 2018, Dr. Alka Deo Marulkar Residency 2017, Saakumu Dance Troupe Residency 2017, Ghana 2016, World Arts Woodwind Institute 2015, and Ghana 2014.
Global Culinary Exploration 2022
The Global Culinary Exploration program offered a week-long expeditionary learning experience for UWC-USA students that focused on the relationship between food and culture. Students collaborated on presenting culinary traditions from their home regions during the week, and explored the ways that food sustains, defines, and celebrates culture. Cooking and eating together was a primary focus of the experience, along with field trips, reading and reflection, and food-themed film viewings. Discussion content emphasized the significance of the role of global culinary traditions in identity construction, as well as reflections on issues of food scarcity, hunger, global equity, and culinary access. The program also included interviews with professionals in food writing and the restaurant industry, and field trips to several Albuquerque international grocery stores and restaurants in Las Vegas and Santa Fe. Students rounded out the experience with service work in Las Vegas food assistance programs.
An Apeiron Arts Initiative Expeditionary Program, Co-Sponsored by UWC-USA
NOLA 2019
New Orleans represents a unique locus for the history of African-American music, offering a contemporary window into the many facets of jazz and its impact on the global music scene. During this week-long immersive program, students explored the musical and social history of the region through informal and formal performance venues, museums, locations of historical significance for the development of jazz, and context for complex social histories and narratives of misappropriation and marginalization. The program included tours of slave plantations and museums that identify current issues and racial complexities in present-day New Orleans. Reflective discussion included an exploration of power dynamics in musical classification, dissemination, and economics, as well as corollary histories of slavery, resistance, and the impact of indigenous and displaced religious practices in the broader context of the region’s cultural development.
An Apeiron Arts Initiative Expeditionary Program, Co-Sponsored by UWC-USA
Link to Program Itinerary and Guiding Questions
Link to Program Reflections and Photo Galleries
Yuri Yunakov Ensemble 2019: Artist Residency
The Yuri Yunakov Ensemble and Carol Silverman joined the UWC-USA 2019 Annual Conference, “Change the Conversation,” as featured performers and workshop facilitators. Members of the ensemble participated in several panel discussions on Romani arts and culture in the diaspora, and coached students in the school’s Silk Road Ensemble on Romani music. The residency concluded with a public performance at The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Company.
An Apeiron Arts Initiative Artist Residency Program, Co-Sponsored by UWC-USA
Balkan Folk Arts 2018: Artist Residency
Guest artists Kalin Kirilov, Alex Marković, and Carol Silverman joined the UWC-USA 2018 Annual Conference (Change the Conversation) to explore the boundaries and interstices of contemporary Balkan Folk Art practice. The artists taught workshops in music, dance, and culture, with special emphasis on issues of representation and appropriation. The conference program culminated in a performance and dance party with Santa Fe-based folk band EVET.
An Apeiron Arts Initiative Artist Residency Program, Co-Sponsored by UWC-USA
Manjiri Asnare Kelkar 2018: Artist Residency
Classical Indian vocalist Manjiri Asanare Kelkar, with Sanjay Deshpande on Tabla and Shri. Suyog Kundalkar on Harmonium, visited New Mexico for a weekend residency with UWC-USA students, and a public performance at GiG Performance Space in Santa Fe. Residency programming included classes in historical context and Hindustani music theory, stylistic demonstrations, private lessons for students in voice, harmonium, and tabla, and a school performance.
An Apeiron Arts Initiative Artist Residency Program, Co-Sponsored by UWC-USA
Dr. Alka Deo Marulkar 2017: Artist Residency
Renowned Indian vocalist Dr. Alka Deo Marulkar, accompanied by Shivani Dasakkar, Sanjay Deshpande, and Subhash Dasakkar, spent one week with UWC-USA music students in the Artist Residency program. The performers offered instruction in music theory, vocal performance, instrumental performance, and Hindustani musical culture. The residency culminated in two public performances: one at GiG Performance Space in Santa Fe, and one in the Kluge Auditorium at the United World College Montezuma campus.
An Apeiron Arts Initiative Artist Residency Program, Co-Sponsored by UWC-USA
Saakumu Dance Troupe 2017: Artist Residency
Bernard Woma and The Saakumu Dance Troupe spent one week in New Mexico in February 2017, offering workshops in traditional dance and percussion, panel discussions on the arts and positive social change, and school-based performances at the United World College-USA, Santa Fe University of Art and Design, and regional public schools. The residency culminated with a community performance that included collaborations with local students.
An Apeiron Arts Initiative Artist Residency Program, Co-Sponsored by UWC-USA
Ghana 2016
The Apeiron Arts Initiative Ghana 2016 team participated in a three-week arts immersion program with the Dagara Music Center in Medie, Ghana, where participants studied djembe, gyil, dance, and fabric arts with renowned gyil master Bernard Woma and the Saakumu Dance Troupe. The program included a one-week road trip to visit the Kintampo Falls, the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary, the Ashanti Palace Museum and Asafo Market of Kumasi, Cape Coast, the Elmina Castle, and Kakum National Park.
An Apeiron Arts Initiative Expeditionary Program
Link to Program Information and Photo Gallery
Link to Reflection: The Brains and the Hands Aren’t Together
World Arts Woodwind Institute 2015
The World Arts Woodwind Institute offered Santa Fe middle school students an exploration of global music and supporting arts traditions with applications for woodwind performance. Students participated in a global survey of arts and culture, weekly woodwind lessons, weekly percussion lessons, and performance preparation. The program included a culinary workshop and culminated in a final public performance.
An Apeiron Arts Initiative Community Program
Ghana 2014
The Apeiron Arts Initiative inaugural program offered seven high school students from the New Mexico School for the Arts an opportunity to travel to Ghana for a three-week arts immersion program with the Dagara Music Center in Medie, Ghana. Students spent one year fundraising, preparing for travel, and learning about Ghanaian culture in advance of the program, offering several community performances and cultural celebration activities to support their travel. The Ghana 2014 team studied djembe, gyil, dance, and fabric arts with renowned gyil master Bernard Woma and the Saakumu Dance Troupe. The program included a one-week road trip to visit the Kintampo Falls, the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary, the Ashanti Palace Museum and Asafo Market of Kumasi, Cape Coast, the Elmina Castle, and the Kakum National Park.
An Apeiron Arts Initiative Expeditionary Program
Link to Program Introduction: Why Ghana?
Links to Reflections and Photo Galleries: More Cowbell, History, On Travel