Festival Stories

Click here to read the New York Times book review of “Representing Justice” by Yale Law School professors Judith Resnik and Dennis Curtis, which Randy Kennedy calls "an academic treatise on threats to the modern judiciary that doubles as an obsessive’s tour of Western art through the lens of the law".

In this photo, International Festival of Arts & Ideas Executive Director Mary Lou Aleskie holds the first copy of "Representing Justice" as she introduces Judith Resnik as the guest host at the inaugural presentation of the Festival's Visionary Leadership Award on November 18 at the New Haven...

Shaina Vega
Festival Fellow

I am a drawer and painter because life and colors are my inspiration. Drawing and painting helps me understand life more, helps me see the "bigger picture" of why people kill themselves, why they become religious or why they decide to bring life into this world without real reason. My goals and aspirations are to show everyone all over the world my drawings and paintings so they can see what I feel and understand my creativity.

I would like for people to imagine or feel themselves floating on the lines or colors of my artwork. Some of my art represents the funny,...

Written by Shaina Vega

I thought the "Hot Club of San Francisco" and the Gypsy Jazz Music inspired by Django Reinhardt was creative and interesting. I hadn't seen a silent film before, so I felt like it was a great experience for me to have taken the time to see this awesome performance.

The staff was kind; they showed us to our seats and were not rude at all; they were on point with what they had to do. The location of the theatre was a good distance -- I haven't really traveled to Fairfield often, so it was nice to visit there, even for a little while – but, the theatre was a little cold....

Written by Earl Ali-Randall

When I first walked into the theatre, I noticed there were more older people in the audience than younger ones, and the majority of them were Caucasian. We [IFAI] fellows were the only African American people there. I think that the location where the show was held, Fairfield, Connecticut, had a lot to do with this issue.

There were many empty seats. I felt very uncomfortable sitting there for such a long time; the aisles were too tight. I also thought the 15-minute intermission was too long. I noticed the audience laughed at some elements in the show that to me...

Written by Sharon Dickey

When I first entered the theatre I observed that it was very neat and clean, unlike some other places I’ve been to. I liked that the theatre wasn’t so big where you’d get lost; at the same time it wasn’t too small. Overall, I appreciated the way I was greeted, treated, and dismissed. I really liked the vibe I felt from the staff; there was no negativity as far as the attitudes.

The audience was mainly Caucasian and their ages ranged from 40 and up. It wasn’t much of a big crowd. The theatre was a bit cold; I kept my jacket on for the whole show. The sound and...

Written by Inez Bell

What comes to mind when I mention the words, “Fairfield County”? Be honest. Well, when I think of Fairfield County, I think of trees and large houses, not of people stepping on each other’s necks to attend performances on college campuses. I’m aware of my bias as a New Haven youth -- I like to attend performances at the Yale Repertory theatre as much as I can. Therefore, the location troubled me a bit.

However, Fairfield University’s theatre and staff were, respectively, a good match for the piece and kind to the audience. The staff was comprised of students, which made...

Written by Diamond Davis

As I sit in a dimly lit theater watching, “Hot Club of San Francisco,” many thoughts come to mind. Describing the event to people would be like telling a story to a nice little kid.

When I walked into the Regina A. Quick Center at Fairfield University, I thought how pretty it looked on the inside and how much fun I was going to have.

The four films that we saw were divided into two parts. The first film, Now You Tell One (1926), which was based on Charley Bowers’s tall tales of gun-toting mice, was like a blow-me-away moment. I couldn’t really tell if Bowers’s story...

Click here to read the editorial in the New Haven Register by Charles Kochakian.

As part of their holiday tradition, the International Festival of Arts & Ideas will present composer Phil Kline’s “Unsilent Night” on Thursday, December 9, 2010. A “boom box processional” that fills the crisp, winter air with Kline’s symphony for bells, the performance features audience participants carrying boom boxes, each playing one of four musical parts, to create a magical evening of ethereal sound. Kline’s signature composition “Unsilent Night” debuted on the sidewalks of Greenwich Village in 1992 and is now a holiday tradition worldwide from San Francisco to Sydney. “Unsilent Night”...

Click here to read the article in the Yale Daily Bulletin about Zainab Salbi's visit to New Haven this week.

The Festival's Visionary Leadership Award presentation and benefit luncheon is sold out.

The Yale World Fellows Program and the Office of the Secretary will be hosting a conversation with Ms. Salbi on Thursday November 18, 2010 at the Betts House, 393 Prospect Street, Third Floor, New Haven, CT. Tea will be served at 4pm. Human rights advocate and Yale World Fellow Ana Paula Hernandez will interview Zainab Salbi starting at 4:30 pm. Free and open to the general public.

Click here to read the article in the New Haven Register about the Visionary Leadership Award.

Click here for more information about the Visionary Leadership Award luncheon and award presentation taking place on Thursday November 18 from Noon to 2pm.

Bassist and composer Ben Allison joins the St. Luke's and Yale Steel Bands, directed by Deborah Teason, and the Common Ground Ensemble performing music by steel pan virtuoso Andy Akiho, Samuel Adams, and other Yale composers at On Common Ground II on Friday November 12 at 8pm in Morse Recital Hall at Sprague Memorial Hall. The concert is part of the Yale School of Music's Ellington Jazz Series hosted by the program’s founder and director Willie Ruff.

The Ben Allison Band currently features Jenny Scheinman on violin, Michael Blake on saxophones, Steve Cardenas on guitar, and Rudy Royston on...