This exhibit explores the art and culture of Senegal, a country in Francophone West Africa. It is a culminating project of a month-long, French-speaking study and immersion experience of twelve graduate students of French, who traveled to rural and urban regions of Senegal in July 2011. The trip was funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Fulbright-Hays Program (Group Projects Abroad). The month-long study trip engaged the participants, all of whom teach or will teach French in North Carolina schools, in learning about this Francophone country and culture and developing ways to share what they have learned in K-12 classrooms across the state, as well as on the Appalachian campus.
The project is a partnership with the Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures, where the Fulbright-Hays grant was awarded. The resulting exhibition will feature artwork from artists in Senegal as well as images and research gathered by participants during the Summer of 2011. Children’s art workshops related to the event are also planned.
One of the Turchin Center’s core beliefs places a strong emphasis on partnerships with the university’s academic areas as well as with local, education, social service and economic agencies. Our staff believes the facility and programs to be a key regional, educational and cultural resource that offers a dynamic space where participants can experience and incorporate the power and excitement of the visual arts into their daily lives.
Sponsorship
This exhibition is presented in partnership with Appalachian’s Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, French & Francophone Studies and the Master of Arts Program in Romance Languages.
The travel and research portion of this project was funded by a grant from the 2011 Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program, U.S. Department of Education.
Co-sponsors of the exhibition from the Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures:
- Dr. Michael E. Lane, Associate Professor, French & Francophone Studies
- Dr. Beverly Moser, Associate Professor and Director, MA in Romance Languages