Starting July 13th, we started sending out “Mental Health Monday” messages with information from the African American graduate student therapists at the UConn Psychological Services Clinic in partnership with the African American Cultural Center. Upcoming topics will include: strategies to help de-stress, mindfulness and meditation, signs of depression and anxiety, preparing for school-related stress, when and how to seek professional psychological help, and much more. Please stay tuned for the next announcement and send an email to aacc@uconn.edu to be added to our ListServ if you are not already.  *If you have mental health concerns, please contact the Psychological Services Clinic at 860-486-4848.  

Join the Ballard Institute for our eighth Summer 2020 Online Puppet Forum Series event on Facebook. These forums, hosted by Ballard Institute director and puppet historian John Bell, will consist of discussions with notable scholars and practitioners around the world about the past, present, and future of puppetry and puppetry studies.  In a pre-recorded forum released on July 23 at 4 p.m. ET entitled “Puppetry, Anthropology, and Animation” Teri Silvio will speak with John Bell about the intersections of Chinese hand-puppet traditions, Japanese manga and anime, cosplay, religion, fan culture, and Pili Multimedia Company’s globally popular Thunderbolt Fantasy series. Teri Silvio is an associate research fellow at the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. She has conducted ethnographic research on puppetry, animation, design, fandoms, theater, and gender and sexuality in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, and Southeast Asia. Her most recent book is Puppets, Gods, and Brands: Theorizing the Age of Animation from Taiwan. Forums will be available afterwards on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.

While the Ballard Institute is closed, the museum will offer short, puppet-building and craft workshops via Facebook Live (http://facebook.com/BallardInstitute/) every Wednesday and Friday at 2 p.m. ET! All past workshops are available on our Facebook and YouTube. Join UConn Puppet Arts senior Elise Vanase on July 24 to make a wriggly fish puppet that glides through the air with two control rods! Recommended for ages 6+. Materials needed: egg carton, paint, hot glue, two sticks/skewers, yarn or string, scissors