UAB to Host “Sacred Steps” Lectures, Exhibit

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the UAB Visual Arts Gallery will co-host lectures and an international traveling art exhibit, “Sacred Steps on the Camino,” that celebrate the experience of modern-day pilgrims who set out each year to retrace the ancient pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the UAB Visual Arts Gallery will co-host lectures and an international traveling art exhibit, "Sacred Steps on the Camino," that celebrate the experience of modern-day pilgrims who set out each year to retrace the ancient pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

According to legend, the bones of St. James the Apostle were discovered at Santiago de Compostela in the northwest corner of Spain in the ninth century. Since that time, millions of the faithful and others have walked, biked and traveled by horseback the 500 miles from the French Pyrenees, across Spain, to the site.

Paintings and photographs by eight artists whose work is inspired by the pilgrimages will be exhibited Aug. 18-Sept. 25 in the UAB Visual Arts Gallery, 900 13th St. South. Regular gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday. The gallery is closed Sunday and holidays. Call 205-934-0815 for more details.

Sacred Steps. Download image.

Many of the artists featured in the exhibit have made the pilgrimage themselves, and their artwork highlights the people and places along the route.

Exhibit curator George D. Greenia will present a free, public lecture on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24 in the UAB Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall, 950 13th St. South. A free, public reception featuring Spanish wine and food will be held in the UAB Visual Arts Gallery at 7 p.m. Call 205-934-4652 for details.

Greenia, a professor of modern languages at the College of William and Mary, has bicycled some 2,000 miles and walked another 1,500 on the pilgrimage trails of Europe. He helped found the national "Gathering of Pilgrims," which is held annually at sites throughout the United States and Canada. In 2007, King Juan Carlos awarded Greenia the Cross of Isabel the Catholic, Spain's highest honor for the interpretation and promotion of Spanish culture in other countries.

Greenia also will speak in Spanish at the Hispanic Family Day celebration, a free, public event co-sponsored by the UAB Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the UAB Visual Arts Gallery. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26 on the patio in front of the UAB Visual Arts Gallery. Greenia will speak at 12:30 p.m. Latin American cuisine will be served, and the "Sacred Steps" exhibit will be open for viewing. Call 205-934-4652 for details.

"Hispanic Family Day is designed to reach out to our Spanish-speaking community in the greater Birmingham area," said John K. Moore, Ph.D., interim chair of the UAB Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. "We hope for this event to be in keeping with the long tradition of hospitality associated with pilgrimage throughout the centuries."

About the UAB Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures

The UAB Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures offers a full range of language, culture, literature and civilization courses that are designed to meet the diverse global challenges facing today's students.

About the UAB Visual Arts Gallery

The UAB Visual Arts Gallery showcases both historical and contemporary artworks by local, regional, national and international artists. Its exhibitions highlight works by faculty and students, as well as emerging and established artists, in up to a dozen regularly changing shows that are always free and open to the public.

 

UAB presenta el Dia del Familia Hispana 

La Universidad de Alabama en Birmingham (UAB) presenta el Día de la Familia Hispana, un evento gratis al público, patrocinado por El Departamento de Idiomas y Literatura Extranjeros  de UAB y la Gallería Visual de UAB. El evento se llevara a cabo el sábado 26 de septiembre de 11am - 2pm en el patio en frente de la Gallería Visual de UAB. Dirección: 900 13th St. S., in Birmingham. Habrá pasabocas latinoamericanos. La exhibición internacional ambulante "Pasos Sagrados en el Camino" estará abierta al público. Esta celebra la experiencia del los peregrinos modernos que cada año se proponen a retrasar los antiguos caminos peregrinos hacia Santiago de Compostela en España. "El Dia de la Famila Hispana fue creado para acoger nuestra comunidad Hispanohablante de Birmingham," dijo John K. Moore, Ph.D, director provisional del Departamento de Idiomas y Literatura Extranjeros. Para más información llame al 205-934-4652.

July 27, 2009

Sacred Steps. Download image.