Published: 10/05/2021
Guest speakers Berny Jacques and Geston Pierre.
Gannon University’s College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences is presenting its 2021-22 CHESS Speaker Series, Reinventing Right Now.
This year-long series focuses on navigating a world that is altered by the unprecedented events of the past year and a half and the difficulties in knowing how to begin healing. The College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences presents this series with events centered on artistic expression, exploration of our varied heritages, and emphasis on the self and connections with one another as we regain our footing in a changed world.
The next event in this series, Frenemies: How to Interact With Those We Love But Disagree With, will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 7 in the Yehl Ballroom of the Waldron Campus Center. The event will feature Berny Jacques and Geston Pierre, who are both children of Haitian political refugees who fled political instability that put their families at risk. Despite their shared family immigration story, they clash on just about everything to do with social and political issues in the U.S.
Gannon and Erie community members are invited to participate in this event as we explore how people who profoundly disagree can maintain “frenemy-ships” through love, respect, honesty and humor.
Register in advance for this free event at: www.gannon.edu/speakerseries
The next events in this series include:
> Oct. 28 | Food as Healing with Shane Bernardo Creating local food systems and sustainable foodways are important entry points into the realm of food justice. "Food as Healing" seeks to unearth how cultivating, celebrating and practicing food-based rituals nourishes us emotionally, intellectually and spiritually in ways that conventional comfort foods cannot. Attendees will learn how reclaiming our sense of tradition, culture, identity and ancestry can root our movements centered upon healing and increase our capacity to resist and push forward.
> Nov. 6 | Grounded Printshop, Unpredictability and Presence in Creative Action We begin with an artist talk by master papermaker Ashley Pastore and printmaker Alex Anthes. They will show some of their work, share their artistic philosophy, and talk about “being present” through creative action in the form of printmaking as a counter to the unpredictability of life. They will then give a printmaking demonstration, explaining specific presses and processes. Finally, they will lead a printmaking workshop with up to 20 participants (RSVP required). In the first part of the workshop, participants will create a print on the letterpress. In the second part, participants use the monotype process, which involves painting onto a sheet of plexiglass and then running the letterpress print. Each participant in the workshop will get to keep a copy of the print they make. The printmaking workshop costs $5 per person and is limited to 20 people.