The Arts and Humanities are more important than ever. 2017 has been a crazy year, politically, environmentally, worldly… people are clashing, countries are clashing, and there appears to be no end to the madness. No matter what side of the fence you are on, there is no denying that there is an urgent need for selflessness, whether that means stepping up in the departments of giving, peace, and understanding, or simply coming together as a community to get the discussions underway.
If you’re wondering how you can help to make a better world, starting from within, then you need to know about the Buffalo Humanities Festival. This year’s feature speaker is the one and only Bill McKibben. McKibben is a renowned environmentalist author and social activist, who has dedicated his life to making this planet a better place to live. Along with McKibben, the festival will feature talks, music, performances, community debates, and a youth panel.
This year’s theme is “Environments”, which is a very broad-minded approach to many of the world issues that we are dealing with. “Environments” – focusing on issues of environmental justice and economic sustainability, local and regional activism and planning, and the global climate change crisis.
PARTICIPANTS:
Jacqui Patterson, Director, NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program
Jason Briner, Associate Professor of Geology, University at Buffalo Elizabeth Mazzolini, Assistant Professor of English, University at Buffalo
Adam Rome, Professor of History, University at Buffalo MODERATOR: Ryan McPherson, Chief Sustainability Officer, University at Buffalo
Details for speakers and performers can be found on the Buffalo Humanities Festival website – buffalohumanities.org/2017-festival/2017-participants.
The UB Humanities Institute in partnership with Canisius College, Niagara University, and SUNY Buffalo State are pleased to announce the 4th annual Buffalo Humanities Festival, taking place September 28-30, 2017 with the theme of “Environments.”
Following is the festival schedule:
Launching the festival on Thursday, September 28th at 6:00 pm in the Burchfield Penny Art Center’s Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Auditorium, Humanities New York presents “Turning the Tide: Communicating Climate Science.”
On Friday, September 29th at 8:00 pm at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Auditorium (with 7:00 pm VIP reception in the AK Café), the festival’s Spotlight Speaker, environmentalist author and social activist Bill McKibben, will give a talk entitled “The Desperate Climate Fight: Ordinary People in an Extraordinary Moment.” In 2014, McKibben was awarded the Right Livelihood Prize, sometimes called the ‘alternative Nobel.’ His 1989 book The End of Nature, which has been published in 24 languages, is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change. He’s gone on to write a dozen more books including 2013’s Oil and Honey: The Education of an Unlikely Activist. He is the founder of 350.org, the first planet-wide, grassroots climate change movement, which has organized 20,000 rallies around the world in every country save North Korea, spearheaded the resistance to the Keystone Pipeline, and launched the fast-growing fossil fuel divestment movement. A former staff writer for The New Yorker, he writes frequently for a wide variety of publications around the world, including the New York Times, The Nation, National Geographic, and Rolling Stone.
The festival returns to Rockwell Hall on Buffalo State College’s Elmwood Avenue campus on Saturday, September 30. The day begins with a 10:30 am performance by visiting artist Deke Weaver (images). Presenting BEAR and the Unreliable Bestiary, Weaver explores “stories from our precarious moment in natural history.” The Unreliable Bestiary is presenting a performance for every letter of the alphabet, each letter represented by an endangered animal or habitat. This special Buffalo Humanities Festival event introduces The Bestiary with cinematic documentation and live excerpts from MONKEY, ELEPHANT, WOLF and BEAR – the first four performances in this life-long project.
The day continues with multiple sessions of talks and panels. Lunch by West Side Bazaar is included with tickets purchased before September 23rd. A closing reception with music by the always energizing 12/8 Path Band and beer from Community Beer Works.
For more information, stay tuned to the Facebook event.