BUFFALO, NY – The Canisius University Borders and Migrations Event Series presents an artist talk by Millie Chen on the "Silk Road Songbook" (SRS) project on Thursday, October 16, at 5:00 p.m. The event will take place in the Library Learning Center and is free and open to the public.
Chen will discuss the complex creative process behind SRS, an innovative audio-video and publication project currently on view at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center in Buffalo. The project weaves songs of resistance into landscapes along an ancient Eurasian migration route, broadcasting women's distinct, unruly voices from Istanbul, Tehran, Tashkent, Bishkek, and Xi'an.
By conveying the complex stories emerging from each place and person involved, SRS challenges Orientalist exoticism, cultural tourism and censorship, disrupting the grand, tidy narrative of the popular perception of the "Silk Road." The songs were created by collaborators in communities along the route, who chose the landscapes, musical genres, and lyrical content themselves. For each location, their voices serve as the dynamic driving force while the land provides the visual anchor.
The Borders and Migrations Initiative is a collaborative space where Canisius students, faculty and staff, together with members of the Western New York Community, work to understand and support the lives of immigrants and refugees around the globe. The initiative develops programs, events and opportunities for the campus community to support justice for migrants, refugees and those who meet and cross borders.
For questions, please contact Dr. Richard Reitsma at @email.
Canisius was founded in 1870 in Buffalo, NY, and is one of 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. Consistently ranked among the top institutions in the Northeast, Canisius offers undergraduate, graduate and pre-professional programs distinguished by close student-faculty collaboration, mentoring and an emphasis on ethical, purpose-driven leadership.
