Event Honoring Ella Turenne
Department: Visual Studies
Date and Time: March 4, 2022 | 1:00 PM-3:00 PMEvent Location: Humanities Gateway #1030
Event Details
Ella was a leader in our community. At UC Irvine, she brought tremendous joy and knowledge. She inspired us to conceive of the arts as a form of social justice and resistance. As a doctoral student in Visual Studies, whose adviser was Dr. Bambi Haggins, her research focused on Black feminist theory and visual culture. An experienced instructor, she was a much beloved TA in the FMS 85 series and won the Outstanding TA Award of 2021. She was remarkably active in our graduate program and on our campus, organizing a screening and discussion of “Madan Sara,” creating alliances with the Prison Arts Collective, co-organizing and hosting the VS Graduate Conference of 2021 “Resistance in (a)Synchronous Futures,” connecting storytellers with entrepreneurship through the Beall Applied Innovation, and so much more.
Ella was an outstanding artist, activist, scholar, actor, television host, filmmaker, journalist, poet, author, and curator who championed freedom, justice, and expression. In 2019, The Haitian Roundtable inducted her into the 1804 List Of Haitian-American Changemakers. Her myriad accomplishments can be found at https://www.ellaturenne.com/.
Ella never let us forget all who came before and all who are with her now. Although we write you in sorrow, we are full of gratitude for having known Ella, and all that she gave to our community. Visual Studies with the departments of Art History and Film and Media Studies are hosting a memorial gathering on March 4th, for those who would like to come together to celebrate Ella’s wonderful life.