CULTURAL EVOLUTION When arts collide

Big changes are in store for American culture as the population shifts from a white majority.
By DEBORA SHAULIS
VINDICATOR ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- Why has the urban hip-hop culture been embraced by white youths? What's the impact of business on the arts? How have Eastern cultures influenced the Western world?
These and other topics are up for discussion during Colloquium 2002 at Youngstown State University's College of Fine & amp; Performing Arts.
The first of two public sessions in conjunction with "Cultural Collisions: Intersections of Race, Class and Gender in the Arts," will be at 2 p.m. Thursday in YSU's Bliss Recital Hall. Admission is free.
The discussions have already begun in YSU art, music and drama classes and will continue throughout fall semester.
The point is "not so much to prepare students for what's going to happen in the next 25 years ... it's more to make them aware that changes are in the offing," said John Turk, a music professor and colloquium coordinator.
A population shift in the next 50 years will bring the arts to a crossroad. By 2050, whites won't constitute the majority anymore. Hispanic influence is "going to become a major factor in American culture," Turk said, and any black influence that has been hidden will "come to the fore."
What's on agenda
Experts in their fields will interact with faculty, students and the public during Colloquium 2002.
Panelists Thursday will be:
UMel Watkins, a Youngstown native and free-lance writer who was editor of The New York Times Book Review. A graduate of South High School and Colgate University in New York, Watkins has written several books, including "Who Killed Tiffany Jones?," "On the Real Side: A History of African American Comedy" and "African American Humor: The Best Black Comedy from Slavery to Today."
UTerry Stewart, president and chief executive officer of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland. Stewart earned degrees in engineering, education, finance and law and worked in traditional business settings until 1989, when he was hired by Marvel Entertainment Group, which specializes in comic books, trading cards, toys, software and children's TV programs.
UAlison Carey, co-founder and resident playwright of Cornerstone Theater in Los Angeles. The multiethnic ensemble offers new plays and modern adaptations of classic works.
The second session, at 2 p.m. Nov. 21 in Bliss Recital Hall, will feature three other panelists:
UManuel Vega Jr., whose art reflects the culture and tradition of inner-city communities in New York, the Caribbean Islands, Brazil and Africa. Vega paints, illustrates, makes prints and designs theater costumes.
UKenneth J. Bohac, curator of Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art at Cleveland Museum of Art. His research has focused on Egyptian decorative arts, portraits of royalty and periods of Egyptian influence on American art.
UJohn Henry Redwood, the author of the plays "The Old Settler," "A Sunbeam," "No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs" and more. Redwood is also an actor who has appeared on Broadway and in feature films such as "Mr. Holland's Opus" and "Porky's."
Symposium participant
In addition to the arts colloquium, Watkins is participating in the Freshman Readers Dialogue, a new, yearlong program at YSU. Literature is being used to form a common bond among members of the freshmen class.
"Dancing With Strangers," Watkins' memoir about growing up in Youngstown during the 1950s, was provided for free to all incoming freshmen and is being discussed in various classes. Students in Youngstown and Warren city schools are also participating in the project.
Watkins will be the first speaker in the YSU Freshman Readers Symposium, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Chestnut Room, Kilcawley Center.
Redwood's arrival will coincide with the opening of a production of his play "The Old Settler" at Oakland Center for the Arts in downtown Youngstown.