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- Pan-African Creative Exchange as 2024 School of Social Work Artist Residency
The University of Michigan School of Social Work, in collaboration with the U-M Arts Initiative, proudly announces the selection of the Pan-African Creative Exchange (PACE) as the featured artist residency for 2024. This initiative, a part of the Arts Initiative’s Visiting Artist Integration Program (VAIP), is designed to infuse the University of Michigan’s engagement and learning processes with the dynamic creativity of artists.
About Pan-African Creative Exchange (PACE)
PACE, founded at the prestigious Vrystaat Arts Festival at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, serves as a biennial arts market and showcase for African and African-diaspora artists. The platform provides a gateway for presenting tour-ready work, showcasing excerpts, pitching new creations, facilitating producer exchanges, hosting workshops, and fostering critical debates—ultimately creating an invaluable network for artists and creatives. The 2024 U-M School of Social Work Artist Residency will feature a bi-coastal duo, Nike Jonah and Erwin Maas, who specialize in art consultancy across various creative sectors. Their residency, taking place during two weeks in February (Feb. 8-14) and April (April 10-15) will encompass masterclasses, workshops, and conversations aimed at enriching the U-M community and the Southeast Michigan region.
Nike Jonah and Erwin Maas
Jonah, a British Nigerian based in London, and Maas, a Dutch-American based in NYC, bring a wealth of international experience to U-M. Their diverse backgrounds and expertise promise a unique perspective on diversity, equity, and inclusion matters, as well as the sustainability of performing arts professions in Africa and its diaspora.
“We are excited to partner with the U-M Arts Initiative to host these two residencies, which will explore the diversity of cultural expression and how the arts can drive social change. The intersection of social work, social justice and the arts is a vibrant and impactful area of study. I look forward to engaging in compelling and thought provoking conversations,” said Beth Angell, Dean and Phillip Fellin Collegiate Professor at the U-M School of Social Work.
The February 8-14 artist residency will include:
Feb. 8: Leading and Managing Global Majority Cultural Organizations (Class Visit)
Feb. 8: Theatre & Incarceration (Class Visit)
Feb. 8: ArtsEngine (Affiliate Event)
Feb. 9: Theatre Studies Forum
Feb. 9: Stamps School of Art & Design MFA program (Critique Salon)
Feb. 10: Prison Creative Arts (Workshop)
Feb. 11: PACE Luncheon of the Willing (Public event; U-M Detroit Center)
RSVPFeb. 12: School of Social Work Art Collective (Dinner and Conversation)
Feb. 13: Essentials of Community & Organizational Practice (Class Visit)
Feb. 14: An Afrocentric Approach to Practice with African Amer/Black Indiv., Families & Communities (Class Visit)
Feb. 14: Unity Diversity Dinner hosted by DEI & Office of Global Activities
Feb. 14: Art-centered Social Justice Practice & Self-healing (Class Visit)
Additional Events in April
April 12: Global Networking & Idea Pitching w/ Pan-African Creative Exchange
RSVPApril 15: PACE Speed-Networking Pitching Session
- January 23, 2024
Camille Quinn Speaks with KVUE on New Texas Law to Keep At-Risk Youth out of the Legal SystemAssociate Professor Camille Quinn spoke with ABC affiliate KVUE in Austin, Texas, about a new state law designed to keep at-risk youth out of the juvenile justice system. “Once you touch that legal system, it's very difficult to get un-ensnared," she said.
- January 17, 2024
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Rebeccah Sokol Quoted in the Detroit News on Michigan’s New Gun Storage RequirementsAssistant Professor Rebeccah Sokol is quoted in the Detroit News on a new firearm storage requirement in Michigan that goes into effect next month. The new legislation will require gun owners to store their firearms in a locked box or unloaded with a locking device when there is a reasonable chance that a minor is or is likely to be on the premises. “We often assume that these safe storage laws encourage adults to store their firearms locked and unloaded,” Sokol said, “but these laws’ life-saving potential can only be realized if firearm owners know about them and public officials enforce them.”
- January 17, 2024
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Erin Martinez-Gillard Discusses Sexual Health Education with Crazy Wisdom JournalLecturer Erin Martinez-Gillard spoke with Crazy Wisdom Journal about sexual health education and effective ways to talk about sex and relationships with young people. “Creating an open door for questions and conversations is imperative. This is never, in any role, a one-time Q&A,” said Martinez-Gillard.
- January 17, 2024
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Cureton Quoted in the Boston Globe on How School Transfers Can Compound Trauma in RefugeesAssistant Professor Ashley Cureton was quoted in the Boston Globe about the struggles of Ukrainian refugee families. The article explores how multiple school transfers can uproot vulnerable kids and compound the trauma and loss they’ve already experienced as refugees. “It is imperative that they can stay in one place, that they can build those relationships, that they can build a sense of community, and really feel like they have a place here in the U.S.,” Cureton said.
- January 9, 2024
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- MSW Students Maryam Syed and Maretta DeWitt Named Dow Sustainability Fellows
MSW students Maryam Syed and Maretta DeWitt have been named as Dow Sustainability Fellow by the Graham Institute. Designed to support the next generation of sustainability leaders in business, government, and nonprofits, the Dow Sustainability Fellows Program is among the most prestigious and productive graduate programs at U-M. Fellows are selected through a competitive process from a pool of applicants nominated by their academic units.
- January 9, 2024
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Greer Hamilton Named a Health Equity Early Career ScholarResearch Fellow Greer Hamilton has been named to the 2023-24 cohort of the Health Equity Early Career Scholars Program, a collaborative effort of the Scholars Strategy Network and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The program is structured to enable cohort members to disseminate their research findings among peers, senior scholars, policymakers and practitioners.
- January 9, 2024
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Trina Shanks Receives 2024 SSWR Social Policy AwardProfessor Trina Shanks has received the 2024 Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Social Policy Award. Shanks will be presented with the award this weekend at the SSWR Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. in January.
- January 9, 2024
William Elliott Discusses College Savings Accounts with St. Louis Public RadioProfessor William Elliott III joined St. Louis Public Radio in a spirited conversation about college savings accounts and their potential. The conversation was prompted by St. Louis Public Schools’ recent decision to pause its partnership in the College Kids Savings Account program.
- January 9, 2024
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Shawna Lee Named Co-Editor-in-Chief of Children and Youth Services ReviewProfessor Shawna Lee has been appointed as a new Co-Editor-in-Chief of Children and Youth Services Review.
“I am excited to take on the role of Co-Editor-in-Chief at Children and Youth Services Review. I look forward to working with the other editors to continue to increase the representation of BIPOC scholars, international scholars and junior scholars on the CYSR team,” said Lee. “One of the things that I appreciate about Children and Youth Services Review is its focus on children's experiences. The journal places children's experiences and the impact of policy and practice on children at the forefront. In so doing, CYSR centers youths' perspectives.”
- January 3, 2024
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