Somewhere . . . We Are Human

The 2024–2025 Public Programs and Engagement Series of Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice (EADJ) at Vanderbilt University is organized around the thematic north star — Somewhere We Are Human — a collective vision for a time and space where no one’s humanity is ever in question.

For Fall 2024, the series looks at the city of Nashville and the American South through a lens of migration, exploring the ways immigrant communities have shaped the region’s history and are envisioning its future through art and activism. Via exhibitions, conversations, community meals, film screenings, readings, research, and education programs, Somewhere We Are Human gathers local and global artists, curators, writers, filmmakers, educators, scholars, chefs, and community leaders invested in being catalysts for equity, democracy, and justice.

Somewhere We Are Human is conceived and organized by Curator Grace Aneiza Ali with the leadership of Professor María Magdalena Campos-Pons, EADJ Founder and Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Art and support of the EADJ Team, Dr. Claudine Taaffe, Associate Director, Danielle Myers, Program Manager, and Simon Tatum, Program Coordinator.

*Somewhere We Are Human takes its title from the anthology gathering voices on migration, survival, and new beginnings, edited by Reyna Grande and Sonia Guiñansaca.

December 2024

Wednesday, December 11, 5:30–8:00 p.m.

Then and Now: Levant Community

Image of Samar Ali (right) and Waheed AlQawasmi (center) during a discussion that took place in October 2024 after a screening of JACIR that EADJ hosted in collaboration with INTERNATIONAL LENS at Vanderbilt’s Department of Cinema & Media Arts. 

As part of its current program is Somewhere We Are Human—a vision for a time and space where no one’s humanity is in question—EADJ is collaborating  with Then and Now, a series of conversations hosted by Vanderbilt University and the Nashville Public Library Special Collection. These conversations explore the history and impact of cultural communities in Nashville through the work of noted historians and the personal stories of community members. EADJ has contributed by promoting the voices of artists, writers, and cultural practitioners within the Then and Now series and co-curating a Reading List that will be featured at the Library.  

Then and Now  will continue this December with an event at the Nashville Public Library on December 11th, bringing together the voices of Nashville’s Levant community. The event will be a co-moderated discussion with Samar Ali and Dr. André L. Churchwell.  

Samar Ali is the Founding President of Millions of Conversations (an EADJ Partner Organization) and a Vanderbilt Research Professor of Political Science and Law. Dr. André L. Churchwell is the Senior Advisor on Inclusion and Community Outreach at Vanderbilt University.  

A special trailer of JACIR will also be shared during the event.  Jacir ( جاسر) is a film that looks through the eyes of a Syrian refugee as he faces the harsh realities of chasing the American dream while living in poverty on the streets of Memphis. English, Arabic. 105 min. It is written and produced by Waheed AlQawasmi. Earlier this Fall, Jacir ( جاسر) was screened for EADJ’s Migration in Film program in collaboration with INTERNATIONAL LENS at Vanderbilt’s Department of Cinema & Media Arts.  

​​Event Details: 

• Location: Nashville Public Library – Main Library (615 Church Street, Nashville, 37219) 

• Date: Wednesday, December 11th 

• Admission: Free and open to the public. Use this link to RSVP.  

• 5:30 p.m. – Program Begins 

• 8:00 p.m. – Program Ends 

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Saturday, December 14, 12:00–3:00 p.m.

Family Holiday Celebration

In partnership with the Nashville International Center for Empowerment.

The Engine for Art, Democracy, and Justice (EADJ) Team will host a Family Holiday Celebration on Saturday, December 14, 2024, from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. The celebration will take place at Begonia Labs: 2805 West End Ave. 

This event is free and open to the public. We look forward to welcoming you and your families!

​​Event Details: 

• Exhibition Tour at 12:30 pm: my heart is strong because i walked on blistered feet. 

• Story Time at 2:30 pm: Read Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of the Sudan and My Life Before featured in our Reading Space 
• Color with James Makuac’s Paintings: Create your own version of the paintings featured in James Kuol Makuac: my heart is strong because i walked on blistered feet.

• Art & Poetry: Write What You See: Get inspired by the artist’s poetry in his book My Life Before and write your own poetry in response.
• Meet the Artist: James Kuol Makuac will be present.

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Saturday, December 20, 6:00–8:00 p.m.

Closing Reception and End-of-Year Celebration

Please join the Engine for Art, Democracy, and Justice (EADJ) Team and founder María Magdalena Campos-Pons as we share our gratitude for a year of impactful exhibitions, public programs, and community partnerships. We invite you to our Closing Reception and End-of-Year Celebration on December 20, 2024, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The celebration will take place at Begonia Labs: 2805 West End Ave. 

The evening will include a closing celebration of our exhibition featuring James Kuol Makuac with a Sudanese Tea Pouring at 6:30 p.m.

We look forward to seeing you there!

​​Event Details: 

• Location: Begonia Labs  ( 2805 West End Avenue, Nashville, 37203)

• Date: Saturday, December 20th 
• Admission: Free and open to the public.

• 6:00 p.m. – Reception Begins
• 6:30 p.m. – Sudanese Tea Pouring 

• 8:00 p.m. – Reception Ends

October 2024

Saturday, October 5, 12:00–3:00 p.m.

Begonia Labs Open House 

Join us for the Begonia Labs Open House — a family-friendly afternoon of fun and artmaking activities. 

• Exhibition Tour at 12:30 pm: my heart is strong because i walked on blistered feet. 

• Story Time at 2:30 pm: Read Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of the Sudan and My Life Before featured in our Reading Space with Iman Saleem (MFA Creative Writing, Fiction, Vanderbilt University) 

• Color with James Makuac’s Paintings: Create your own version of the paintings featured in James Kuol Makuac: my heart is strong because i walked on blistered feet.
• Art & Poetry: Write What You See: Get inspired by the artist’s poetry in his book My Life Before and write your own poetry in response.
• Meet the Artist: James Kuol Makuac will be present.

*The Begonia Labs Open House is a short walk from the Celebrate Nashville Cultural Festival happening nearby at  Centennial Park. Join us for both. 

Begonia Labs | 2805 West End Ave, Nashville, TN 37203

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Thursday, October 17, 7:30pm

JACIR

Screening and Conversation with Waheed AlQawasmi (Director) and Samar Ali (Millions of Conversations)

In partnership with INTERNATIONAL LENS at Vanderbilt’s Department of Cinema & Media Arts

JACIR is a look through the eyes of a Syrian refugee as he faces the harsh realities of chasing the American dream while living in poverty on the streets of Memphis. (English, Arabic. 105 min.)  The film will be introduced by Waheed AlQawasmi, followed by a post-screening conversation with Samar Ali, Founding President of Millions of Conversations. 

*EADJ’s Migration in Film centers the voices of filmmakers and subject matters related to the immigrant experience. This screening is in collaboration with INTERNATIONAL LENS at Vanderbilt’s Department of Cinema & Media Arts, which encourages conversation and greater cross-cultural understanding through cinema. 

Sarratt Cinema, 1st Floor | 2301 Vanderbilt Pl, Nashville, TN 37240

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Monday, October 28, 6 pm

EADJ in  Conversation with the Sudanese Community

James Kuol Makuac, featured artist in our Fall exhibition, my heart is strong because I walked on blistered feet, shares how he uses art to shed light on the stories of South Sudan. Joining him will be notable members of the Nashville Sudanese community, Dr. Gatluak Thach, Chol Rambang and Hanan Shaibu (Nashville International Center for Empowerment). The evening will feature a special screening of Nashville Refuge with an introduction from Michael Carlson (Creative Writing, Vanderbilt). Moderated by Jonathan Rattner (Cinema & Media Arts and Art, Vanderbilt University). 

Begonia Labs | 2805 West End Ave, Nashville, TN 37203

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Thursday, October 31, 7 pm

Reading with V.V. Ganeshananthan (Fiction)

In partnership with the Vanderbilt Department of English and Creative Writing Program’s Gertrude and Harold Vanderbilt Reading Series

Ganeshananthan is the author of the novels Brotherless Night, a New York Times Editors’ Choice, and an NPR Book of the Year, and Love Marriage. Her work has appeared in Granta, The New York Times, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading, among other publications. She teaches in the MFA program at the University of Minnesota, where she is a McKnight Presidential Fellow and associate professor of English. She co-hosts the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast on Literary Hub, which is about the intersection of literature and the news.

*EADJ’s Narrative Change reading series highlights global and local writers whose work engages migrant stories. 

Begonia Labs | 2805 West End Ave, Nashville, TN 37203

September 2024

James Kuol Makuac:

my heart is strong because I walked on blistered feet

On view September 24–December 20, 2024

Begonia Labs, Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice (EADJ)

my heart is strong because I walked on blistered feet features the vibrant and expressive paintings of James Kuol Makuac (b. South Sudan, 1976; lives in Nashville) whose work reflects a life spent navigating between worlds. For nearly twenty years, Makuac has cultivated a practice of contemporary Sudanese painting that tells impossible stories of human tragedy and simultaneously speaks to survival and hope, grief and joy, surrender and determination.

About the Artist 

James Kuol Makuac (b. South Sudan, 1976; lives in Nashville) has nurtured an art practice of contemporary Sudanese painting for the past twenty years. As one The Lost Boys of Sudan, young men who resettled in the U.S. as refugees of war, his vibrant and expressive paintings often bridge the culture of the South Sudanese people and his American life. His work has been shown in local and traveling exhibitions, including Lending Library, Metro Arts Commission and Nashville Public Library, Our Directional Light, Leu Gallery, Belmont University, and Life Before, University School of Nashville. His paintings are in public and private collections such as The Tennessee State Museum, Tyson Foods, and the Nashville Convention Center. Makuac, who speaks several languages, including Dinka, Arabic, Swahili, and Spanish, works as a translator at Tyson Foods. In 2020, he was selected as one of Nashville’s Most Fascinating People by Nashville Lifestyles Magazine.

The Begonia | Catalyst exhibition series celebrates the life and practice of pioneering but under-recognized artists. The exhibition is curated by Grace Aneiza Ali, EADJ Curator with curatorial assistance from Simon Tatum and Danielle Myers.

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Begonia Labs (EADJ), 2805 West End Ave, Nashville, TN 37203

Tuesday, September 24, 6:00–8:00 p.m.

Opening Reception

James Kuol Makuac: my heart is strong because I walked on blistered feet

Join EADJ and the artist James Kuol Makuac for the opening reception of

my heart is strong because I walked on blistered feet. The evening will feature special remarks from the artist.

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Wednesday, September 25, 12:30–2:00 p.m.

Curatorial Long Table, Begonia | Curatorial Lab

The Begonia | Curatorial Lab is a platform for research, collaboration, and artist and curator exchanges about pressing local and global issues. In the Curatorial Long Table, local and global curators with projects invested in The Global South(s) discuss formative and current projects and their visions for the role of the 21^st century curator.

Invited Curators include:

• María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Ríos intermitentes (Matanzas, Cuba); Tennessee Triennial, RE-PAIR
• Grace Aneiza Ali, Somewhere We Are Human, EADJ
• Mark Scala, Chief Curator, Frist Art Museum
• Katie Delmez, Florine Démosthène and Didier William, Frist Art Museum
• Elena Bally, Fredi Fischli, Niels Olsen, Adam Szymczy (Zurich Curatorial Team), Beverly Buchanan: I Broke the House, Fisk University Galleries
• Jamaal Sheats, Beverly Buchanan: I Broke the House, Fisk University Galleries
• Vesna Pavlović, IMS Solidarity
• Raheleh Filsoofi, NIRMA Projects

Partner Events

Beverly Buchanan, Out of Control, 1991. Scrapbook, Beverly Buchanan papers, 1912–2017, bulk 1970s–90s.

Carl Van Vechten Art Gallery, Fisk University,  1000 17th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37208

Wednesday, September 25, 4:30 pm

Opening Reception

Beverly Buchanan: I Broke the House

I Broke the House spans Beverly Buchanan’s (1940–2015) wide-ranging oeuvre of sculpture, painting, photography, drawing, writing and printed matter. Her practice traces eroded surfaces of “City Ruins” on canvas and paper, researches vernacular dwellings and their builder-occupants in the rural South and persistently embeds long-neglected histories of anti-Black politics in their territorial surroundings. Decay serves  as a primary aesthetic and theoretical principle by which the artist explored systemic racial, gender, and socioeconomic injustices through the prism of her own lived experience as a Black queer woman.

https://www.fiskuniversitygalleries.org/current-exhibitions-1

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Thursday, September 26, 1:00 p.m. 

Curators Talk: Beverly Buchanan: I Broke the House

Join the Zurich Curatorial team Elena Bally, Fredi Fischli, Niels Olsen, and Adam Szymczyk and Jamaal Sheats of Fisk University Galleries for a conversation on the exhibition, Beverly Buchanan: I Broke the House.

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María MagdalenaCampos-Pons: Behold includes over three decades of the artist’s work in photography, installation, video, painting, and performance. Hauntingly beautiful and emotionally charged, Behold shows how Campos-Pons’s layered identity as a Cuban woman with ancestral roots in the Yoruba culture of West Africa as well as in Spain and China inform her multimedia, sensorial artworks. Evoking the history of diaspora, displacement, and migration, as well as labor and race, and motherhood and spirituality, Behold invites us to join with the artist in the vital search for meaning and connectivity.

Frist Art Museum, 919 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203

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Thursday, September 26, 6:30 pm

Opening: María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold     

Performance: “A Mother’s Rivers of Tears”

María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold includes over three decades of the artist’s work in photography, installation, video, painting, and performance. To celebrate the exhibition’s opening, Campos-Pons collaborates with Kamaal Malak to present A Mother’s River of Tears, an immersive performance. Drawing on ancestral rituals of the Yoruba people, the performance is a manifestation of many healing themes mirrored in Behold. It poetically commemorates the lives of Black men and women whose journeys were interrupted as result of historical fractures in the delivery of justice.

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Friday, September 27, 12:00 p.m.

Conversation: María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Carmen Hermo

Join María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Curator Carmen Hermo for this conversation about the exhibition María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold.

https://fristartmuseum.org/exhibition/maria-magdalena-campos-pons/