Symposium Schedule
Dayton, Ohio | Dayton Metro Library | 215 E. Third Street | October 18-19, 2024
Check back regularly as the schedule is updated!
Friday, October 18, 2024 Heading link
| TIME | SESSION | LOCATION | DESCRIPTION | SPEAKERS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:00pm - 3:00pm | Black History Bus Tour of Dayton | Bus departs from Dayton Metro Library | Guided tour of sites of historical and cultural importance to Black Daytonians, including a visit to the home where Dayton-born poet and writer Paul Laurence Dunbar lived at the time of his death in 1906. | Tour Guide: William Gillispie, Parity Inc. Sean Walton, Sr., Divulge Media |
| 4:30pm | Registration | Check in for the Third Biennial Black Midwest Symposium. | ||
| 4:30pm | BMI Fellows Exhibition Open | The Atrium | Exhibition presenting the innovative work of the inaugural BMI Artist Fellows. Exhibition will remain open throughout the symposium. | |
| 5:30pm - 6:15pm | Welcome to Dayton | Eichelberger Forum | Welcoming address and opening words from the BMI Director, the Mayor of Dayton, and the Kettering Foundation followed by a cultural opening. | Speakers: Terrion L. Williamson, University of Illinois Chicago Debi Chess, Dayton Metro Library Mayor Jeffrey J. Mims Jr., Dayton, OH Sharon L. Davies, Kettering Foundation Poets: Kisha Nicole Foster, Cleveland, OH Sierra Leone, Dayton, OH |
| 6:30pm - 7:30pm | Under the Sun: An Improvisational Arts Experience | The Atrium | An improvisation session featuring musicians, dancers, and spoken-word artists and using prompts to initiate improvisational performance from the dancers. The audience is also invited to step in and out of the space. | Featuring: Countess V. Winfrey + Special Guests, Dayton, OH |
| 8:00pm - 10:00pm | Film Screening & Opening Reception | Eichelberger Forum | Willis “Bing” Davis: Reach High & Reach Back (2024) | A documentary film that explores the life and legacy of renowned Dayton-based artist Bing Davis. Sponsored by Rodney Veal in honor of Sherman and Lois Veal. | Host: Edward A. Dixon, Edward A. Dixon Gallery |
Saturday, October 19, 2024 Heading link
| TIME | SESSION | LOCATION | DESCRIPTION | SPEAKERS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30am - 9:30am | BMI Meeting + Breakfast | Conference Room | Open meeting for people interested in learning more about the history and mission of BMI and becoming involved in the organization. | |
| 9:30am | Registration | Check in for the Third Biennial Black Midwest Symposium. | ||
| 9:30am | BMI Fellows Exhibition Open | The Atrium | Exhibition presenting the innovative work of the inaugural BMI Artist Fellows. | |
| 10:00am - 11:15am | Panel #1: Storying Black Midwestern Life | Eichelberger Forum | Speakers will discuss how they engage the stories of Black midwestern people and communities that informs their scholarly, artistic, and community-based work. | Panelists: Ayaan Natala, University of Minnesota Jess Reed, Michigan State University Jazma Sutton, Miami University Pascale Ife Williams, Chicago, IL Moderator: Shannon Shelton Miller, Dayton, OH |
| 11:30am - 12:45pm | Panel #2: Divestment, Dispossession & Black Displacement(s) | Eichelberger Forum | Speakers will address the various ways that Black midwestern communities have been plundered by the mechanisms of industrial transformation throughout the region and how their work and practice responds to those transformations. | Panelists: Anita Armstead, Gem City Market, Dayton, OH J. Coley, The Lender Center for Social Justice, Syracuse, NY Tia-Simone Gardner, Macalester College LaShawnda Crowe Storm, Spirit & Place Festival, Indianapolis, IN Moderator: Debi Chess, Dayton Metro Library |
| 12:45pm - 1:45pm | Lunch Break | Parking Lot | Food trucks available outside of library. | |
| 2:00pm - 3:30pm | Film Screening (WORLD PREMIERE!) + Q&A | Eichelberger Forum | Dry Bones (2024, dir. Tara L. Conley) | A documentary film that tells the gripping and emotional tale of Ike Maxwell, a legendary Black football player from the 1970s whose life is upended when his brother is tragically shot and killed by a white police officer in Elyria, Ohio—a rust belt city long plagued by racial tension. | Speakers: Tara L. Conley, director & executive producer, Dry Bones Sean Arnold, producer, Dry Bones Moderators: Tama Hamilton-Wray, Michigan State University Jeffrey C. Wray, Michigan State University |
| 3:45pm - 5:00pm | The Black Movement Experience | Bassani Theater | A two part presentation that includes a lecture-demonstration performance using short vignettes of movement from her choreographic works to emphasize the significance of using art to address the Black community's needs and performance of a completed work titled "Exercises in Futility//What to Do When the World is On Fire." | Artists: Alexis Diggs , Dayton, OH Exercises in Futility // What to Do When the World is On Fire A lecture demonstration. DeMar Walker, Milwaukee, WI The Refrain A dance film. Host: Crystal Michelle Perkins, Ohio State University |
| 5:00pm - 5:30pm | Meet the Fellows Exhibition Walkthrough | The Atrium | Engage with the BMI Artist Fellows about their work and symposium projects. | Facilitator : Lungs Project |
| 5:30pm - 7:00pm | Community Dinner | Community Room | ||
| 7:00pm - 8:30pm | The Black Midwest Mixtape | Eichelberger Forum | Musicians, sound artists, scholars, and journalists will explore the rich legacy of Black music that has emerged from the Midwest, including Dayton funk, Chicago house, Motown, and the Minneapolis Sound. | Panelists: Scot Brown, Howard University april l. graham-jackson, Black Chicagoland Keith Harrison, Dazz Band Cynthia Johnson, Sounds of Blackness/Lipps Inc/Flyte Time, Minneapolis, MN Cynthia Johnson, Sounds of Blackness/Lipps Inc/Flyte Time Roderick Jackson, Black Chicagoland John "Turk" Logan, Logan Communications Elliott Powell, University of Minnesota Miss Priss, Chicago, IL Nicole Pritchett, Hope Road Ricky Vincent, KPFA: The History of Funk Moderator: Juanita-Michelle Darden, Dayton, OH DJ: Basim Blunt, Dayton, OH |
| 8:30pm - 8:45pm | Benediction | Eichelberger Forum | The inaugural Chicago Poet Laureate will perform an original benediction to close out the symposium. | Artist: avery r. young, Chicago Poet Laureate |
| 9:00pm | The Afterparty: BMI in the HOUSE | The Reserve on Third |