Deadline for submissions to Jackson State University’s 9th Annual Creative Arts Festival: Margaret Walker — This Is My Century is Friday, March 13.
This year marks the centennial of the life of the late author and JSU professor Margaret Walker, so the festival this year honors her, according to Dr. Robert Luckett, director of JSU’s Margaret Walker Center for the Study of the African-American Experience, coordinating the Festival.
Submissions in the written and poetry categories will be considered for publication, Luckett said.
Additionally, the best essay by a JSU student on the “black experience in the American South” will receive the $1,000 Margaret Walker Alexander Annual Award. JSU students who would like to be considered for this award must submit their 8- to 10-page essays by Friday, April 3.
This year’s festival, to be held April 10-11, will feature student performances, panel presentations, and art displays, as well as internationally known speakers.
While the theme of the conference is “Margaret Walker — This Is My Century,” proposals from high school, undergraduate, and graduate students for papers, presentations, and panels due March 13 may be on any topic, Luckett said.
Proposal submissions should be 250-500 words and should fit in one of the following categories:
— Poetry/Spoken Word (5 to 7-minute presentations in original storytelling and poetry)
— Visual Arts (up to 3 pieces of artwork in any media with 5 to 7-minute presentations)
— Written (8 to 10-page essays with 15 to 20-minute presentations)
— Performing Arts (5 to 7-minute dance, musical, and theatrical presentations)
In the case of panel proposals, submissions should include the names of the participants and the moderator and a brief synopsis of the panel’s topic and of the individual paper proposals, Luckett said. Proposals should be sent in a document in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF to mwa@jsums.edu.
For more information, contact the Center (mwa@jsums.edu or 601-979-2055) or the conference coordinators, Dr. Helen Crump (helen.j.crump@jsums.edu) and Luckett (robert.luckett@jsums.edu).