The residency kicks off with a Winter Solstice interactive digital event Monday, December 21 at 5:30 pm.
The University Musical Society will welcome Ojibwe/Anishinaabe and Xicano multidisciplinary artist and music producer Sacramento Knoxx as the 2020-21 UMS Education and Community Engagement Research Residency Artist. This research residency program, funded in part by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, seeks to bring performing artists whose work engages with issues of social justice, public practice, or intercultural understanding to the University of Michigan (U-M) campus.
With strong roots in Southwest Detroit, Sacramento Knoxx is a founding member of the Aadizookaan - a dynamic collective of creatives who, guided by ancestral indigenous-based knowledge systems, tell uplifting cultural stories through multidisciplinary art and music. Knoxx's versatile background blends traditional and contemporary styles to create dynamic storytelling experiences that use live music, dance, and video projection to take audiences on a participatory, creative journey. He shares interactive music performances that blend captured moments in life and creative imagery through large projection motion graphics. Building from raw experience and grit, his works are reflective of the worlds in which we want to live. "We are so thrilled to be working with Sacramento Knoxx this season," said Cayenne Harris, UMS vice president of Education & Community Engagement. "We're grateful that, despite the challenges of living through a pandemic, we're still able to find ways to engage with and learn from this remarkable artist whose work is rooted in a deep knowledge and understanding of indigenous teachings. The traditions he employs help point us toward ways that we can live outside our current culture of extraction and exploitation, and we can't wait to share his work with our community at the University of Michigan, in Southeast Michigan, and beyond."PUBLIC DIGITAL EVENT:
Manidoo-Giizisoons (Little Spirit Moon)
Monday, December 21 at 5:30 pm (online)
Register now at ums.org
The winter solstice marks the first public event of the residency, where audiences will gather online to reflect on the changing seasons through collective music-making. Audiences will be guided through a series of original songs and videos, paired with traditional Anishinaabe teachings. The performance will conclude with the creation of a live-produced track where individual audience members will be invited to contribute via their computer microphones. Participants must register in advance at ums.org.
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