Ulysse to Perform Avant-Garde “Voodoo Doll” Meditation in Brazil, Ghana

Gina Athena Ulysse, associate professor of anthropology, associate professor of African-American studies, was invited to perform her avant-garde meditation, “Voodoo Doll, What if Haiti Were a Woman?” at two international conferences in 2013. Ulysse’s piece focuses on coercion and consent inspired by Gede, the Haitian Vodou spirit of life and death. She intersperses the story with Haiti’s geopolitical history, statistics, theory and Vodou chants.

On Jan. 12-19, Ulysse will attend the 8th Encuentro of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics at the Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. There, she will join more than 400 artists, performers, scholars and activists who will examine the broad intersections between urban space, performance and political/artistic action in the Americas. The Encuentro is an interdisciplinary academic conference and performance festival that is focused on experimentation, dialogue and collaboration. Learn more at this link.

On May 16-19, Ulysse will participate in an international symposium of women writers from Africa and its diaspora titled “Yari Yari Ntoaso: Continuing the Dialogue.” The symposium will be held in Accra, Ghana, West Africa and include panels, readings, performances and film screenings. “Yari Yari Ntoaso” will be a gathering devoted to the study, criticism and celebration of the creativity and diversity of women writers of African descent. Learn more at this link.

Ulysse performed “Voodoo Doll” at Wesleyan on July 24. For more information see this Wesleyan Connection post.