Our Shared Seafaring Heritage, Alive in Rhythm and Song

Leading up to Earth Day, join the indigenous artists of Small Island Big Song for a powerful lecture-demonstration and musical performance, shining a light on the devastating effects of climate crisis on our world’s ocean. This complimentary event is also an open-to-the-public presentation of the Friends of the Center for the Arts Artists in Conversation Series, and is offered in conjunction with Mason Artist-in-Residence Small Island Big Song’s April 20 performance at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University. 

The Pacific & Indian Oceans share a little-known common heritage. Five thousand years ago, people of the Pacific designed ocean-capable canoes and, from a beach in Taiwan, they set sail and settled on islands from Madagascar to Aotearoa (New Zealand), Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to Hawai’i. The descendants of these brave seafarers surpass 400 million people today. 

During the first segment of this lecture-demonstration, Small Island Big Song will set the stage with some geographical and historical background about these great oceanic migrations. The second segment will consist of conversation and musical demonstrations by Small Island Big Song artists to showcase some of the cultural similarities their communities share across these vast ocean expanses. Event concludes with a Q&A with the audience.

FREE, but registration required.

Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center
3740 Blenheim Boulevard, Fairfax, VA 22030

Run time: approximately 90 minutes