MORNINGSIDE LIGHTS Returns to The Arts Initiative and Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts

The 7th annual MORNINGSIDE LIGHTS: FLIGHT, presented by the Arts Initiative and Miller Theatre at Columbia University, kicks off on Tuesday, September 4. Free lantern-building workshops will be hosted daily at Miller Theatre from September 4 - 7. Workshops are geared toward teens and adults, but children ages 10 and up are welcome if working with a participating adult. A family craft designed for younger children will be hosted at the Down to Earth Farmers Market in Morningside Park on Saturday, September 8.

The workshops culminate in an illuminated procession of community creations that will light up Morningside Park on Saturday, September 8. Information and registration are available at www.morningside-lights.com.

This year Morningside Lights takes flight, joining with The Audubon Society to recognize 2018 as the Year of the Bird. On September 8, a flock of animated and illuminated birds will fill the night sky. Carrying suitcases, these birds evoke the power and the precariousness of migration on a changing planet. Flight honors the resilience and hope of populations on the move-avian and human-and celebrates the vitality and diversity that migrations have always brought to New York.

Morningside Lights concept and direction by Processional Arts Workshop. Co-produced by the Arts Initiative and Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts.

From Tuesday, September 4 through Friday, September 7, daily lantern-building workshops will take place at Miller Theatre, on Broadway at 116th Street. Participants are invited to put their creative skills to use ornamenting animated and illuminated birds with authentic plumage and personal reflections on migration.

Tuesday, September 4 through Thursday, September 6, workshops will run from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. On Friday, September 7, workshops will run from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Those interested in taking part can visit www.morningside-lights.com for more information and to sign up for the workshops.

Workshops are free and open to participants of all backgrounds and abilities. Activities are geared toward teens and adults, but children ages 10 and up are welcome if working with a participating adult. Materials, tools, and techniques may not be appropriate for children under age 10.

A family craft table featuring a lantern-making project designed for younger children will be hosted on Saturday, September 8 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Down to Earth Farmers Market in Morningside Park. Children and their families are invited to create lanterns during the day for that evening's Morningside Lights procession.

Processional Arts Workshop (PAW), under the direction of Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles, creates site-specific parades, processions, and immersive theatre happenings worldwide. Inspired by diverse, global traditions of Carnivalesque street theatre, large-scale puppetry, and ritual pageant, PAW uses processional art as means to build and sustain community spirit and awareness, designing original works for established public events and festivals, as well as seeding site-specific pageant traditions in communities where no such events may have existed before. Drawing on regional cultures, history, folklore, ethnicity, and current sociopolitical concerns, PAW engages local residents in every stage of production, empowering them to identify and express the narratives that uniquely define "local" in their own community, against the modern tide of global homogenization.

The Arts Initiative at Columbia University is a pioneering venture to make arts and culture a meaningful part of every Columbian's experience. Founded in 2004, the Arts Initiative's diverse programs encourage students, faculty, and staff to experience the creative life of the campus, engage the cultural riches of New York City and the wider world, and create arts and performance. Under the auspices of the Arts Initiative, Columbia students, faculty, and staff attend cultural events across New York City, benefit from ticket discounts and subsidies, and connect to one another through the Arts Initiative's vibrant programming. At its core, the Arts Initiative creates and facilitates opportunities for cross-disciplinary exchange and is integral to the fabric of campus life. Its programs benefit from engagement with Columbia's world-class faculty, especially those of the School of the Arts, of which it is a part.

Miller Theatre at Columbia University is the leading presenter of new music in New York City and one of the most vital forces nationwide for innovative programming. In partnership with Columbia University School of the Arts, Miller is dedicated to producing and presenting unique events, with a focus on contemporary and early music, jazz, opera, dance, and multimedia performances. Over the past 25 years, Miller Theatre has helped launch the careers of myriad composers and ensembles, serving as an incubator for emerging artists and a champion of those not yet well known in the United States. A four-time recipient of the ASCAP/Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming, Miller has built a reputation for attracting new and diverse audiences to programs highlighting underrepresented corners of the classical music repertoire. Over the past five years, Executive Director Melissa Smey has developed a variety of new programs designed to deepen community engagement with a commitment to free programming that has served over 11,000 audience members. Columbia University's Miller Theatre is located north of the Main Campus Gate
at 116th St. & Broadway on the ground floor of Dodge Hall.

Directions and information are available online
at www.morningside-lights.com or at 212.851.9574.