Music is always with us. Music fills us with energy and sets the pace of life. It relieves loneliness and gives confidence. Music makes it possible to release emotions and make the right decisions in difficult time. DOUNB library continues its cooperation with in Dnipropetrovsk. Once again "American Art Residence in Dnepropetrovsk" invited the people who love music.
The DOUNB Library Art Department hosted a musical performance «Jazz: yesterday, today, and forever» by the Mykola Hlynka Academy students: jazz musicians and singers. The show was compared by Anna Savonyuk, the music history specialist. The musicians were welcomed by the DOUNB library staff. Svetlana Ponomarenko, the Head of the Art department, invited the visitors to enjoy the colorful painting exhibition currently in display. Svetlana Usenko, the Head of the WOA Center, reminded the patrons about the free resources for the English language study.
The program "Jazz: yesterday, today and forever" was prepared by Ms. Iryna Riabtseva - the musicologist, Ph.D., professor of Mykola Hlynka Academy of Music (Dnipropetrovsk ), member of the National Composers’ Union (Ukraine). One of the reasons to start the "Art Residence project" was the numerous requests from the GABFEST Club members who love both music and American culture.
The English learners were introduced to the interesting facts in jazz history. They were carried away by the live music and wonderful voices of the jazz singers.
Our American friend- Mr. Jason Rush who enjoys volunteering at the WOA Center and helps Ukrainians to improve communication skills in English, was pleasantly surprised by the high level students’ performance. The program contained numbers of classical and modern jazz. Piano and sax players, singers presented popular instrumental plays and English songs. The grateful audience gave the student performers a round of the applause.
The day ended with a friendly tea ceremony with new friends. Our further partnership was one of the topics for conversation.
Number of participants – 53 persons.
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Within the framework of the “U.S. Art Residence in Dnipropetrovsk” project the "Window on America" Dnipropetrovsk / Ukraine presented a session dedicated to the Art of Photography.
The session started with a documentary about George Eastman, the founder of the Eastman Kodak company. George Eastman wanted to simplify photography and make it available to everyone, not just trained photographers. In 1888, he invented rolled photography film and the Kodak cameras that could use the new film. "You press the button, we do the rest" promised George Eastman in 1888 with this advertising slogan for his Kodak camera. The video added extra facts about heritage of G. Eastman in the USA.
The second part of the session was dedicated to Margaret Bourke-White. She was an American photographer and photojournalist. She is best known as the first foreign photographer permitted to take pictures of Soviet industry, the first American female war photojournalist. She also traveled to Europe to record how Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia were faring under Nazism and how Russia was faring under Communism. Her abilities resulted in some of the best industrial photographs of that era, which earned her national attention. The group watched a slide show about M. Bourke-White’s background and tried to analyze her world famous pictures.
The topic allowed introducing new vocabulary and activating the analytical abilities of the group.
During the session we were using new sound equipment.
Number of participants – 21 persons.
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Within the framework of the "U.S. Art Residence in Dnipropetrovsk” project today’s session of the WOA’s Gabfest club (Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) was devoted to the topic “Art of Kitsch”. After an illustrative video the group tried to give their own definitions of this genre of popular art.
According to Walter Benjamin, kitsch "offers instantaneous emotional gratification without intellectual effort, without the requirement of distance, without sublimation".
Once the idea of kitsch art was presented the group was introduced to the works of Jeff Koons. He is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects - such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces. He lives and works in New York City. His works have sold for substantial sums of money, including at least one world record auction price for a work by a living artist. Critics are sharply divided in their views of Koons. Some view his work as pioneering and of major art-historical importance. Others dismiss his work as kitsch: crass and based on cynical self-merchandising.
As today’s Gabfest session was attended by our American guest Mr. Brian the group was given a task to tell him about Ukrainian kitsch. The majority of the examples were from the popular music field. The introduction of the so called “village glam” style allowed the group to tell Brian fun facts about Ukrainian history and culture. The examples of the Soviet times’ kitsch allowed the group to pick up some new vocabulary.
The session was difficult, but educational for all participants.
Number of participants – 19 persons.
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The WOA Center Dnipropetrovsk was visited by the 8th grade students from the local high school number 23. The school is a longtime partner of the WOA Center and the DOUNB library.
The Center’s free resources for learning English were presented to the group. They have inspected the book and image display "American music and musicians" and a paper display «Music Scene and Heard». The highlight of the book display is an exposition of the new arrivals that were acquired within the framework of the project “U.S. ART Residence in Dnipropetrovsk”.
Within the framework of the “Discover USA” project the group listened to the English language presentation and learned a lot of interesting facts about the capital of the USA – the city of Washington named after first US President George Washington.
WOA’s staff member Tamara Gavryliuk commented slide-show, drew the students’ attention to the new vocabulary used in the presentation. Students read and translated the text on the slides. The presentation covered numerous aspects - the history of the capital, the geography of the area, the beautiful architecture of the city, the capital’s heart - National Mall, wonderful memorials in honor of the US presidents, Library of Congress’s and the White House’s interiors. At the end of the meeting, the students watched a funny video about the Easter celebration on the lawn near the White House, learned about the popular Easter games "Egg Hunt" and "Egg Roll". The children were attentive and actively answered questions on the content of the presentation, showed a high level of proficiency in English.
Number of participants – 13 people.
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Today’s session of the WOA’s Gabfest club started with a surprise visit of Mr. David – the volunteer from the Poltava WOA. Mr. David told the group about his Canadian and British roots. He was asked numerous questions about his impressions from life in Ukraine.
The official topic of the session was “Landscape Architecture”. Within the framework of the “U.S. Art Residence” we tried to talk about the beauty of man-made parks (to introduce the Arbor Day celebration in the USA). Landscape architecture is a multi-disciplinary field, incorporating aspects of botany, horticulture, the fine arts and architecture and numerous other sciences (industrial design, geology, the earth sciences, environmental psychology, geography, ecology). The combination of the traditional landscape gardening and the emerging city planning combined together gave landscape architecture its unique focus. Frederick Law Olmsted used the term 'landscape architecture' using the word as a profession for the first time when designing the Central Park on Manhattan in New York City. The quality of Olmsted's landscape architecture was recognized by his contemporaries, who showered him with prestigious commissions. His work, especially in Central Park in New York City, set a standard of excellence that continues to influence landscape architecture in the United States. His second line of achievement involves his activism in conservation, including work at Niagara Falls, the Adirondack region of upstate New York, and the National Park system.
The group watched the documentary about the Olmsted's Park system in Buffalo city around Niagara Falls. The new vocabulary enabled the club members to start a conversation about the best parks of Dnipropetrovsk city and their attraction (numerous scenic spots and magnificent waterscapes).
Now the group is ready for David’s second visit and a tour of the local breathtaking landscapes.
Number of participants – 23 persons.
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At Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine) exhibits a display «U.S. Art Residence in Dnipropetrovsk: New Book Arrival».
The new books acquired for the project «U.S. Art Residence in Dnipropetrovsk» are presented to the patrons.
The new arrivals include the following colorful editions:
- albums about the paintings of American Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art ( New York) etc.
- industrial design (Bridges of America)
- biographies of American movie directors and actors
- books about the iconic American music stars (Michael Jackson, Madonna, Lady Gaga ).
WOA’s Collection of the best Hollywood films was enlarged with 74 new titles.
Number of participants – 60.
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Within the framework of the project “U.S. ART Residence in Dnipropetrovsk” the session of English speaking club GABFEST was dedicated to «American Jazz Divas». March is a good time to introduce female artists whose input into American jazz was very considerable. The session’s moderator T.Gavryliuk prepared a compilation of videos about most famous American female jazz singers – both vintage and contemporary. The compilation presented important ladies in American jazz and introduced the audience to the golden jazz hits performed by Ella Fitzgerlad, Billi Holiday, Barbara Strerisand and Chaka Khan. The Club members had the opportunity to read the lyrics and enjoy both the jazz music and the texts.
The genuine surprise of the session was a live performance of jazz by the musician from the Dnipropetrovsk Conservatorium – Yakov Tsvetynskiy (trumpet). The talented local jazz musician was introduced by the expert – PhD in Musical Theory Ms. Irina Riabtseva.
The Club members were delighted to learn more about the history of the American jazz with the live music illustrations. The guest received the round of applause and a gift .The performance took place at the DOUNB library Art department.
The WOA staff invited the musicians and the GABFEST Club committee for an after-event tea. With the background of jazz music we discussed the plans for future cooperation of the DOUNB Library and Dnipropetrovsk Conservatorium.
Participants number – 26 persons.
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In the framework of the “U.S. Art Residence” project Window o America Dnipropetrovsk center's staff prepared a session dedicated to the art of sculpture. The “Gabfest” Club members were familiarized with a row of American sculptors.
We started the presentation with the videos about the works of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. During the three decades of a remarkable career, he redirected and invigorated the course of American sculpture away from a Neoclassical aesthetic to a lively, naturalistic style, while also ardently promoting the nationalistic concept of an American school of sculpture. The video about the “Robert Gould Shaw Memorial” (1884–97) for Boston impressed the group. It depicts a procession of African-American foot soldiers of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry with their commander Colonel Shaw on his horse with an angel of glory hovering above, a stunning synthesis of real and ideal. Other videos illustrated his monuments for New York and the project for “the most beautiful coin in the world” – the 20$ coin.
Another name introduced to the audience was that of Frederic Remington .His artistic career took an unexpected turn when he learned the basics of clay modeling from a fellow sculptor. Remington's “Broncho Buster” was an instant success, admired for its moment-in-time rendering of a cowboy astride a bucking horse. His talent for sculpture was matched by his technical derring-do and predilection for storytelling detail, resulting in some of the finest American small bronzes of the time. The abstract US sculpture was presented by the works of American sculptors with European roots – J. Lipchitz and O. Archipenko.
The second part of the session was dedicated to the group conversation about the sculptures of Dnipropetrovsk. The club members tried to tell our American guest Mr. Brian about the famous local monuments and their symbolism. The topic was challenging and educational to all participants.
Number of participants – 22 persons.
The Window on America center in Dnipropetrovsk staff visited the local high school #141, WOA’s longtime partner.
The WOA’s Head Svitlana Usenko introduced the students and teachers to the DOUNB Library and its resources. All the participants of the event were informed about the WOA Center and its resources. WOA Center is a facility that may be of great help for all who study English, plan to study abroad and to travel the world.
The WOA center continues its project “U.S. Art residence in Dnipropetrovsk”.
The WOA staff member Tamara Gavryliuk offered the senior students (the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th year students) a slide show that introduced to the them two controversial American artists – Rockwell Kent and Andy Warhol. The slide show’s title was “Paradoxes in the U.S. Art”. These artists were chosen for the presentation due to peculiar facts of their life: R. Kent’s paintings were very popular in the USSR and hardly known in the USA; Andy Warhol is the iconic US pop artist with Ukrainian roots, but his art is known only to a narrow circle in Ukraine. The slide show introduced Rockwell Kent as an illustrator, printmaker and painter. Andy Warhol was presented as a leader of pop art, a pioneer of the computer graphics and one of the most expensive artists of the 20th century. Warhol’s art creations are exhibited in his museum in Pittsburg.
Number of participants – 115 persons (teachers – 5 persons, students – 110 persons).
on February, 11-12 –
The Window on America center in Dnipropetrovsk staff visited the local high school #22 which majors in the English language study. WOA’s longtime partner, the English teacher Ms. Valentyna Shvydka, invited the WOA staff to take part in the school’s event – The Week of Foreign Languages. Today the language teachers could have a break, because the DOUNB librarians took over and presented lessons about the USA culture to the school children.
The WOA’s Head Svitlana Usenko presented eight lessons for different age groups. She introduced the students and teachers to the DOUNB Library and its resources. All the participants of the event were informed about the WOA Center and its resources. WOA Center is a facility that may be of great help for all who study English, plan to study abroad and to travel the world.
The WOA center continues its project “U.S. Art residence in Dnipropetrovsk”. The 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th year students were offered educational and music video clips, several slide shows, animated cartoons, vocabulary games, kids’ songs and dances. From now on they are aware of such genres of music as jazz, twist, pop and enjoy them a lot.
All the activities offered to the students activated their vocabulary to the topic “Celebration of the Valentine’s Day in the USA”. The kids learned the history of the holiday, the American custom to celebrate it, the traditional gifts, etc. The offered language activities enriched the students’ vocabulary, urged them to communicate in English; funny songs and dances motivated the kids to study and made the lessons more effective.
The 8th year students were offered a lesson about the life and work of the American writer Jack London. The students learned some fun facts from his biography, translated several famous quotes by J. London, and watched the book-trailers to his short story “Love of Life” and the novel “Sea Wolf”. The highlight of the video illustrations was the unique short documentary with Jack London. The students learned several new idioms and were extra motivated to read the originals of London’s fiction.
The WOA staff member Tamara Gavryliuk offered the senior students (the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th year students) a slide show that introduced to the them two controversial American artists – Rockwell Kent and Andy Warhol. The slide show’s title was “Paradoxes in the U.S. Art”. These artists were chosen for the presentation due to peculiar facts of their life: R. Kent’s paintings were very popular in the USSR and hardly known in the USA; Andy Warhol is the iconic US pop artist with Ukrainian roots, but his art is known only to a narrow circle in Ukraine. The slide show introduced Rockwell Kent as an illustrator, printmaker and painter. Andy Warhol was presented as a leader of pop art, a pioneer of the computer graphics and one of the most expensive artists of the 20th century. Warhol’s art creations are exhibited in his museum in Pittsburg.
Number of participants – 405 persons (teachers – 15 persons, students – 390 persons).
Presentations:
Valentine’s Day: History, traditions and customs;
Celebration of the Valentine’s Day in the USA;
Valentine’s cartoons;
Valentine’s Day songs;
Walt Disney’s cartoons “Two Chips and Miss” and other;
“Jack London – the first writer-millionaire in the world”;
“Paradoxes in the US Art: Rockwell Kent and Andy Warhol”;
Action kids’ songs.
The program "Jazz: yesterday, today and forever" was prepared by Ms. Iryna Riabtseva - the musicologist, Ph.D., professor of Mykola Hlynka Academy of Music (Dnipropetrovsk ), member of the National Composers’ Union (Ukraine). One of the reasons to start the "Art Residence project" was the numerous requests from the GABFEST Club members who love both music and American culture.
