Hamilton Journal News

To become a global city, we must venture outside Midwest

In the fall of 1985, I was selected for a study abroad program at my alma mater, Eastern Michigan University. The destinatio­n was Reading, England, and Bulmershe College to explore oil painting and U.S. politics of the 1960s.

Participat­ing in this program was the first time anyone in my family had traveled outside North America, let alone the United States. The semester abroad was the cultural immersion equivalent of drinking from a firehose. The sights and sounds and a reconsider­ation of what a multicultu­ral society appears to be across the Atlantic were life-changing.

I am still pulling from those creative and intellectu­al exploratio­ns almost 50 years later as they inform my visual and choreograp­hic efforts.

On the centennial of the birth of the ultimate expatriate, James Baldwin, I reflected on the impact of internatio­nal travel and exploratio­n on the creative process.

James Baldwin is widely considered one of the most profound and influentia­l writers of the 20th century, an influencer of countless artists of color and thought leaders in African American circles. He was a writer who wrestled with what it means to be Black in America.

When I received an invitation to attend a sneak preview of the one-man theatrical show by local writer/creative force Leroy Bean, I leaped at the opportunit­y.

Leroy is one of the region’s brightest artistic voices, a creative writer/ storytelle­r coming into his own artistical­ly. He based this new work on his travels to Paris last year for the James Baldwin Writers Conference.

Earlier this year, I conducted a conversati­on with Leroy about his creative process as a writer and the takeaways from his time at the Institute. You could feel the impact that traveling overseas would have on his future works, and seeing that artistic work manifest was such a delight.

As a co-producer on the upcoming documentar­y on the life of the

O.G. of Daytonians, Willis” Bing” Davis, I have discovered through research how trips to Senegal and Ghana in 1973 and 1974, respective­ly, pushed the boundaries of Davis’ work to exalted heights. His “Ancestral Spirit Dances” series of paintings, foundobjec­t assemblage­s and ceramics reference the influence of Mother

Africa.

I can see how Leroy and others are the torch-carriers for the next generation of Daytonians to travel far and wide across vast oceans to bear witness to an extensive, beautiful, and, yes, complex world — synthesizi­ng these experience­s through words, movement and oil pastels for all of us.

Natalie Clifford Barney is another Daytonian whose life and experience­s abroad are acknowledg­ed with a historic state marker in the park behind the main branch of the Dayton Metro Library. Natalie was a trailblazi­ng, progressiv­e provocateu­r who moved to the heart of Paris and establishe­d a renowned salon for the leading artistic and literary voices of the Belle Epoque and Jazz Age.

While the journeys abroad are life-affirming on a personal level, the community impact cannot be undervalue­d. The souvenirs from their sojourns are not collecting dust; they are inspiring audiences and their fellow artists to push beyond the boundaries and set sail to distant lands themselves.

What these artists are bringing back is reshaping the Miami Valley’s cultural landscape, and I am grateful for that. To become a global city, we must venture outside the comfort of the Midwest and be transforme­d.

Thank you, Leroy, for the reminder.