India takes center stage with a month of community activities celebrating the country’s arts and culture at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Published: March 22, 2018
By: Courtesy of the University of Alabama at Birmingham
Author Website: Click to Visit
IndiaFest is presented by UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center in collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences’ Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts and Department of Art and Art History. Free events include film screenings, a dance competition, community yoga, crafts, lectures, a family day and an outdoor concert by Red Baraat, complete with food trucks, dancing and more. Explore the full IndiaFest calendar online at http://www.AlysStephens.org.
Indian Cultural Family Fun Fest
Sunday, March 25
The Department of Art and Art History will present a free screening of Kadambari (Suman Ghosh, 2015, 88 minutes) at 2 p.m. in the AEIVA.
Saturday, March 31
Enjoy Taste of India, Alabama’s first and only bhangra and Bollywood fusion dance competition, at 5 p.m. in the Alys Stephens Center. UAB’s Asian American Organization will host collegiate dance teams from across the country to compete for a cash prize.
Sunday, April 1
The Department of Art and Art History will present a free screening of Nil Battey Sannata (The New Classmate), (Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, 2015, 100 minutes), at 2 p.m. in the AEIVA.
April 2, 9, 16 and 23
Start the work week off right with free community yoga at the Alys Stephens Center the first four Mondays in April. Each week will feature a different yoga form, taught by a Birmingham-based yoga instructor. Bring a yoga mat or beach towel. Each class is from 5:30-7 p.m. on the Engel outdoor plaza. All levels of experience are welcome.
Thursday, April 5
The Alys Stephens Center’s ArtPlay will present a free, all-ages mandala coloring night at 5:30 p.m., at the ArtPlay House. Call 205-975-4769 for more information.
Sunday, April 8
Associate Professor of Art History Cathleen Cummings, Ph.D., will give a free lecture on “The ‘Ubiquitous’ Sari: Between Tradition and Modernity” at 2 p.m., presented by the Department of Art and Art History in the AEIVA. The traditional female garment in much of South Asia, this is one of the oldest known items of clothing still in use and one of the most diverse of garments, with at least 30 regional styles and more than 80 recorded ways of wearing.
Sunday, April 15
The Department of Art and Art History will present a free screening of Fandry (Nagraj Manjule, 2013, 101 minutes) at 2 p.m. in the AEIVA.
Wednesday, April 18
The Birmingham Committee on Foreign Relations will host Alyssa Ayres, senior fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, to present “Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World.” The event is from 6-8:30 p.m., at The Club. Tickets are $50. Purchase tickets online.
Saturday, April 21
Bring the family, and enjoy the free Indian Cultural Family Fun Fest beginning at 2 p.m. at AEIVA. Activities will include: visual arts projects for children, Indian mandala coloring for all ages, Indian rangoli creation in the Art Plaza and other activities celebrating Indian arts and culture. Presented by the AEIVA, Department of Art and Art History and Alys Stephens Center.
Thursday, April 26
Celebrate IndiaFest with this grand finale, a free outdoor dance party with New York City-based band Red Baraat. This concert event is for all ages, with dancing, food trucks, a cash bar and even more outdoors on the Engel Plaza at UAB’s Alys Stephens Center. Beginning at 5:30 p.m. the festival will feature a Bhangra Beat dance lesson at 6 p.m. followed by the performance at 7 p.m. NPR dubbed Red Baraat “The best party band in years.” This event is made possible by Dora and Sanjay Singh and the UAB School of Medicine.
About UAB
Known for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is an internationally renowned research university and academic medical center, as well as Alabama’s largest employer, with some 23,000 employees, and has an annual economic impact exceeding $7 billion on the state. The five pillars of UAB’s mission include education, research, patient care, community service and economic development. UAB is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Center for Translational Science Award. Learn more at http://www.uab.edu. UAB: Knowledge that will change your world.