UCA TO HOST PUBLIC LECTURE WITH ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE RENA DETRIXHE 

Rena Detrixhe

The University of Central Arkansas’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) will host a public lecture with artist-in-residence Rena Detrixhe via Zoom and Facebook Live on Tuesday, Sept. 29, from 1:40-2:30 p.m.

Detrixhe is an interdisciplinary artist based in Salina, Kansas, where she works as a research resident with The Land Institute. Through large-scale objects and installations, ephemeral sculpture, performance, drawings and process-based work, she explores systems of value and cultural relations to land and the more-than-human world with attention to histories of injustice.

Detrixhe’s piece, “Red Dirt Rug,” is currently on display at UCA’s Baum Gallery as part of the “Threads Through Time” exhibition and the Suffrage Centennial celebration.

Her public lecture will focus on the sources of inspiration for “Red Dirt Rug” — Oklahoma’s history of land runs, the Trail of Tears and the Dust Bowl, and the ways in which pipelines and hydraulic fracturing have deeply altered today’s landscape.

“Detrixhe’s beautiful work subtly calls our attention to the tension between the beauty of nature and the peril of human impact on the landscape,” said Gayle Seymour, associate dean of CAHSS and lead organizer of UCA’s Suffrage Centennial. “You won’t want to miss her inspiring lecture.”

Individuals may listen and participate in the Zoom here. Those who would rather watch on Facebook Live can find CAHSS on Facebook here.

The UCA Artists-in-Residence program is funded by the UCA Student Arts Fee. Each year, the program brings professional performing and visual artists, creative writers, filmmakers and arts exhibitions to the UCA campus for one or more days for the purpose of expanding student learning experiences. They offer the general student body performances, lectures, exhibits, workshops and more that enlarge awareness and appreciation of the arts.

For more information about the UCA Artists-in-Residence program or Rena Detrixhe, visit https://uca.edu/cahss/artists-in-residence/ or contact Seymour at (501) 450-3295, gayles@uca.edu.