Year-round events keep the Charleston area buzzing. Music and tempting aromas fill the air. Witness world-renown performances at Spoleto, get a taste of our heritage at a small town oyster roast or discover the find of a lifetime at an antique show. With so many events taking place, you'd better mark your calendar now.
Location: Avery Research Center of the College of Charleston
Phone: 843-697-5471
Web Site: http://www.charlestoniaf.com
This Spring, Charleston, South Carolina, will host its First Charleston International Arts Festival with a main focus on Cuba, its art, culture and people. The festival kicks off with a Cuban Art Exhibition "Beyond the Door" on Thursday, March 13, 2008, at the Avery Research Center of the College of Charleston, with a preview reception beginning at 5:00 p.m., and will run through April 12, 2008.
The exhibition will showcase approximately 50 museum quality artworks of various mediums from internationally renowned Cuban artists: Jorge Perugorrķa, Alejandro Alazo, Jose Fuster, Joel Jover and Reinaldo Lopez. All the works will be available for sale, and the organizers hope to welcome Jorge Perugorrķa in Charleston during the festival.
Jorge Perugorrķa is not only a renowned artist, but also an award-wining Cuban actor. His movie "Strawberry and Chocolate," the first Cuban film to be nominated for an Oscar (Best Foreign Language Film of 1995), won honors at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. Jose Fuster, one of Cuba's most important ceramists and painters, is well-known to an American viewer from Michael Moore's movie "Sicko" as he hosted Moore and his group for a lunch at his whimsical studio near Havana.
The objective of the exhibition is to present living artists from Cuba and the hardships that they have to overcome on daily basis in order to create their masterpieces, from making their own paper to preserving traditional values of the nation such as Santeria. Santeria, a westernized interpretation of ancient Yoruban tribal practices, is reflected in several works that will be presented at the exhibition. African slaves, forced into the outward practice of Christianity, blended their traditional practices with elements of Christianity, often identifying Christian Saints with the Yoruban Gods.
The second part of the festival will take place on Sunday, April 6, 2008, at El Bohio Cuban restaurant, starting at 6:00 p.m. with a movie premier of "Sipping Jetstreams" and a Cuban fiesta. An award-winning film-maker Taylor Steele and renowned photographer Dustin Humprey's movie about surfing culture "Sipping Jetstreams" became a movement. The movie, winner of the Best Cinematography award at the 2007 X-Dance Film Festival, was shot on different locations around the world, including Cuba. Tickets are $30 per person and space is limited.
The festival, designed to reopen the door and answer countless questions that Americans have about isolated Cuba, will offer a more detailed inside into Cuban life through a series of lectures, movie premiers, and music performances. The festival will uncover what is hidden behind the closed door of the embargo during lectures on Latin American and Cuban art, and Cuban culture.
The Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston was established in 1985. The mission of the Avery Research Center is to collect, preserve, and document the history and culture of African Americans in Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry. It is located at 125 Bull Street, Charleston, SC 29424.
El Bohio serves up authentic Cuban food six days a week for lunch and dinner with a menu designed by Chef Vanessa Harris, who holds a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University. Chef Harris, being Cuban herself, guaranties the authenticity of tastes at El Bohio. The restaurant is located at 1977 Maybank Hwy, Charleston, SC 29412.
The arts festival, presented by Rebekah Jacob Modern and the Simatai Marketing Group LLC, was established as an outcry of Charleston's residents for diverse international cultures that other metropolitan cities are exposed to on daily basis. The mission of the festival is to feature a new country every year and bring a variety of visual and performing arts as well as series of lectures in order to widen horizons of interested public. The festival is sponsored by El Bohio Restaurant, FireFly Vodka, and Stylee PR & Marketing.
For more information, call Lee Berlinky or Rebekah Jacob at 843-697-5471 or visit www.charlestoniaf.com for more information about the festival and tickets.
03/13/2008 - 04/12/2008
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