FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – RefleXions Music Series, a project funded by the University of Arkansas Chancellor's Grant for the Humanities and Performing Arts Initiative, and sponsored by the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Music, KUAF 91.3 Public Radio, and the Women's Giving Circle, announces the release of the third and fourth episodes of the RefleXions Podcast.

The conversation with RefleXions featuring three distinguished guests about the social impact of the arts in peacebuilding, reconciliation and healing processes, will be premiered at noon Thursday and Friday, Dec. 16-17, during Ozarks at Large on KUAF, 91.3. The three guests, musicians, artists and activists are:

• Cesar Lopez, musician, composer, activist, UN Non-Violence Messenger and Amnesty International Emissary of Consciousness, and creator of the Escopetarra.
• Ana Baer, video-choreographer, and Professor of Dance at Texas State University.
• Luis Fernando Restrepo, University Professor and director of the Comparative Literature & Cultural Studies Program at the U of A, and member of the Scholars at Risk Committee.

"Building on Antoinette Grajeda's work on the first two episodes of the podcast, episodes three and four expand on how art and creation can facilitate reconciliation and healing, collectively and personally," said Leigh Wood, KUAF general manager and podcast producer.

Along with podcast hosts Lia Uribe, associate chair at the U of A Department of Music, and Leigh Wood, general manager of KUAF, the conversation is led by Erika Almenara, assistant professor in the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures; and Rogelio Garcia Contreras of the Sam M. Walton College of Business and director of social innovation at Arkansas Global Changemakers. 

"Hearing Cesar, Ana, and Luis talk about all of the social injustices and dangerous political climates that have created some of the most beautiful and powerful art changes the way I think about performing music. Considering the background, history, and individual situations with each piece of music written can change the way music is performed, and allowing us to bring out new, exciting, and profound messages to wider audiences," said Eric Troiano, professor of music.

This podcast is part of RefleXions Music Series' third season that started with a panel conversation back in November at the Honors College Lounge. Programming will continue into the Spring semester with an Honors Faculty Club concert/panel featuring saxophonist Connie Frigo, and later in the semester with the release of "Collective Grief," a public art installation/concert and collaborative effort between Lopez and Baer, University of Arkansas students and faculty, and the Northwest Arkansas community.

The RefleXions team is a collective of Northwest Arkansas individuals from different backgrounds that bring unique perspectives and commitment to the highest standards of scholarship, research, and aesthetic diversity in the arts. The RefleXions team is formed by Department of Music professors Helen Becque, Ronda Mains, Catalina Ortega, Eric Troiano, and Lia Uribe, Erika Almenara from the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Rogelio Garcia-Contreras from the Walton College of Business, and Leigh Wood from KUAF 91.3. The RefleXions podcast music was composed by Fernando Valencia, professor in the Department of Music. 

RefleXions Music Series was the recipient of the Women Giving Circle Grant in 2021 and most recently, the 2021 Artists 360 Community Activator grant. RefleXions has worked with the support of the U of A's Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Music, Honors College, and KUAF 91.3, and has collaborated with art leaders from the Walton Arts Center, CACHE, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, IDEALS Institute, Northwest Arkansas Council and Might-T-By-Design, and has previously presented virtual residencies featuring Sing for Hope in 2020 and Imani Winds in 2021.

More information and where to view works mentioned in the podcast:

• Watch this short video to see Cesar Lopez describe more about the Escopetarra and how it was created.
• Watch videos of Ana Baer's works, Las Mujeres de Juarez and Being Together.
• Read Susan Sontag's piece, Regarding the Pain of Others.
• Learn more about Doris Salcedo, creator of 1550 Chairs Stacked Between Two City Buildings, and her work.
• Read The Frames of War: Who is Grievable? by Judith Butler.