13th Annual Culturama at Mt. SAC

Culturama is all about coming together to celebrate human expression in all its forms. Learn fun & exciting ways to create incredible art! Do you want to learn how your favorite stories and poems made you fall in love? What about making beautiful art that expresses everything you've ever wanted but didn't know how? Culturama is all about bringing people together. Every fall, Mt. SAC invites students, writers, and artists of all ages to attend fun, interactive workshops and other activities to celebrate and create stories, poems, arts and crafts. Learn from professional artists, writers, and professors, and meet people with the same creative spark that lives in you. Culturama is free to attend, and we will provide complimentary lunch and snacks. If this sounds like something you would enjoy, we invite you to register for Culturama through Eventbrite and, if possible, make a small donation to Mt. SAC's student support services. IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS (THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH, AND FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH) In-Person Workshops will take place on the Mt. SAC campus. For the specific location on campus of a workshop you plan to attend, go to Culturama's webpage. We have an interactive map of the Mt. SAC campus that you can access on a smartphone. For visitors to Mt. SAC, one-day parking costs $5. The Mt. SAC website has a webpage with information about parking on campus. If you’re new to or unfamiliar with our campus, we recommend wearing comfortable shoes. Mt. SAC’s campus is large and hilly. We also suggest keeping your belongings with you at all times. There will be classes and other events occurring on campus. ONLINE ZOOM WORKSHOPS (SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH) We will have more writing and art workshops throughout the day on Saturday, November 7th. These workshops will all take place online on Zoom. Zoom links for these workshops will be posted once the workshop scheduled has been finalized this summer/fall. If you have any questions or would like to request an accommodation, contact Culturama coordinators Lloyd Aquino at [email protected] or Melissa Macias at [email protected]. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Thursday, October 29th @ Mt. SAC 1:00 - 2:00 PM 3rd Annual Cosplay Contest Location: Building 410 (Student Center), Multicultural Center (Room 2030, 2nd Floor) Our Cosplay Contest is open to all ages. Come dressed as your favorite character and show off your cosplay aesthetic. You could even win prizes in these categories: Purchased Cosplay, Plainclothes Cosplay, and Constructed Cosplay! Register for the Cosplay Contest at www.mtsac.edu/culturama. Thursday, November 5th @ Mt. SAC 1:30 - 2:30 PM Creating Poetry Broadsides with Robert Piluso and Lloyd Aquino Location: Building 410 (Student Center), Multicultural Center (Room 2030, 2nd Floor) Blending images and words is one of the funnest and most rewarding ways of unlocking your creativity. Professor and poet Lloyd Aquino (Once It's Over) and writer-illustrator Robert Piluso (Gangster Bat) will guide students through the process of creating a poetry broadside: write a poem, then create a visual image to pair with your poem. Poetry broadsides are great ways to show off your poetry, and can even make beautiful gifts for your family, friends, and loved ones. BIO: Robert Piluso, M.A., M.F.A., is a Professor of English at Mt. San Antonio College where he teaches composition, literature, mythology, cinema, and fiction writing. Piluso is the author of the non-fiction book Happiness Gains which recounts his recovery from a sudden-onset disability, and all the inspiration and motivation for appreciating daily life he learned along the way. He earned his advanced degrees from C.S.U. Fullerton in English and University of Southern California in Writing for Screen and Television. Piluso's independent comic series Redemptor, Señor Zorro, and Gangster Bat have all debuted on the best-selling list of Graphic Novel Adaptations on Amazon. Prior publications include over a decade of entertainment journalism and film criticism at Script Magazine, a chapter in The Essential Sopranos Reader (University of Kentucky Press), The Chaffey Review, and Dash. He lives with his wife Dani Gomez and daughter Madelyn in Southern California. Lloyd Aquino is a Professor of English at Mt. San Antonio College. He teaches composition, literature, and creative writing - poetry. He has published several poetry collections: Madeline After the Fall, Concrete’s Song, and Once It’s Over. 3:00 - 4:00 PM Poetry-Rama with Lloyd Aquino Location: Building 410 (Student Center), Multicultural Center (Room 2030, 2nd Floor) Looking for ideas and writing exercises to inspire you to create amazing poetry? Professor and poet Lloyd Aquino will lead students through a series of short writing prompts to unlock your poet’s voice, get the eloquence flowing, and overcome any future bouts of writer’s block. BIO: Lloyd Aquino is a Professor of English at Mt. San Antonio College. He teaches composition, literature, and creative writing - poetry. He has published several poetry collections: Madeline After the Fall, Concrete’s Song, and Once It’s Over. Friday, November 6th @ Mt. SAC 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM Welcome to Culturama with Lloyd Aquino Location: Building 410 (Student Center), Multicultural Center (Room 2030, 2nd Floor) Start the morning off by enjoying some complimentary continental breakfast, getting to know your Culturama hosts and fellow attendees, and setting some goals for your day at Culturama. 9:00 AM - 10:20 AM “Persona Poems: Stepping into Another Skin” with K. Andrew Turner Location: TBA In this generative workshop, writers explore the power of persona—writing in the voice of someone (or something) other than themselves. Participants will learn how embodying a fictional, historical, or imagined perspective can expand creative possibilities and deepen empathy. Through examples, discussion, and guided writing prompts, you'll craft your own persona poem and leave with tools to keep experimenting with voice and identity. BIO: K. Andrew Turner writes queer, literary and speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction in stolen weekday moments. In 2013, he founded East Jasmine Review—an electronic literary journal, with a focus on publishing diverse writers. He was a semifinalist for the 2016 Luminaire Award in poetry. His full-length poetry collection Heart, Mind, Blood, Skin is now available from Finishing Line Press. He also has a chapbook, “Gymlationship” from Arroyo Seco Press His work has also appeared in Chiron Review, LUMMOX, Carnival Literary, Sadie Girl Press, MUSE, Redshift, and other publications and anthologies. Find more at www.kandrewturner.com or follow him on X/Instagram/BlueSky @kandrewturner. 9:00 - 10:20 AM Creative Writing Workshop with Augie Scott-Hicks Location: TBA Workshop Description: Coming Soon Bio: Coming Soon 9:00 - 10:20 AM Part I-Creation, Commentary & Curation Art Workshop with Melissa Macias and Phoebe Millerwhite Location: Building 410 (Student Center), Multicultural Center (Room 2030, 2nd Floor) This two-part workshop explores communication and personal identity through visual art production and art writing, touching on ideas of production and exhibition (museum and gallery). Part 1 will focus on creation of work. Part 2 will focus on art writing and curation, which will culminate in a demonstration of how space is curated in a mini gallery show at lunch. Recommended (not required) enrollment in both Part I and Part II. Materials are provided for the first 25 students. Bios: Melissa Macias is a practicing artist and professor at Mt. San Antonio College, where she currently serves as the Mt. SAC Art Club advisor. She received her BA and MFA from California State University, Long Beach. Her personal work explores ideas of memory and mythmaking through mixed media and installation. Phoebe Millerwhite is an artist, writer, and educator based in Southern California. She was the director and curator of the Diana Berger Gallery at Mt.