SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Black History Month events, art exhibitions and special speakers highlight events at Wofford College in February.
All events listed are open to the public and are free of charge unless otherwise noted. Please check the online calendar at the calendar.wofford.edu for frequent updates. For athletics events, please go to athletics.wofford.edu.
For more information, contact Laura Corbin at woffordnews@wofford.edu.
Through Wednesday, Feb. 26
Black History Month Event
Diversity and Inclusion Book Drive
Throughout February, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion will collect books that focus on a black protagonist, was written by or was illustrated by a black author or illustrator. All books will be donated to local Spartanburg schools in need; books should be appropriate for children from kindergarten through 6th grade reading levels. Books may be dropped off in Office 8 (Nadia Glover) or Office 18 (Taifha Alexander) on the second floor of the Campus Life Building. Book suggestions may be found at http://bit.ly/WoCoBHM.
Wednesday, Feb. 12
Black History Month Event
Galentine’s Day Social
7 p.m., Meadors Multicultural House, Stewart H. Johnson Greek Village
Sponsored by Wofford Women of Color.
Thursday, Feb. 13
Black History Month Event
Diversity Dating Game
4-6 p.m., McMillan Theater, Campus Life Building
Sponsored by Wofford Activities Council.
Monday, Feb. 17
Black History Month Event
Movie Night: “Queen & Slim”
7 p.m., McMillan Theater, Campus Life Building
Sponsored by Wofford Activities Council.
Tuesday, Feb. 18
Black History Month Event
History and the Race Construct Workshop
Presenters: Dr. Tema Okun and Dr. Krista Robinson-Lyles from Teach.Equity.Now.
2:30-5:30 p.m., Olin 207A, Franklin W. Olin Building
Faculty, staff and students are invited to attend this workshop.
Tuesday, Feb. 18
Black History Month Event
Egedege Sweat
4:30-5:30 p.m., Room 112, Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts
This dance workout includes music and dances from across the African diaspora. Nneka Mogbo, class of 2020, will lead the session.
Thursday, Feb. 20
Black History Month Event
Women’s Basketball Watch Party
7 p.m., Meadors Multicultural House, Stewart H. Johnson Greek Village
Sponsored by Wofford Women of Color.
Thursday, Feb. 20
Artist Talk: Gummy Labyrinth by Micah Tiffin, class of 2020
7 p.m., Richardson Family Art Gallery, Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts
Wofford senior Micah Tiffin, a humanities and studio art major with a minor in sociology and anthropology from Greenville, S.C., is Wofford’s latest Whetsell Fellow, which supports his exhibition. Tiffin says his paintings and sculptures in the Gummy Labyrinth “exemplify the struggle of re-entering the ‘real world’” after temporary daydreaming. He describes the exhibition: “I remember writing the same sentence hundreds of times over and over on paper. Ironically, I don’t remember what the sentence said. It was probably three lines long, about something I did or said that I shouldn’t have said or done. I was implanted on a park bench, facing away from where the others dug holes to China and chased one another up the slide. Luckily, by now I had learned how to escape into my own space. I daydreamed about playing games and my stuffed animal penguins that waited for me at home. I became an artist early, creating spaces that served as distractions. My installation is an ode to this temporary refuge.” The Whetsell Fellowship was established by Dr. William Whetsell in memory of his brother Dan Whetsell in order to annually facilitate a student’s study and creation of art. Each fellowship winner receives funding to work on and create his or her own pieces throughout the summer under the guidance of a professional mentor from the community. The exhibition runs through Friday, March 6.
Thursday, Feb. 20
Tournées Film Festival
Film: “Diabolo Menthe” (“Peppermint Soda”)
7 p.m., McMillan Theater, Campus Life Building
For the second year, Wofford is presenting six Francophone films for the Tournées Film Festival in partnership with the FACE Foundation (Franco-American Cultural Exchange Foundation). All films are in their original version with English subtitles. All screenings will be at 7 p.m. in McMillan Theater. Here are the scheduled films: Friday, Feb. 28: “Tazzeka;” Thursday, March 5: “La Douleur” (“Memoir of War”); Thursday, March 12: “Une Vie Violente;” Thursday, March 19: “Le Semeur” (“The Sower”); and Thursday, March 26: “La Camera de Claire” (“Claire's Camera”).
Monday, Feb. 24
Craftivism: Merging Science, Art and Policy for Global Change
Speaker: Dr. Katharine Owens, University of Hartford
4-5 p.m., Olin Teaching Theater, Franklin W. Olin Building
Dr. Katharine Owens, associate professor in the Department of Politics, Economics and International Studies, director of the University Interdisciplinary Studies Program and director of The Governor M. Jodi Rell Center for Public Service at the University of Hartford in Connecticut. She has undergraduate degrees in biology, anthropology and studio art, a master’s in environmental studies and a Ph.D. in governance and sustainability. Her work crosses the social and natural sciences, seeking to link environmental science with policy.
Monday, Feb. 24
Black History Month Event
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: A Lizzo Listening Session
6 p.m., Room 112, Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts
Join this event of listening to and analyzing the music of the Grammy Award-winning artist Lizzo.
Wednesday, Feb. 26
Black History Month Event
Trap & Paint
4 p.m., Game Room, Campus Life Building
Students are invited to come enjoy music while painting. Sponsored by Wofford Activities Council.
Thursday, Feb. 27
Phi Beta Kappa Lecture
Dr. Paul Robbins, University of Wisconsin-Madison
11 a.m., Leonard Auditorium, Main Building
Dr. Paul Robbins is dean of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a researcher and educator specializing in human interactions with nature and the politics of natural resource management. He will speak on “Coffee, Frogs and Workers: Conservation in the Anthropocene.” Hub City Bookshop will host a reading by Robbins and a reception at 6 p.m. Feb. 27; the bookshop is located at 186 W. Main St. in downtown Spartanburg. The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies is a world leader in addressing rapid global environmental change.
Thursday, Feb. 27
Black History Month Event
Misty (K)nights: The History of Black Female Comics, Characters and Creators
Dr. Dwain Pruitt, Wofford class of 1995, University of Louisville
6 p.m., McMillan Theater, Campus Life Building
Dr. Dwain Pruitt, Wofford class of 1995, assistant dean of the University of Louisville, will explore African-American female representations in superhero comics and related media since the 1970s while analyzing their societal and cultural impacts then and now. Sponsored by the Cultural Affairs Committee.
Thursday, Feb. 28
Black History Month Event
Book Drive Donation and Service
Work with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the conclusion of its Black History Month book donation drive. Contact Taifha Alexander, assistant dean of students for diversity and leadership development, at alexandertn@wofford.edu.
Friday, Feb. 28
Tournées Film Festival
Film: “Diabolo Menthe” (“Peppermint Soda”)
7 p.m., McMillan Theater, Campus Life Building
For the second year, Wofford is presenting six Francophone films for the Tournées Film Festival in partnership with the FACE Foundation (Franco-American Cultural Exchange Foundation). All films are in their original version with English subtitles. All screenings will be at 7 p.m. in McMillan Theater. Here are the scheduled films: Thursday, March 5: “La Douleur” (“Memoir of War”); Thursday, March 12: “Une Vie Violente;” Thursday, March 19: “Le Semeur” (“The Sower”); and Thursday, March 26: “La Camera de Claire” (“Claire's Camera”).
Gallery and Museum Exhibitions:
Through Friday, March 6
Gummy Labyrinth by Micah Tiffin, class of 2020
Richardson Family Art Gallery, Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts
Artist Talk, 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20
Wofford senior Micah Tiffin, a humanities and studio art major with a minor in sociology and anthropology from Greenville, S.C., is Wofford’s latest Whetsell Fellow, which supports his exhibition. Tiffin says his paintings and sculptures in the Gummy Labyrinth “exemplify the struggle of re-entering the ‘real world’” after temporary daydreaming. He describes the exhibition: “I remember writing the same sentence hundreds of times over and over on paper. Ironically, I don’t remember what the sentence said. It was probably three lines long, about something I did or said that I shouldn’t have said or done. I was implanted on a park bench, facing away from where the others dug holes to China and chased one another up the slide. Luckily, by now I had learned how to escape into my own space. I daydreamed about playing games and my stuffed animal penguins that waited for me at home. I became an artist early, creating spaces that served as distractions. My installation is an ode to this temporary refuge.” The Whetsell Fellowship was established by Dr. William Whetsell in memory of his brother Dan Whetsell in order to annually facilitate a student’s study and creation of art. Each fellowship winner receives funding to work on and create his or her own pieces throughout the summer under the guidance of a professional mentor from the community.
Through Saturday, March 21
Quilted Stories
Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts
Opening reception, 6-8 p.m., Thursday, March 19, featuring gallery walk with Humanities Scholar Laurel Horton at 7 p.m.
This exhibition features quilts of Wofford faculty and staff, displaying storytelling and shared cultural connections. Quilts are curated by Laurel Horton, an internationally acclaimed quilt researcher, author, editor and lecturer. A catalog of the quilts also will feature each quilt and its story. This interdisciplinary humanities project celebrates the many uses and meanings of quilts – as works of art, individual expressions, keepers of history, healing comforters, instruments of means, generational teaching tools, common experiences, accomplishments, gifts, keepsakes, hobbies and true crafts. Quilts can represent memories, life and death, grief and joy, and all that lies between. They span centuries and cultures, weaving humanity at every level of social class and race in America. This exhibition is sponsored by the Wofford Cultural Affairs Committee and South Carolina Humanities, a not-for-profit organization that funds, promotes, counsels and coordinates community-building activities in the humanities.
Through Sunday, May 17
100 years of ROTC at Wofford
Sandor Teszler Library Gallery
The U.S. Army issued an order on Dec. 29, 1919, creating a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps unit at Wofford, one of the first denominational colleges to host an ROTC unit. During World War I, before an ROTC unit was formed at Wofford, students organized the Student Army Training Corps for military training, which continued until the end of the war. The nation’s ROTC investment paid off when World War II broke out, with thousands of trained officers ready and available to serve. Hundreds of Wofford alumni of all ranks served throughout the world during World War II, and that service continued through subsequent conflicts. Today, ROTC maintains a h4 presence on campus, and this month, the Sandor Teszler Library opened an exhibit focused on the centennial of ROTC at Wofford. The exhibit features photos as well as artifacts that show how ROTC has evolved and influenced life on the campus.
Through Sunday, May 17
From Botticelli to Tintoretto: Italian Renaissance Art from the Tobey Collection and the Bob Jones University Collection
Richardson Family Art Museum (upper level), Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts
Gallery Talk, 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, by Dr. Nelda Damiano, Georgia Museum of Art
This exhibition charts the dizzying speed with which Italian Renaissance art developed between the late 15th and late 16th centuries. Mixtures of Christian subjects and humanist imagery drawn from antiquity are what one would expect from Renaissance art during this period. However, the style shifts rapidly, and artistic daring encouraged by artists, their patrons and audiences manifest spatial and figural complexities well-represented in these works as well as varieties in their format and media. The exhibition includes works on loan from David and Julie Tobey in New York and the Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery in Greenville, S.C. Art history students in Dr. Karen Goodchild’s Renaissance Art class have undertaken research on Renaissance works and their semester-long projects will be presented in late April and early May.
Through Friday, July 31
Peter L. Schmunk Photographs 2010-2020
Richardson Family Art Museum (lower level), Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts
Friday, March 13, 7 p.m. – Tree Falls Concert with Johnny Gandelsman, a Grammy Award-winning violinist, performing Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 (transcribed for violin) and contemporary music selections. Contact treefallsmusic.org for tickets. Thursday, April 16, 7 p.m. – Artist’s talk and reception during Spartanburg’s monthly ArtWalk.
This retrospective exhibition, on the occasion of Dr. Peter L. Schmunk’s retirement as Mr. and Mrs. T.R. Garrison Professor of the Humanities (art history) at Wofford College, surveys the various interests and projects he has pursued in a decade of creative work in digital photography. It includes images of natural and cultural subjects ranging from wilderness sites to urban ephemera, abstract imagery, connections with literature and music, and the combination of photography with other visual media.