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The Duke Colloquium: Three Days of Art and the Rebirth of Medellin, Colombia

Seven young emerging artists and two faculty artists from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Medellin will be on campus beginning today (Tuesday) as part of the three day conference on "Through Our Eyes": 7 Young Emerging Colombian Artists' Perspectives on 21st Century Environmental and Social Justice Crises."

The artists are part of Proyecto Boston-Medellin-Durham (PBMD), an exhibition directed by Tamera Marko of Emerson College in Boston and produced and hosted by students, faculty and staff at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Emerson College in Boston and the Duke Colloquium.

The artists' work reflect a city coming out of decades of notorious urban violence, Marko says, but also reflects the optimism and empowerment that art and community organization has provided in Medellin.  In 2012 the Urban Land Institute called the city "The Most Innovative City in the World."

"It seems that this generation experiences the city in extremes: a traumatic past that has marked their everyday lives since they were born and a vision of a future yet to unfold in which they will live and that their parents and grandparents cannot imagine," Marko says.

The program opens with a reception and discussion with the guest artists at 6:30 p.m. tonight in the Jameson Gallery in East Campus' Friedl Building.

Other events include a panel discussion on "Art as Research" at 7 p.m. Wednesday in 217 Perkins Library and a lunch discussion with the artists at 12:15 p.m. Thursday in 201 Allen Building. Advance registration for the lunch can be found on the Duke Colloquium's website.For more information about the program, visit the Colloquium's website.

The colloquium is led by three undergraduate student directors: Bailey Sincox, Vaibhav Penukonda and Gayle Powell.

The Duke Colloquium (TDC) is a university-based initiative devoted to bringing the humanities into the professions. It began in 2009 as the brain child of Dr. Andrew T. Huang in collaboration with members of its then-evolving Advisory Board and Provost Peter Lange.

Through student-led, faculty coached interviews and smaller workshops with internationally known leaders in multidisciplinary thought and socially targeted achievements, TDC aims to launch the next transformation of post-secondary education to enable broader, deeper and more socially conscious leadership of the professionals of the future.