FAYETTE, Iowa (October 10, 2008) - Danni Xi, Beijing artist and visiting faculty at the Upper Iowa University Fayette campus, facilitated an art workshop at Northview Middle School in Ankeny. Twenty-five students attended the Tuesday evening class on Oct. 7.
Xi's workshop is one of 10 being held as part of the "Ankeny EXCITED" contest promoted by the Ankeny Cultural-Diversity Task Force. The purpose of the contest is to raise awareness about diversity to middle school-aged students through art and language. Students earn points for various activities and assignments, including ten points for each workshop attended. The grand prize is a free trip to Beijing.
"Danni's participation is an excellent opportunity to share Upper Iowa's international visiting artist and lecturer with the Ankeny community as an outreach endeavor," said John Siblik, UIU assistant professor of art.
According to Siblik, Xi "is a brilliant master of the collage technique." Xi actually demonstrated the technique by creating a portrait of one of the students taking part in the workshop. "It was pure magic," said Siblik. "The students and I sat spellbound as Danni created the collaged portrait."
Siblik describes Xi's technique as "a modernist use of materials." Her collages use common materials such as colored paper glued to a support instead of more traditional media such as oil paint.
To find out more about the "Ankeny EXCITED" compare/contrast essay contest, contact Ankeny Community Education at 319-965-9609 or e-mail info@ankenyalive.org.
Contact:
Sheila Miller
Director of Public Relations
Work - 563-425-5326
Cell - 319-610-7108
Fax - 563-425-5701
millers@uiu.edu
www.uiu.edu
