Participating in this program was the first time anyone in my family had traveled outside North America, let alone the United States. The semester abroad was the cultural immersion equivalent of drinking from a firehose. The sights and sounds and a reconsideration of what a multicultural society appears to be across the Atlantic were life-changing.
I am still pulling from those creative and intellectual explorations almost fifty years later as they inform my visual and choreographic efforts.
On the eve of the centennial of the birth of the ultimate expatriate, James Baldwin, I often reflect on the impact of international travel and exploration on the creative process.
James Baldwin is widely considered one of the most profound and influential writers of the 20th century. An influencer of countless artists of color and leading thought leaders in African American circles. A writer who wrestled with what it means to be Black in America.
When I received an invitation to attend a sneak preview of the one-man theatrical show by local writer/creative force Leroy Bean, I leaped at the opportunity.
Leroy is one of the region’s brightest artistic voices, a creative writer/storyteller coming into his own artistically. He based this new work on his travels to Paris last year for the James Baldwin Writers Conference.
Earlier this year, I conducted a conversation with Leroy about his creative process as a writer and the takeaways from his time at the Institute. You could feel the impact that traveling overseas would have on his future works, and seeing that artistic work manifest, as a result, was such a delight.
As a co-producer on the upcoming documentary on the life of the O.G. of Daytonians, Willis” Bing” Davis, I have discovered through research how trips to Senegal and Ghana in 1973 and 1974, respectively, pushed the boundaries of Davis’ work to exalted heights. His “Ancestral Spirit Dances” series of paintings, found object assemblages, and ceramics all reference the influence of Mother Africa.
I can see how Leroy and others are the torch-carriers for the next generation of Daytonians to travel far and wide across vast oceans to bear witness to an extensive, beautiful, and, yes, complex world — synthesizing these experiences through words, movement, and oil pastels for all of us.
Natalie Clifford Barney is another Daytonian whose life and experiences abroad are acknowledged with a historic state marker in the park behind the main branch of the Dayton Metro Library. Natalie was a trailblazing, progressive provocateur who moved to the heart of Paris and established a renowned salon for the leading artistic and literary voices of the Belle Epoque and Jazz Age.
While the journeys abroad are life-affirming on a personal level, the community impact cannot be undervalued. The souvenirs from their sojourns are not collecting dust — they are inspiring audiences and their fellow artists to push beyond the boundaries and set sail to distant lands themselves.
What these artists are bringing back is reshaping the Miami Valley’s cultural landscape, and I am grateful for that. To become a global city, we must venture outside the comfort of the Midwest and be transformed.
Thank you, Leroy, for the reminder.
Rodney Veal is the host of ThinkTV/CET Connect and President of the board of OhioDance.
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