Clark Art Summer Outdoor Concert Series With Chinobay

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. —The Clark Art Institute presents the latest in a series of free outdoor concerts with thematic connections to the Ground/work 2025 exhibition with a performance by Chinobay on Wednesday, July 16 at 6 pm on the Reflecting Pool Lawn.

According to a press release:

Hailing from the rich musical traditions of Uganda, Chinobay is a musician, cultural ambassador, and educator, spreading the vibrant rhythms and melodies of Africa everywhere. As a child, he embraced the folk tunes he gleaned from his elders. As time unfolded, he undertook the task of revitalizing these classic songs, all while mastering an array of traditional instruments. Today, he stands as a seasoned songwriter, a dedicated educator, and a bridge-builder between cultures. Just as Ground/work 2025 artist Aboubakar Fofana’s artistic practice is rooted in the traditions of West African dyeing and weaving, Chinobay’s musical practice connects to the past and to the inherited teachings of his ancestors.

Free. Bring a picnic and your own seating. Inclement weather moves events to the Manton Research Center auditorium. For accessibility questions, call 413 458 0524. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.

 


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Williams Grads Told: Be Kind to 'What Is Strange Within You'

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — After describing herself as neither a speech writer nor a public speaker, Williams College Commencement speaker Cécile McLorin Salvant said that she watched "millions" of similar addresses when figuring out what she would say to the school's Class of 2026.
 
"I watched Valerie Jarrett's commencement speech from last year here at Williams, and it was so incredibly inspiring," Salvant said. "It was great, but, after watching, I felt like I had even less I wanted to say.
 
"And then I thought: What if I just showed up here as myself? I have spent so much of my life looking at what other people are doing and trying to fit myself into that, but I don't really fit. And I know you don't really fit, and, actually, I've been most rewarded when I remembered that and when I've honored that."
 
Salvant said that graduation day is a good time for the graduates to think about what drives them and trust themselves to find a path.
 
"We're so often looking at what everyone else is doing, distracting ourselves from our own desires and our own idiosyncrasies, and the result is that we get a little more mean, a little less understanding of others, a little more stingy, a little less kind," Salvant said. "So what I'm advocating for, ultimately, is a kindness that goes both ways. That kindness toward yourself, toward what is strange within you, is that same kindness with which you can meet the people in the world around you, and you can keep giving that kindness both ways, even when you think you have none left to give."
 
And, with that, the three-time Grammy winner and MacArthur fellow told the crowd that she was going to be true to her self, launching into a stirring a cappella rendition of West Side Story's "Somewhere," composed by longtime Tanglewood fixture Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Williams alum Stephen Sondheim.
 
Salvant was one of a handful speakers who took a turn at the podium at the school's 237th Commencement Exercises.
 
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