Tampa Art: Arts On The Road, Fulfilling Armwood Legacy, STEM Meets Art

TAMPA, FL — The University of South Florida College of The Arts is piloting an outreach program to bring interactive music, theater and dance performances to students in Hillsborough County Public Schools.

One of Dean Chris Garvin’s top priorities is to remove any obstacles that prevent the community from accessing the performing arts. In line with that mission, the performances are not only free for the public schools, but held during school hours.

In addition, the USF student and faculty performers will take their show on the road and perform at one of the participating schools when possible to eliminate the steep cost of renting buses. If the performers can’t travel and a school can’t afford transportation to the USF Tampa campus, subsidies are available through the dean’s office.

“Some kids never get to visit a museum; they can't afford the price of admission or the ticket to the show. I have always believed that you have to see it to be it, and with this program we are taking action to make the arts accessible to everyone," Garvin said. "We are inspiring the next generation of musicians, dancers and artists, giving them a glimpse of what they can become.”

“There’s a lot of research that shows being involved in the arts helps students learn overall,” said Jenny Kokai, director of the USF School of Theatre and Dance. “Outreach is important because we can help foster empathy and creativity in these younger folks.”

Last fall, the School of Music’s iPad Band, Touch, performed two concerts for a group of elementary school students. The first concert featured original hip-hop music and vocals by Kenrick Wagner, director of commercial music and production, and the second concert featured jazz music and scat singing by Allyssa Jones, director of vocal ensembles.

During one of the concerts, a blind student in the audience began singing loud enough to catch the attention of the performers on stage, recounted David Williams, director of the School of Music.

She was brought to the front of the stage, handed a microphone and then “she sang with gusto,” said a tearful Williams. “It was a very special moment. That sort of thing doesn’t happen every day.”

Tracy Lisi, music supervisor for elementary school students in Hillsborough County Public Schools, coordinates the performances at USF, her alma mater. According to Lisi, students typically attend youth concerts held at concert halls, such as the Straz Center for the Performing Arts or Mahaffey Theater, but she thinks that having student performers in a university setting makes the experience more tangible.

“It’s really cool that the students can step inside USF and see their future selves on stage,” Lisi said. “Some students may have never been to a college before, so now they can see a place they may end up regularly attending.”

The School of Theatre and Dance performed the Mexican Baroque play, “House of Desires,” for high school students.

“Having the opportunity to perform the show in front of all those students was, and I can’t stress this enough, incredible,” said Alex Barba, cast member and USF theater arts student. “The packed crowd of excited, hyper-attentive students was eager to respond to even the tiniest detail of our performances, set transitions and the events of the plot, and that was an amazing gift.”

As the program continues to grow, the content of the performances will cater to what the attending students want to see and what can be incorporated into their curriculum. This spring, students from the next group of selected schools will be treated to a concert by Touch, featuring Jones and jazz choir vocalists; the Spring Dance Concert; and a rendition of the musical theater, “Little Women.”

The audience will also expand to include students from the Children’s Home Network’s Kids Village Campus.

In addition to this initiative, tickets to all of the college’s events are free to the public.

Living Blanche Armwood's Legacy

Tampa Bay artist Ya La’ford was honored with the Blanche Armwood Legacy Award at the annual National Alumnae Association of Spelman College Tampa Bay Chapter event. The event, Spelman: A Legacy in Blue, is the Tampa Bay Chapter’s inaugural scholarship gala.

The award honors the legacy of Tampa native Blanche Armwood, who graduated from Spelman College in 1906. Known as the “female Booker T Washington,” she was a trailblazer, an educator, an activist, an orator and the first African American woman from the state of Florida to earn a law degree upon graduation from Howard University Law School in 1938.

Florida Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, was also recognized with the Blanche Armwood Legacy Award.

“We are proud to recognize Ya La’ford for her efforts to serve the community. She embodies the spirit of this award with her leadership, empathy, and activism. Ya’s generosity to the Tampa Bay Area is truly unsurpassed,” said Andrea N. Thompson, C’97, president of the Tampa Bay Area Chapter of NAASC.

La'ford was selected for making "significant contributions to the community in the areas of education, arts, social justice and economic development."

Spelman is a premier historically black institution for women of African descent with active alumni chapters throughout the country.

“I am humbled to be recognized with this award by my sisters at Spelman College. My work is strongly rooted in the community, and I am active in engaging the next generation through artistic opportunities that inspire and provide access to the arts. Armwood is a role model, and I hope I can continue to serve in a way that honors her legacy,” said La’ford.

Like Armwood, La’ford also earned a law degree. But it is her work as a community activist and public arts activist that earned her the honor. La’ford is on a mission to advance arts education for youth and to greater access to the arts through public projects and corporate alliances that contribute to enhanced cultural equity.

La’ford is a first-generation American who moves between her Jamaican heritage and vulnerable communities to try to find a universal language. Her community engagement is often centered around youth programming, working with organizations such as the Mt. Zion Academy and Pinellas Foster Care. The artist engages with more than 200 children throughout the year, providing opportunities to contribute to her murals, visit local cultural institutions and participate in creative home activities.

UT Dancers Hit The Stage

Student dancers from the University of Tampa will take the stage in the annual Spring Dance Concert on Thursday, Feb. 16, through Saturday, Feb. 18, in Falk Theatre. The shows begin at 8 p.m. each night, and the additional Saturday matinee begins at 2 p.m. All performances are free and open to the public.

The concerts will feature choreography by six UT faculty members, alumna Kalina DuBuc ’17, and guest choreographers Herman Ramos, based in Gainesville, and Cheri Stokes, based in Brooklyn, New York.

There will be a variety of dance styles and themes in this year’s production, with 48 students participating in collaborations. Faculty works include portrayals of growing up in Florida and the magic of theater, while the guest artists drew on their hip-hop backgrounds to create their pieces.

Dance program director Susannah LeMarquand ’01 said UT is always trying to diversify the experience of choreography, rehearsal and performance for the students.

“We do this to give them a taste of what it would be like to work with different choreographers in the professional world, but also in hopes that they will start to experiment with different approaches to their own artistic process. To see this manifest for them really fills the faculty with pride and opens up the students’ minds to all the different ways they can create dance.”

For more information, contact LeMarquand at slemarquand@ut.edu or 813-257-6322.

Blending Arts And STEM

The new Technology Building located at the heart of the University of Tampa campus now boasts six floors, 105,000 square feet and a collection of more than 70 individual pieces of contemporary art developed by Michael Murphy Gallery, Tampa’s premier fine art gallery.

The collection is the result of two years of collaboration between gallery owner Michael Murphy and University of Tampa President Dr. Ronald Vaughn. The president’s vision was to create an educational environment that encourages the holistic growth of its students.

“I have the highest respect for Dr. Vaughn and his vision,” said Murphy. “It’s not about turning out students with degrees. It’s about creating well-rounded individuals.”

This educational goal requires a multidisciplinary approach. The Technology Building houses cutting-edge academic programs in computer science, business information technology and cybersecurity, among others. To bring balance to this STEM-heavy environment, Vaughn wanted to organically incorporate the arts into the building, inspiring students with other forms of creativity.

With decades of experience in art consultation, Murphy knew how to translate Vaughn’s vision into reality. He worked directly with the university president, the building architect and her team, and artist Sara Conca to hand-select the artwork. Each piece had to flow with the building’s design while also provoking the viewer into contemplation at key moments. Artwork color, size, medium, location, position and lighting were all taken into account.

Student-Led Tours

On Thursday, Feb. 16, from 6 to 7 p.m., there will be student-led tours of the exhibition, Poor People's Art: A (Short) Visual History of Poverty in the United States, at the University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum in Tampa. The tours are free and open to the public.