The Latinx Project at NYU presents a virtual chat between writer and musician Rita Indiana and NYU Professor Carlos Chirinos.
This event is co-sponsored by the Hemispheric Institute and Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS)
About the Event:
A virtual charla, or chat, between writer and musician Rita Indiana and Carlos Chirinos, Director of the NYU Steinhardt School’s Music and Social Change Lab and Clinical Music and Global Public Health Associate Professor with the NYU School of Global Public Health. The discussion centers on the multi-disciplinary artist’s career trajectory and what sparked her return to music after a decade-long hiatus; how her music unpacks feminism, gender, migration and Dominican identity; and what’s next creatively for Indiana’s career.
About the Speakers:
Rita Indiana is a Dominican-born New York-based music composer, and a key figure in contemporary Latinamerican literature; Tentacle won the Grand Prize of the Association of Caribbean Writers in 2017, the first Spanish-language book to do so. She is the author of five novels and is a driving force in experimental Caribbean popular music. She writes about outsiders in possible and impossible worlds and teaches storytelling to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Carlos Chirinos’ work explores innovation and creativity in emerging global music industries, looking at the role of music in public health, international development and social change. He has been a key consultant for radio and music projects in Europe, Africa and Japan, with funding from the World Bank, USAID, IDRC, the Wellcome Trust and Toyota Foundation.
Carlos received an award from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Defense, and USAID, to develop Africa Stop Ebola, a global music campaign to raise awareness about Ebola in West Africa that was featured in the New York Times, The Guardian, BBC and CNN.
Currently, Professor Chirinos collaborates with the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, curating music performances to engage the Latin community living in New York City. He is also involved in projects in the UK, Tanzania, Cuba and other countries, looking at the role of music industries in economic development, tourism and social entrepreneurship. Carlos is the Director of the NYU Steinhardt School’s Music and Social Change Lab and Clinical Music and Global Public Health Associate Professor with the NYU School of Global Public Health.