Cover image: Dr. Mame-Fatou Niang
Keynote speaker for Chaos and Order

"We often fear change, but the disruption of truths, ideals and the status quo have produced some of the most transformative movements in history."

From June 7-11, 2022, the students of the University of Kent Paris School of Arts and Culture are inviting the public to join them in embracing chaos as an opportunity for personal, artistic and social growth. Their postgraduate arts festival, entitled "Chaos and Order," consists of a series of free events that will challenge normalcy — bringing chaos into order and order out of chaos.

Here is the entire line-up of events (all are in person; RSVP by clicking on the hyperlinks below):

June 7: Vernissage (art exhibition) – L'AiR Arts Association, 11 Cité Falguière, 75015 Paris
June 8: Curated film screenings – L'AiR Arts Association, 11 Cité Falguière, 75015 Paris

June 9: KEYNOTE: Arts and Poetics of Living in Times of Crisis by Dr. Mame-Fatou Niang – Reid Hall, Salle de Conférence, 4, rue de Chevreuse, 75006 Paris – 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

June 9: WRITE & SIP: Deconstruction - Neither Construction nor Destruction – L'AiR Arts Association, 11 Cité Falguière, 75015 Paris – 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

June 10: Short Film Screenings – Cinema de l'Epée de Bois, 100 rue Mouffetard, 75005 Paris – 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

June 10: CREATIVE WORKSHOP: Writing from Art – L'AiR Arts Association, 11 Cité Falguière, 75015 Paris

June 11: Screening of Character and Q&A with Director Paul Heintz – Cinema de l'Epée de Bois, 100 rue Mouffetard, 75005 Paris – 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

June 11: CLOSING EVENT- The Menteur Postgraduate Magazine Launch – Reid Hall, 4, rue de Chevreuse, 75006 Paris – 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Keynote speaker Dr. Mame-Fatou Niang is a filmmaker and professor of French and Francophone studies at Carnegie-Mellon University. Her work is on contemporary France, Sub-Saharan Africa, postcolonialism, media studies, and urban planning. Her documentary Mariannes Noires (2016), which focuses on the Afro-French identities of seven women, was selected for the San Francisco Black Film Festival, Toronto Black Film Festival, and Festival International du Film Black Montréal. Her presentation will be followed by a student-led Q&A session.

In the May 21 edition of the Les Amis de Beauford Delaney blog, I wrote about the "Writing from Art" workshop that I will host on Friday, June 10. I will present four Beauford Delaney works to participants, and they will write slam poetry or short stories inspired by these works.

See the Festival website for additional information: https://www.kentparisfestival.com/.