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ARTreach: Experience Mali

What is ARTreach: Experience Mali?
ARTreach: Experience Mali is an exciting distance-learning initiative designed to enhance Standards of Learning-based education. These 50-minute programs on the West African country of Mali include storytelling and dance demonstrations, a visual arts workshop and a presentation by a collector and scholar on Malian art.

What subject matter does this program address?
These programs specifically address 3rd grade History/Social Science Virginia SOLs History 3.2, Geography 3.4 and Economics 3.8, but are suitable for other subjects and grade levels as well.

What is the cost?
The programs are free to Virginia schools. The cost is $50 per program to schools outside of Virginia.

How do I sign up for this program?
To sign up for one of these programs or if you have any questions, please contact the Education Department at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center at or 757-596-8175 ext. 205. Once you have registered for a program, you will need to return a short pre-program survey in order to receive the appropriate password. After the program, please return the short post-program survey as well. These surveys provide feedback that is required by the granting agency and they also assist us in developing future distance learning programs. Please register for programs at least 10 days before the anticipated viewing date.

Who should we thank for ARTreach: Experience Mali program?
ARTreach: Experience Mali was made possible through a generous grant from the Institute of Library and Museum Services. Computer support provided by Empower Information Systems and Christopher Newport University. Video production provided by Cinebar Productions, Inc. Storyteller, dance and mask making presenters coordinated by Young Audiences of Virginia. Live audience and program participants provided by Hidenwood Elementary School and Tarah Morelli. Thanks to Anne Cipriano for lending her expertise to this program.

Below are the Mali performances available for you to watch.

Atumpan teaches the importance of the drum and the storyteller as a means of communication in Malian society. The memory of ancient Mali is alive today in the tales of the griots—the professional historians, praise-singers and musical entertainers of the Manding people. Malians still depend on their griots, or jelis, to remind them of their place in history. The griot will use drumming and storytelling to take students back to the glory of ancient Africa.

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Ancestral Footprints explores the rich tradition of music and dance in Malian culture. Students experience exciting and informative demonstrative performances of African dance and music based on traditions from the empire of Mali. Dancers introduce students to traditional themes of respect, harmony, teamwork, and cooperation through rhythm and dance.

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Masks are face coverings that alter and transform the identities of the African performers wearing them. Most masks and costumes in Africa are physical representations of spirits, beings associated with spirits or cultural heroes. They are an important part of ceremonies of initiation and transformation. They bridge the human and spirit realms through elaborate spectacles that combine music, dance, costumes, sculpture, and feasting. Phillip Muzi Branch will demonstrate to your students how to create their own masks in the tradition of Mali using simple materials. A materials list is provided and students follow along with the program to create their own masks.

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Educator and collector Anne Cipriano will lead students on a tour of Mali using photographs selected from the Eliot Elisofon Archives of the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, and traditional objects. Cipriano will discuss masks, trade and ritual objects in the context of historic and contemporary Malian existence. The history of Africa will come to life as students learn about the ceremonial and utilitarian importance of the arts in Malian culture throughout the centuries.

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