‘Tree of 40 Fruit’ Creator Sam Van Aken to Speak November 20th

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Syracuse University Professor and creator of the Tree of 40 Fruit Sam Van Aken will speak at the Firebarn on Thursday, November 20th, from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

About Sam Van Aken:

Sam Van Aken

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Sam Van Aken received his undergraduate education in Communication Theory and Art. Immediately following his studies he lived and worked in Poland under the auspices of the Andy Warhol Foundation and the United States Information Agency. Returning after several years in Europe, Van Aken received his MFA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001. Since this time his work has been exhibited nationally and internationally receiving numerous honors including a Joan Mitchell Award, Association of International Curator’s of Art Award and a 2009 Creative Capital Grant. Sam Van Aken is currently an Associate Professor in the Art Department at Syracuse University.

Sam Van Aken’s art combines sophisticated technology with traditional modes of art-making. Van Aken’s projects cross boundaries between artistic genres, including performance, installation, video, photography, and sculpture. With each body of work, he selects practices and new perspectives that provide a kinesthetic perception of objects and a visceral charge.

Most recently, he has gained acclaim for his Tree of 40 Fruit project. For this project, Van Aken uses the ancient technique of grafting to attach branches from various types of stone fruit onto a single tree, resulting in one tree that blooms in a multitude of colors and bears a range of fruit, including peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, cherries, and almonds. Currently, Van Aken has sixteen such trees installed at locations across the country. Van Aken’s project has been featured by NPR, Time, and CBS, among other news outlets. In March of 2014, he spoke at TEDxManhattan (see below).

40 fruit fruit

Artist’s rendering of Sam Van Aken’s Tree of 40 Fruit in bloom

John Dau kicks off the Strathmore Speaker Series

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The Strathmore Speaker Series would like to extend a special thanks to former Sundanese ‘Lost Boy’ John Dau for kicking off our inaugural 2014-2015 season with a bang! We’d also like to thank of all those who attended our very first event as well as our partners at the Gifford Foundation, Syracuse’s Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Onondaga Park Association for their generous support.

Those looking to connect directly with John Dau and his foundation can find them here, while those interested in learning more about Dau’s inspiring journey from South Sudan (formerly a part of Sudan), to Ethiopia, Kenya, and on to America can find his memoir here and the resulting documentary here.

John Dau

Sudanese ‘Lost Boy’ John Dau to Speak at the Firebarn October 19

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The Strathmore Speaker Series is proud to announce Sundanese ‘Lost Boy’ John Dau as the first speaker of its 2014 inaugural season. Dau will speak at the Onondaga Park Firebarn on October 19th from 3pm-5pm. The event is free and open to the public.

About John Dau:

johndauplants

In 1983, John Dau fled his homeland of Sudan on foot when his village was attacked by government troops during the Second Sudanese Civil War. After spending nearly ten years as a refugee in Ethiopia and Kenya, and with the help of Catholic Charities, he arrived in the U.S. in 2001. Since settling in Syracuse, NY, he has earned an associate’s degree from Onondaga Community College and a bachelor’s degree in Policy from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. In 2007, he started the John Dau Foundation which aims to transform healthcare in South Sudan. He was also featured in the 2006 documentary, God Grew Tired of Us, which won the “Grand Jury Prize: Documentary” and the “Audience Award” in the “Independent Film Competition: Documentary” at the Sundance Film Festival.