ASU Museum presents Zinse Agginie, African percussionist/storyteller, Feb. 6

Jan. 7, 2010 -- The Arkansas State University Museum presents Zinse Agginie, storyteller and drummer, on Saturday, Feb. 6 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The ASU Museum is located at 320 University Loop West Circle, Jonesboro, in the west wing of the Dean B. Ellis Library, and Agginie’s performance will be held in the museum’s Main Gallery on the second floor of the library building. The event is free and open to the public, thanks to the support of ASU’s Office of Diversity.

Zinse Agginie is a Ghanaian drummer who has lived in Arkansas since the mid-1980s. He has performed for four U.S. presidents and at the opening of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock. He also travels throughout the country teaching drumming, a huge part of Ghana’s musical culture, to students of all ages. His teaching philosophy integrates the audience into the excitement of his performances, and his programs seek to create memorable cross-cultural exchanges through active audience involvement, rather than by passive observation. His artistry and engagement with his audiences provide listeners with a cultural tour through Africa, as he uses his drums to illustrate African folktales and learn lessons about life and art. His audiences experience a new culture through two universal art forms, storytelling and drumming. 

Zinse Agginie incorporates hands-on rhythm making with an assortment of percussion instruments and drums, notably the djembe and the odono drums. Visitors will also be able to make simple percussion instruments to take home. Audiences are invited to come and play and to enjoy the universal appeal of storytelling and the resonance of drumming.

This event is this year’s first in the ASU Museum’s Cultural Diversity series. For more information, visit the ASU Museum online at http://www2.astate.edu/museum/, or call the museum at (870) 972-2074. Regular museum hours are 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Tueday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. The ASU Museum is closed on Mondays and university holidays.

For more information, contact Lenore Shoults (lshoults@astate.edu), assistant director, ASU Museum, at (870) 972-2074.
 

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