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Dance Series: bkSOUL

Saturday, April 12 | 7 p.m.
Warch Esch Hurvis Studio

bkSOUL
dance • poetry • music

grace shinhae jun, choreographer/dancer
Jesse Mills & Loren Kiyoshi Dempster, music
Anthony Blacksher (aka Ant Black), spoken word poetry
Keomi Tarver, dancer

and Lawrence University dancers
Aimsley Shearer, Atlas Wagner, Billy Greene, Ella Fajardo-Wilde, Jasmine Germany, Madison Tracy, Martin Tran, MeiSi Chang

This event is free and open to the public!

ABOUT THE DANCE SERIES ARTIST

bkSOUL was founded in 2001 by Dr. grace shinhae jun as a space to explore the relationship between Hip Hop culture and modern dance, debuting with the evening-length work “Women Warriors in Love & Hip Hop.” The company began as a bi-coastal company (San Diego – Brooklyn), teaching and performing at various venues in Southern California, Brooklyn, New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, Indiana, San Francisco, and Mexico. In 2006, bkSOUL deepened its roots in San Diego and began collaborating with Collective Purpose (Ant Black, Kendrick Dial, and Rudy Francisco), blending together movement, poetry, and live music to center on issues of social justice and communities of color through a Hip Hop framework. This award-winning performance company has created seven evening-length works: “The Movement” (2007), “Hip Hop Saved My Life” (2009), “Love H.E.R.” (2013), “Illegible” (2015), “Still Moving” (2016), “The Lioness” (2017), and “Get Free” (2019) and received “Best Musical Performance” (2016), “Outstanding Performance” (2017), and “Outstanding Multidisciplinary Production” (2019) for their work at the San Diego International Fringe Festival. bkSOUL was in residence at Lawrence University and performed their critically-acclaimed work “Illegible”. In 2016, celebrating 10 years of working together, the dancers, the poets, and the musicians fully merged to perform solely as the conscious performance group bkSOUL. As educators, mothers, fathers, activists, and artists, bkSOUL is committed to education through the arts, to courageous insight and truth, and to helping strengthen our justice movement today.

Jiayi Young ’94 Gallery Walk

Thursday, April 10 | 4:30 p.m.
Wriston Art Galleries

Join us for a gallery walk of the exhibition Beyond Tomorrow: An Artist’s Quest in the Last Decade with the artist, Jiayi Young ’94 (physics and studio art major).

This exhibition offers an insight into the creative journey behind two major projects Young completed over the past decade. The first is a three-phase effort aimed at democratizing social media data. The second is a public artwork that explores a moon rock brought back by Apollo 12 in 1969. The piece presents an enigmatic object—ice that never melts—serving as a metaphor for the paradox of humanity’s insatiable pursuit of resources and technological progress, even at the risk of self-destruction.

During the walk, visitors will also have the opportunity to engage with interactive computer programs, handle physical objects, ask questions, and discuss the projects with the artist. 

Reception with refreshments to follow!

The Digital Child: Lessons from Studying the Family Media Ecology

Wednesday, April 9 | 4:30-6 p.m.
Steitz 102

Lawrence will welcome psychology guest speaker Professor Heather Kirkorian, Laura M. Second Chair in Early Childhood Development & Department Chair and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at UW-Madison.

Prof. Kirkorian’s talk will synthesize research on digital media and early child development. She will share research highlights regarding early cognitive development and screen time, including when young children do (and do not) learn from digital media. She will also examine the larger family media ecology using the Dynamic, Relational, and Ecological Approach to Media Effects Research (DREAMER) framework. The DREAMER framework emphasizes the regulatory and relational processes that shape how young children and families use and respond to media, balancing the needs of different family members. Prof. Kirkorian will use examples from her own and others’ research to illustrate how different types of media use predict different short- and long-term outcomes. Prof. Kirkorian will conclude with examples of how to translate these research findings into practical advice to support digital well-being for families with young children.

Guest Recital: ~Nois

Wednesday, April 9 | 8-9 p.m.
Harper Hall

~Nois is a Chicago-based saxophone quartet dedicated to connecting with diverse audiences through the creation of new work. Since its founding in 2016, “~Nois continues to legitimize the saxophone quartet as a premiere ensemble formation for classical music” (thank you, Brutal New Music) through commissioning repertoire that is thought-provoking, engaging, and honestly just really good by some of today’s most inspiring compositional voices.

Julian Velasco, soprano saxophone
Joe Connor, alto saxophone
Jordan Lulloff, tenor saxophone
János Csontos, baritone saxophone

~Nois will perform works by Augusta Read Thomas, Caroline Shaw, Viet Cuong, Elijah Daniel Smith, and Travis Laplante.

Free and open to the public! 

Deadline Extended: Björklunden Fall Term weekend applications

Björklunden applications will be accepted from April 7-25 for Fall Term 2025.

The weekends provide a distinctive and highly memorable integrative experience. Each weekend during the academic year, groups gather to explore and reflect on ideas, artistic expressions, and community issues. Topics are wide-ranging, and students have the opportunity for intensive inquiry and discussion with faculty members and among themselves in an informal, intimate setting.

Student Program General Information

FAQs

Student Program Application

AI faculty inquiry group events

Working Without an Instruction Manual: Grappling with AI in education

Tuesday, April 8 | 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Youngchild 121

Join Mike Clayville (CON + BUEN) and Abhishek Chakraborty (MATH) for a practical session exploring how AI is affecting teaching and learning. Drawing from recent workshops with the AAC&U and research by leading thinkers like Bowen, Watson, and Mollick, this session is less about giving answers and more about asking the right questions.

We’ll look at:

  • The current state of generative AI in education and the workforce
  • Its impact on student motivation, learning, and academic integrity
  • Practical classroom strategies and tools
  • A reframing of educational goals in the age of AI

Whether you’re AI-curious, skeptical, or already experimenting, this session offers a chance to reflect, share ideas, and imagine meaningful ways forward together. This session was offered at the midterm teaching conference on Feb. 13, and many faculty asked that it be given again!

Values and Practices

Thursday, May 8 | 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Briggs 420

Join colleagues during midterm for two sessions on AI centered on values and practices. During our first session we will critically examine the ethics of using AI in a higher education context. This is an opportunity to share questions and concerns and engage in dialogue about this technology with others. We will then convene over a catered lunch before attending an afternoon workshop focused on crafting, drafting, and discussing policy statements for use in classrooms, committees, and institutional work.

2025 Spring Art Shows

We are excited for the 2025 Spring Shows: April 4-May 17, 2025!

  • A Traveler’s Guide to Early Modern Japan | Brigid Vance’s Early Modern Japanese History | Leech Gallery
  • Gustavo Fares, Abstract-Organic | Hoffmaster Gallery
  • Jiayi Young, Beyond Tomorrow: An Artist’s Quest in the Last Decade | Kohler Gallery

Join us for these gallery events:

Gallery Talk with Jiayi Young ’94
Thursday, April 10 | 4:30 p.m.
Reception with refreshments to follow

Art @ Noon(ish)
Informal tours of the exhibitions
Thursday, April 17 & Thursday, May 8 | 12:15 p.m.

Gallery Talk with Gustavo Fares, professor of Spanish and visual artist
Thursday, May 1 | 4:30 p.m.

Gallery Hours

The Galleries are free and open to the public, located in Wriston Art Center.

  • Monday-Friday | 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
  • Saturday | 12-4 p.m.
  • Sunday | Closed

Facilities Project Updates

Current and future projects happening around campus:

  • Mudd Library: Work will be ongoing through summer
  • Campus: Annual maintenance power outage, July 14
  • Warch: Passenger elevator replacement June 23– September 5
  • Brokaw/Colman/West Campus parking lot: Resurfaced June 30– August 1
  • Library/Youngchild/Warch-Lawe St Bridge path: Concrete replacement Summer 2025 TBD
  • Chapel Façade: Renovation to begin summer 2025 TBD
  • Quads 3-4-5, Wilson House, Big Exec: Fire system upgrades summer 2025 TBD

Watch for updates weekly; TBD dates will be filled in as learned. Please note, dates are subject to change due to weather or supply chain issues. Please be safe when in these areas!

Cabaret

Saturday, April 5 | 7:30-9 p.m.
Sunday, April 6 | 7:30-9 p.m.
Stansbury Theater

You are invited to attend Lawrence International’s annual Cabaret! This is an annual variety show that showcases music, dance, and fashion from around the world. This year’s theme, “Adult Swim,” is inspired by Cartoon Network’s special segment, encouraging us to channel our inner child and escape the adult world together.

Doors open at 7 p.m.

Tickets

  • Adults – $8
  • Children & Seniors – $5
  • Free for LU faculty, staff, and students

Performing Arts Series: Yumi Kurosawa Trio

Wednesday, April 2 | 8-9:30 p.m.
Harper Hall

Yumi Kurosawa was born and raised in a traditional Japanese music environment, taking up the Koto from a young age and rising fast to the upper echelons of her craft. Ever since she was a teenager, however, she constantly surrounded herself with contemporary music by Western music composers, integrating their melodies and phrasings into her solo Koto. As her career expanded, she carried these interests into ensembles featuring Western musical instruments, especially strings.

For this trio, Yumi is joined by violinist Naho Parrini and percussionist Yousif Sheronick. The program features exhilarating new compositions from Yumi alongside striking reinterpretations of favorites from her oeuvre, highlighting the shared affinity between these seemingly disparate instruments. The trio setting allows Yumi to expand her solo compositions into dynamic and multi-faceted performances that encompass a wide range of expression and dimension.

Tickets

  • $15 – Adults
  • $10 – Seniors
  • $8 – non-LU students
  • LU faculty, staff, & students – FREE with ID

Get your tickets at the Box Office (inside the Music-Drama Center) or online!

Box Office

  • Monday-Saturday 1-6 p.m.
  • One hour prior to events