Performance marks arrival of slaves in U.S.

The Fisher Center at Bard College will present “16:19: A Commemoration in Sound” on Monday, Dec. 16.

The music, dance and spoken word performance marks the 400th anniversary of the first arrival of enslaved people from Africa in the North American British colonies.

African descendants’ virtuosic negotiations with Western tonality and forms, as well as cosmopolitan explorations of different sounds, aesthetics and cultures, have shaped vital contributions to American art, music and dance. Whitney Slaten, assistant professor of music, brings together jazz artist T.K. Blue, choreographer Souleymane Badolo, and illustrator James Ransome of Dutchess County for an exploration of history, memory, legacy, and gestures between the U.S. and Africa.

The program will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Sosnoff Theater, 60 Manor Road. Tickets are $25. For tickets or more information, visit www.fishercenter.bard.edu or call (845) 758-7900.

Photojournalist named as visiting professor

Matt Moyer, a photographer, filmmaker and educator, will join the faculty of the SUNY College at New Paltz for the spring 2020 semester as the James H. Ottaway Sr. visiting professor in journalism.

Moyer’s work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Guardian, Newsweek, National Geographic magazine and National Geographic Traveler magazine, where he is currently a contributing photographer. His onthe-ground coverage of the Iraq War appeared in The New York Times.

Moyer will teach an upper-level journalism seminar titled “The Picture Story,” which will explore the fundamentals and practices of photojournalistic storytelling. On April 7, 2020, he is expected to deliver a public lecture, titled “Inheritance: An Intimate Journey into America’s Opioid Epidemic.”

More information about the Ottaway Visiting Professorship, including biographies of previous professors, can be found on the website www.newpaltz. edu/ottaway/.