Multicultural Field Trip
Multicultural Field Trip
(Statue entering the center)
Here in my area of California there are many choices to choose from for my field trip to a cultural center. After searching online I decided on the WorldBeat Cultural Center located in San Diego California at 2100 Park Blvd San Diego 92101. I knew I had chosen a good site when before I even entered the center as I heard beating of drums in a mesmerizing rhythm while still parking my car. The name WorldBeat was fitting. Until this assignment I was under the impression that a cultural center was much like a nature center where you have displays of surrounding items found and displayed with origin information cards. The WorldBeat Cultural Center is a non-profit multi-disciplinary cultural …show more content…
organization in San Diego, California in Balboa Park.
I walked in on a practice session of African Drum and Dance. Included in this essay are photos of the inside of the Cultural Arts Center and the session I was delighted to stay for. In celebration for Black History month which is celebrated here in the United States in February (African American History Month, 2014), the center was having a practice of the drums and dance in preparation for a live performance. Outside of the center the building was not typical in the center of San Diego, this building had a tremendous amount of character painted on the outside walls in the form of murals and was shaped round. As you walk around the building you see a little piece of the ethnic make up of this cultural center. “Ethnic culture forms the basis of every national culture.” (Navasaitienė & Perkumienė, 2009).
The WorldBeat Cultural Center is definitely a multi-disciplinary cultural organization as displayed the variety of different flags flying above the performance area. Another observation in the area of multicultural was as I was touring the center I noticed in the group practicing the African Drum and Dance performance were African, White, Hispanic and Oriental members all playing together as seen in my photos. It was very enlightening to see such a diverse group of people dancing and playing traditional African music. I believe the style of drumming was West-African jembe. “The jembe (pronounced 'jem-beh ') is the goblet shaped drum used by the Maninke people of western Africa since around 1300.” (afrodrumming, n.d.)
In one section of the cultural center was a display of art from a local photographer artist displaying photos of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Jamaica. This was her way of celebrating Black History Month.
As I walked through the center it was divided up into a few different cultural styles, African; Japanese; Egyptian; and Brazilian.
Space for displays of the different cultures, were in cases on the floor or murals painted on the wall. For instance, a mural on the wall was painted for the Egyptian culture and floor space was given to the other shared cultures for some of their artifact displays.
In the photo below notice the diversity of the performers dancing. With this being Black History month notice the traditional head wrap worn by the African American Woman. “The African American headwrap holds a distinctive position in the history of American dress both for its longevity and for its potent signification’s” (Griebel, n.d.)
In conclusion of my trip to the WorldBeat Cultural Center I was very happy to have been able to see at least the performance practice during my visit. My travel to get there was over two hours and approximately 95 miles one way to get there but my experience I feel was well worth it. The main goal of the WorldBeat Cultural Center as stated in their mission statement is to create unity within diversity. I believe just seeing the diversity of the performers in this one practice session that they practice what they
preach.
References
African American History Month. (2014). Retrieved February 9, 2014 from http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/ Navasaitienė, S. & Perkumienė, D. (2009). Cooperation of Cultural Centres and Community Organizations in the Nurturance of the Ethnic Culture in Rural Areas. Proceedings Of The International Scientific Conference: Rural Development, 4(1), 321-326.
West African Djembe History. (2012). Retrieved February 9, 2014 from http://www.afrodrumming.com/djembe-history.php Griebel, B. H. (n.d.). The African American woman’s Headwrap: Unwinding the Symbols. Retrieved February 9, 2014 from
http://char.txa.cornell.edu/griebel.htm
(Statue entering the center)
Here in my area of California there are many choices to choose from for my field trip to a cultural center. After searching online I decided on the WorldBeat Cultural Center located in San Diego California at 2100 Park Blvd San Diego 92101. I knew I had chosen a good site when before I even entered the center as I heard beating of drums in a mesmerizing rhythm while still parking my car. The name WorldBeat was fitting. Until this assignment I was under the impression that a cultural center was much like a nature center where you have displays of surrounding items found and displayed with origin information cards. The WorldBeat Cultural Center is a non-profit multi-disciplinary cultural …show more content…
organization in San Diego, California in Balboa Park.
I walked in on a practice session of African Drum and Dance. Included in this essay are photos of the inside of the Cultural Arts Center and the session I was delighted to stay for. In celebration for Black History month which is celebrated here in the United States in February (African American History Month, 2014), the center was having a practice of the drums and dance in preparation for a live performance. Outside of the center the building was not typical in the center of San Diego, this building had a tremendous amount of character painted on the outside walls in the form of murals and was shaped round. As you walk around the building you see a little piece of the ethnic make up of this cultural center. “Ethnic culture forms the basis of every national culture.” (Navasaitienė & Perkumienė, 2009).
The WorldBeat Cultural Center is definitely a multi-disciplinary cultural organization as displayed the variety of different flags flying above the performance area. Another observation in the area of multicultural was as I was touring the center I noticed in the group practicing the African Drum and Dance performance were African, White, Hispanic and Oriental members all playing together as seen in my photos. It was very enlightening to see such a diverse group of people dancing and playing traditional African music. I believe the style of drumming was West-African jembe. “The jembe (pronounced 'jem-beh ') is the goblet shaped drum used by the Maninke people of western Africa since around 1300.” (afrodrumming, n.d.)
In one section of the cultural center was a display of art from a local photographer artist displaying photos of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Jamaica. This was her way of celebrating Black History Month.
As I walked through the center it was divided up into a few different cultural styles, African; Japanese; Egyptian; and Brazilian.
Space for displays of the different cultures, were in cases on the floor or murals painted on the wall. For instance, a mural on the wall was painted for the Egyptian culture and floor space was given to the other shared cultures for some of their artifact displays.
In the photo below notice the diversity of the performers dancing. With this being Black History month notice the traditional head wrap worn by the African American Woman. “The African American headwrap holds a distinctive position in the history of American dress both for its longevity and for its potent signification’s” (Griebel, n.d.)
In conclusion of my trip to the WorldBeat Cultural Center I was very happy to have been able to see at least the performance practice during my visit. My travel to get there was over two hours and approximately 95 miles one way to get there but my experience I feel was well worth it. The main goal of the WorldBeat Cultural Center as stated in their mission statement is to create unity within diversity. I believe just seeing the diversity of the performers in this one practice session that they practice what they
preach.
References
African American History Month. (2014). Retrieved February 9, 2014 from http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/ Navasaitienė, S. & Perkumienė, D. (2009). Cooperation of Cultural Centres and Community Organizations in the Nurturance of the Ethnic Culture in Rural Areas. Proceedings Of The International Scientific Conference: Rural Development, 4(1), 321-326.
West African Djembe History. (2012). Retrieved February 9, 2014 from http://www.afrodrumming.com/djembe-history.php Griebel, B. H. (n.d.). The African American woman’s Headwrap: Unwinding the Symbols. Retrieved February 9, 2014 from
http://char.txa.cornell.edu/griebel.htm