Students are invited to visit the cultures of Ghana, Ukraine and Cuba to hear the music and see the traditional folk art of these countries.  In three short films about the 2008 Pew Fellows in folk and traditional arts – Nana Korantemaa, Vera Nakonechny,  Venissa Santí – they will learn about Akan drumming techniques; Ukrainian embroidering, bead-making and weaving; and the musical heritage of Cuba.  An interactive discussion with the artists and filmmaker Glenn Holsten will follow the screenings.

Nana Korantemaa is a drummer whose work is grounded within the Akan cultural and spiritual community of Ghana, Africa, and the Diaspora. She was introduced to the Akan community in 1974 when she traveled to Africa with her first mentor of 17 years, Arthur Hall. She later spent seven years in Ghana, furthering her learning of Akan drumming techniques in the context of religious and healing practices. During this time she was given the privileged opportunity to study under Nana Okomfohene Oparebea, priest of the Akonnedi shrine, where she was able to master the language, traditions, and protocols as well as drumming and dance. Nana became an initiate, continuing her training for 21 years. In 2002 she was raised to the level of the Akomfohene, Head Shaman of this Akan tradition for North America, a rare honor, especially for a woman.

Vera Nakonechny is a Ukrainian embroiderer, bead worker, and weaver. She came to the United States as a teenager and continued studying the various techniques of Ukrainian embroidery her mother taught her as a young girl. She became a part of the Ukrainian-American community in Pennsylvania where she continued to expand her skills as an embroiderer. In 1991 Nakonechny was able to return to her homeland where she conducted archival research and studied with master craftspeople. The love for her culture gave her the inspiration to learn all she could about the various styles and techniques so that they could be preserved in their original pure form from different regions of the Ukraine.

Venissa Santí inherited her musical passion from her grandfather, a composer in Cuba. Santí moved to Philadelphia when she was 17 and attended the University of the Arts. She became a trained vocalist with classical- and jazz-based technique, all the while seeking to find her own voice. Santí began an intense listening regimen of early Celia Cruz which inspired her to travel to Cuba and find a master to train her. At the same time she began teaching at the Asociación de Músicos Latino Americanos, a community music school in North Philadelphia. Santí has become an active participant in the Latin community and the Latin music scene of Philadelphia as a soloist in many world and jazz group’s concerts and recordings.

Pew Fellowships in the Arts, a program of  The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, and established by The Pew Charitable Trusts in 1991, awards grants of $60,000 to artists working in a wide variety of performing, visual, and literary disciplines. The grants provide financial support directly to the artists so that they may have the opportunity to dedicate themselves to creative pursuits exclusively.

Photos of artists by Eileen Neff.

Program Outline:

• Welcome/Introductions (1:00 p.m. – 1:05 p.m.)
  The moderator will introduce the program and panelists.
• Screening of Films (1:05 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.)
  Students will watch three short, 5-minute documentaries about each of the panelists.
• Question and Answer Session (1:30 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.)
  The moderator will ask a series of questions to the panelists and then open the dialogue to students at the participating sites. During this time, we will call on sites in alphabetical order to ask a question. Each site will have an opportunity to ask one question, and then we will move onto the next site. If time permits, we will repeat the cycle. Students should prepare questions ahead of time and should be at the microphone, ready to ask their question, prior to the moderator calling on your site.

• Wrap-Up/Final Comments (2:10 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.)

Pre-Videoconference Activities:

• Introduce Students to the Artists: Familiarize students with the artists, their training and their work by visiting the Pew Fellowships in the Arts website and other links under Program Resources.
• Brainstorm Questions: Have students come up with questions for our panelists about their fellowships, their backgrounds, education or careers. As a class, choose the top 5 questions. Make sure students are prepared to ask these questions as part of the videoconference event. Each school will have a chance to ask at least 1 question - - but by preparing 5, we can make sure that questions aren't repeated.

Post-Videoconference Activities:

• Reflect: Have students write a written reflection about the program or conduct a classroom dialogue with students. Some questions to consider: what surprised them about one of the artists? How has participating in the program influenced their artistic path or career aspirations?

National Educational Standards:

Participation in this program satisfies the following content standards, as outlined by the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations:

• Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts
• Understanding music in relation to history and cultures
• Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures