HSAP of the Week: Osayi

Every year, the HSAPs present a special “Heritage Project,” a festival held to showcase the program’s cultural diversity. This year, the Intern-National Festival, as it was formally called, included food, games, personal artifacts, and performances. From the Trinidadian-style chicken to the Spanish dominoes to Salsa dance, the festival was a way to show the staff of the museum how our different cultures and heritages our HSAP program came together to create something spectacular.

To represent my Nigerian culture, I brought in an African wood carving, which depicted the face of a man. By bringing it in, I wanted to show how important art is to my culture and my family. Another thing I did to represent my roots was to perform an African dance routine at the festival. African dance has a very upbeat tempo and a lot of fast movement. I started African dance last year when my friend had asked me to join the club for my school’s own International Festival. At first I was a little hesitant to do it because I had never done it before, but I ended up performing and thought it was one of the best things I had ever done. Performing it at the Museum’s festival was very important for me because I wanted to show everyone that attended the vibrantness and the richness of my culture.

Afterwards I taught the audience (which included staff and other interns) some of my moves. I loved to have shared a significant part of my heritage with everyone. The Intern-National Festival was definitely one of the highlights of the HSAP program, and I am sure I speak for everyone when I saw it was an afternoon that was both enjoyable and unforgettable!

(Pictured: Osayi, the one in the colorful skirt, showing Daniela, Selina, Swapna, and the audience traditional African dance moves. )