Spirit of Vancouver - February 6, 2007 - UBC Museum of Anthropology exhibition: The Village is Tilting

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January 24, 2007, UBC Museum of Anthropology

UBC Museum of Anthropology announces new exhibition: The Village is Tilting, Dancing AIDS in Malawi

February 6 to September 3, 2007
Opening reception Tuesday, February 6, 2007, at 7 p.m. (free — everyone welcome)

For over a thousand years, the Chewa people of Malawi have reaffirmed their collective voice and identity through the masked spirit dances of Gule Wamkulu ("the great dance"). Yet, like the Chewa themselves, the community rituals of Gule Wamkulu have continually re-adapted themselves to changing forces and events. The most recent of these has been the devastating AIDS pandemic and its uncompromising sweep across Africa.

The Village is Tilting: Dancing AIDS in Malawi incorporates a series of powerful masks, life-size photographs, video interviews in Chichewa (with English subtitles) and dance footage to document the depth of awareness and cultural response to the AIDS pandemic by rural Malawians. More than a plaintive victim’s cry, The Village is Tilting uses elements of Gule Wamkulu itself — dance, drama, dialogue, and humour — to strip away conventional images of AIDS to reveal its inextricable links to an interconnected set of conditions and causes: poverty, gender inequality, and civil justice.

The exhibition is guest-curated and assembled by Vancouver-based photographer Douglas Curran, who has documented the Chewa mask culture for over 10 years. In conjunction with the show, Curran will speak about Chewa cosmology on Tuesday, February 20 at 7 p.m. at the Museum of Anthropology.

In addition to the videos, photographs, and masks that form the exhibition, a three-day public dialogue will examine AIDS in relation to African education, economic development, representation, and cultural identity: Perceptions of Africa: A Dialogue will take place from March 8 to 10, 2007. For details, see www.moa.ubc.ca/programs.

Many thanks to exhibition sponsors The Georgia Straight and Deans Knight Capital Management Ltd.

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DAYS

Spirit of Vancouver Partner

Vancouver International Airport Authority (YVR)

SOV Founding Partner Ranked among the world’s top ten airports, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is Canada’s second busiest passenger gateway. In addition to being the major West Coast airport closest to Asia, YVR is ideally situated on the Great Circle Routes, with infrastructure and services to handle the largest aircraft in the world under extreme weather conditions.

Passengers at YVR enjoy leading-edge technology and more than 160 shops, services and restaurants. The airport provides direct service to some 130 destinations in Canada, the United States and around the world, keeping B.C. at the crossroads of international travel, tourism and trade.

Vancouver Airport Authority, the community-based, not-for-profit organization that operates YVR, is undertaking a $1-billion construction program that will ensure the airport meets the growing demand for air travel and continues to be developed as a premier global gateway and economic generator for British Columbia.

While the airport’s reach is global, the Airport Authority remains firmly rooted in the local community and is pleased to be a founding partner of Spirit of Vancouver.

www.yvr.com

Vancouver International Airport Authority P.O. Box 23750 Airport Postal Outlet
Richmond, B.C.
V7B 1Y7

Click here for a directory of Spirit of Vancouver Partners.

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