A three day festival & conferencedevotedto the culture and history of Benin and introducing Purchase’s international commitments across all schools and areas, will take place September 27-28-29, 2018 at The Performing Arts Center(PAC), The Neuberger Museum of Art, and other campus venues.All the events will be open to the general public.
Fostering collective and collaborative dialogue, Purchase College has launched a transnational filmmaking project in which film students from the U.S., Benin in West Africa and Haiti in the Caribbean work together to produce short films and promote cross-cultural conversations. A selection of short films produced in 2017 and 2018 will be showcased during the festival and followed by a discussion with the student filmmakers and the directors of the partner schools. The program seeks to inspire young filmmakers to address art, politics, and social issues of relevance across the world.
(T)HERE hopes to promote engagement with these concerns among diverse educational communities and audiences at all levels.It aims also to open and nourish intellectual and artistic exchanges across regional and international borders. A series of events will give the opportunity to discover Benin from the past and today. In addition to film screenings, photo and fine art exhibitions, one of the leading groups of young musicians from Benin will premiere in the US (Benin International Musical), and panel discussions and talks will range from politics to social justice, literature to art history.
La vie by Hector Sonon 
Egungun by Hector Sonon
Guests of honor include Angélique Kidjo, the three-time Grammy Award-winning singer, activist, and humanitarian, and Marie-Cécile Zinsou, the founder-director of the Zinsou Foundation in Benin. Kidjo will give a talk on the role of of artists as activists, and Zinsou will be awarded for her commitment to promoting contemporary art in Africa and developing prominent cultural, educational and social initiatives.
k'a yelema productions 