All Events
Art Exhibition
NEW DATE: ART RECEPTION – KABABAIHAN: ART THROUGH FEMINISM AND WOMEN’S WISDOM PINAYSPHERE
PinaySphere
MCC Lounge
*** NEW DATE FEB. 20 (Rescheduled from Feb. 13) ***
The MCC Winter 2025 Art Exhibition’s theme is “Kababaihan: Art Through Feminism and Women’s Wisdom,” which celebrates the power of feminism and women’s collective wisdom through art! The term “Kababaihan” translates to “womanhood” or “femininity” in Tagalog. Featuring works from diverse artists in PinaySphere, “Kababaihan” explores themes of empowerment, resilience, and the transformative role of women in shaping our world. Join us to engage with inspiring art and conversations that honor women’s stories and contributions.
Guest bio: Jen V. Benitez is the Founder / Executive Director of nonprofit, PINAYSPHERE (pin-eye) for Filipina-American youth artists. She is a California-born and raised Filipina-American based out in Camarillo, CA. Originally from Oxnard, CA, she’s lived in Long Beach and New York which has allowed her to expand her network throughout both coasts. She finds herself at the intersection of sacred wellness, creativity, and decolonization. She is passionate about projects that allow her to share her gifts & be of service to those in her community.
Sunday Dinner with FoodNotBombsIV
Little Acorn Park
Join us at the MCC for a heartwarming community event! In collaboration with Food Not Bombs Isla Vista, we’re giving out free vegan dinners to nourish both the body and soul. This initiative promotes solidarity, sustainability, and mutual aid, offering delicious plant-based meals to all. Come by, share a meal, and connect with our community in the spirit of care and inclusivity. All are welcome!
Co-Sponsor: Food Not Bombs Isla Vista
Cup of Culture
We Were Here - The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe
Fred Kudjo Kuwornu
MCC Theater and Lounge
5-6:30 movie
6:30-7:30 Q&A + reception
We Were Here - The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe sheds light on the overlooked presence of African and Black individuals in Renaissance Europe, highlighting their depiction in masterpieces by some of the era's most celebrated artists. How did they come to Europe? Why were they portrayed? Were they truly all servants or slaves? If the Black faces portrayed in these Renaissance masterpieces could speak, what would they tell us?
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Fred Kudjo Kuwornu and produced by Do The Right Films, this multilingual documentary takes viewers on an expansive journey through the UK, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and France, offering a compelling reexamination of European art history and its cultural legacy. Featuring insights from leading scholars in Art History, Black Studies, and History, alongside Black activists and curators, the film provides a rich, layered perspective on a neglected chapter of European history.
We Were Here has already attracted international attention, exhibited in the Central Pavilion curated by Adriano Pedrosa at the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. The documentary has received critical acclaim for its fresh, thought-provoking exploration of race, art, and identity in the Renaissance.
More Info: https://www.wewereherethefilm.com
Guest bio:
Fred Kudjo Kuwornu is a multi-hyphenate socially engaged artist, filmmaker and scholar whose work is deeply influenced by his background as a person of African descent. Born and raised in Italy, Kuwornu is based in New York. His unique background is reflected in his triple citizenship, holding Italian, Ghanaian, and U.S. passports. By consistently bridging the past and present, the hegemonic and subaltern, the seen and unseen, Kuwornu's practice emerges as a vital contribution to contemporary visual culture, understanding the complex interplay between history, identity, race, and representation in our globalized world. Kuwornu's curatorial vision can be understood as a form of historical remixing in which he reconfigures archival materials and contemporary narratives to enlighten a rethinking of perspectives. His works have been exhibited at prestigious venues including the Central Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale (2024), Museum of Moving Image in New York, Library of Congress, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, George Eastman Museum and numerous international film festivals.
More info: https://www.fredkuwornu.com
Produced by Do The Right Films
Producers: Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, Peter Boateng Manu, Lorenzo Fabbri
with the support of: Africa No Filter, OSF, University of Minnesota and the collaboration of Cantieri Meticci
Self-Expression in Community: Trauma-Informed Care at UCSB
Aili Pettersson Peeker, Julie Carlson, Sowon Park, and Tara Jones
MCC Lounge
Join UCSB’s Trauma-Informed Pedagogy project and the Coordinator of the African diasporic Cultural Resource Center for an interactive discussion about how we can work towards belonging at UCSB through trauma-informed modes of expression in the classroom, in liberation work, and on our campus. This event will grapple with questions about how persons can express their individuality within diverse groups and communities and will be led by Drs. Julie Carlson, Sowon Park, Tara Jones, and Aili Pettersson Peeker. The event will allow you to learn about somatic experiencing techniques as ways of releasing energy, writing as a tool for expression, and trauma-informed activism with a focus on developing strategies for personally sustainable activism. Food will be provided after the event.
Guest Bios:
Julie Carlson is a Professor of English and Associate Dean and Faculty Equity Advisor in the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts. She is co-PI of the Trauma-Informed Pedagogy project, and her current research project is "Anxious to Read: Trauma-Informed Reflections by a British Romanticist on the Contemporary Literature Classroom.
Tara Jones, a proud UCSB alumna, is the Coordinator of the African diasporic Cultural Resource Center at UCSB and Academic Achievement Counselor for UCSB’s Educational Opportunity Program, supporting first-generation, and income eligible students’ retention and matriculation. She co-facilitates the Sister Circle Black Womxn’s support group at UCSB and is a co-founder of annual UCSB Black Womxn’s Wellness conference. She holds a Ph.D. in Depth Psychology, specializing in Community, Liberation, & Eco-Psychologies at Pacifica Graduate Institute, a Masters in the Science of Teaching from Fordham University, a Masters of Arts in Counseling Psychology and a Master’s of Arts in Depth Psychology from PGI, and a Bachelors of Arts degree in Sociology and Black Studies from UCSB.
Dr. Sowon Park is Associate Professor of English at UCSB. She specializes in Cognitive Literary Criticism and is Director of the Center for Literature and Mind. Her current research projects include a five-year investigation on ‘Trauma-Informed Pedagogy’ (2021- 2026) and the ongoing neuro-literary research forum on ‘Unconscious Memory’ (https://unconsciousmemory.english.ucsb.edu/)
Aili Pettersson Peeker is a lecturer in the Writing Program at UCSB. She is the Research Coordinator for UCSB’s Trauma-Informed Pedagogy project and holds PhD in English with an emphasis in Cognitive Science. Her current research project brings together cognitive science and literary studies to rethink the relationship between empathy and literature.
Co-Sponsors: UCSB’s Trauma-Informed Pedagogy Project and AdCRC
