March 31, 2015
Southern Illinois University Arts and Cultural Events
April 7-21
This weekly email brings together all the arts and cultural events happening in a two-week period at SIU Carbondale. From music to art, film to dance, guest lectures to workshops and theater, you will find the information here. Event information is subject to change.
SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK
The Seventh Annual Little Grassy Literary Festival, one of two literary festivals at SIU, is April 15-17 in Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium. The Graduate Writers Forum presents the festival as a way to bring together writers, and also to share up-and-coming writers with the community. There is no admission charge to attend the festival.
“We look for writers from the region whose work we enjoy, especially writers who seem to be up-and-comers,” K. Battin, president of the GWF, said. “We also look for aesthetic diversity. For instance, one of our fiction writers, Lania Knight, has a realistic novel about a gay teenager figuring out his life, while the other, Phong Nguyen, published a book of alternate history short stories, imagining how the world might have changed had various historical figures made different choices. We look for talented writers, like Jamaal May, who we know to be dynamic behind the podium.”
Diversity is an important factor for the GWF when it comes to selecting guest authors, as well. Brattin said SIU is a diverse community, and the guest writers ought to be as well.
This year’s Little Grassy Literary Festival also including readings from Noel Crook, the 2013 winner of the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry and SIU Press First Book Award competition, and Amy Fleury, the judge for the 2013 competition and a past winner (2003).
Here’s a schedule:
April 15
8 p.m. – Phong Nguyen reading
April 16
11 a.m. – Panel Q&A
2 p.m. – Jamaal May reading
3:30 p.m. – Book signing and reception
5 p.m. – Lania Knight reading
April 17
11 a.m. – Amy Fleury and Noel Crook reading
2 p.m. Crab Orchard Review 20th Anniversary event
Upcoming Events:
APRIL
7 – Graduate Research Forum, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Student Center, Corker Lounge. This forum provides undergraduate students in several of the university’s research and creative activity programs to present the culmination of their work. Many present their work in the form of a research poster at this competitive, educational event. The 12th Annual Sigma Xi Poster Session happens simultaneously.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Lori Foster, lafoster@siu.edu or 453-4433.
7 – Workshop. “Options and Hurdles for Protecting Scientific Research,” 11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m., Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center. This workshop includes a discussion of intellectual property protection of innovative research. Legal experts and other speakers are available for a question and answer period. Pre-registration is required for participants; email innovation@siu.edu to register.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact the Illinois Small Business Development Center at sbdc@siu.edu or 536-2424.
8 – Guest speaker. Stephen J. Pyne delivers a presentation of fire history and forest policy, beginning at 7 p.m. in Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium, with a reception and refreshments immediately preceding the presentation at 6 p.m. Pyne is Regents Professor of History at Arizona State University, and an authority on fire history and policy. The Center for Ecology and IGERT host this event.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Charles Ruffner, ruffner@siu.edu or 528-9761.
8 – Presentation. “Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling,” an Asian-American Heritage Month. Ka Mei Chen and the Asian Business Association, 5 p.m., Lawson Hall, room 121.
FOR THE MEDIA: Nathan Stephens, nathan.stephens@siu.edu or 453-3740.
8 – Guest speaker. Wallace J. Nichols, author of “Blue Mind,” will discuss recent neuroscience research that indicates proximity to water improves performance, diminishes anxiety and increases professional success. He will speak at 7 p.m. in the Hiram H. Lesar Law Building Auditorium. Wallace is a scientist and wild water advocate who has conducted research and traveled to coasts and waterways around the world, finding an emotional connection to oceans, rivers and lakes. He is a research associate at California Academy of Sciences and a co-founder of OceanRevolution.org, an international network of people advocating for the ocean as well as SEEtheWILD.org, a conservation travel network, LIVBLUE.ORG, a global campaign connecting people to the planet’s water, and GrupoTortuguero.org, an international sea turtle preservation network. He is available for book signing after his lecture. Refreshments provided.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Kris Schachel, sustainability@siu.edu or 453-2846.
9 – Guest speaker. The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute presents the John and Muriel Hayward Lecture with guest speaker Randall Balmer, at 7 p.m. in the Hiram H. Lesar Law Building Auditorium. Balmer is the author of “Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter,” released in May 2014. This biography of the 39th president focuses on the role of his Christian faith on his career and the religious context in which he lived as president. Balmer was professor of American religious history at Columbia University for nearly 30 years before accepting the position of Mandel Family Professor in the Arts and Sciences at Dartmouth College, where he became Dartmouth Professor in the Arts and Sciences. He has been visiting professor at Princeton, Yale, Northwestern and Emory universities as well. A frequent commentator on religion and politics, he is an expert on the First Amendment and a prolific author.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Carol Greenlee at cgreenlee@siu.edu or 453-4078.
9 – Minority Student Leadership Conference. The registered student organization Blacks Interested in Business presents this all day (9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.) conference in the Student Center Ballrooms. Workshops, panel discussions and interactive sessions will promote leadership skills, communication strategies, financial management and professional skills.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Jania Murphy, j.murphy@siu.edu.
9 – Award ceremony. The Union County Historical and Genealogy Society is the recipient of the 2015 Delta Award from SIU’s Friends of Morris Library. The award presentation is at 5 p.m. in Morris Library, the John C. Guyon Auditorium. A reception follows the award ceremony.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Kristine McGuire, kmcguire@siu.edu or 453-1633.
9 – Presentation. “Immigration, Citizenship and Identity: Asian-American and Latino Perspectives,” 5 p.m. in University Museum, Faner Hall. Panel speakers include: Rene Poitevin, director of the Hispanic Resource Center; Nilanjana Bardhan, professor of communication studies; Bin Zhang, a doctoral student in communication studies. An American-Asian Heritage Month event.
FOR THE MEDIA: Nathan Stephens, nathan.stephens@siu.edu or 453-3740.
10 – Presentation. Design students meet real-world designers during Design Discovery Day, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., in Morris Library. The event kicks off at 9 a.m. with a meet-and-greet before presentations. Discussions get under way at 9:30 a.m. in the John C. Guyon Auditorium. Beginning around the same time, SIU artists and designers provide demonstrations and workshops in new studio facilities during walking tours of campus.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Diane McClain-Inman, dinman@siu.edu or 453-4313.
10 – Guest speaker. Gabriel Bialy Lectureship in Reproductive Physiology, noon, Life Science III, room 1059. Dr. Ursula B. Kaiser, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, is chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Reproductive endocrinology, including reproductive disorders and infertility, is one of her several areas of expertise.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Buffy Ellsworth, bells@siu.edu or 453-1539.
10 – Conference. Facing the Future: Roles for Writing Centers in the 21st Century. This all day (8 a.m.-5 p.m.) conference is in various locations within Morris Library. An agenda is forthcoming.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Jane Cogie, jcogi@siu.edu or 453-6846.
12 – Music performance. The SIU Flute Studio presents a free performance, 4-5 p.m. in Altgeld Hall Room 110.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Douglas Worthen at worthen@siu.edu or 453-5832.
13 – Guest Speaker. The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute welcomes David Axelrod to the Morton Kenney Public Affairs Lecture Series at 7 p.m. in Shryock Auditorium. Axelrod was a political adviser and key senior strategist for President Barack Obama’s two presidential campaigns, and a White House adviser. He will talk about his political career and his new book, “Believer: My Forty Years in Politics.”
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Carol Greenlee at cgreenlee@siu.edu or 453-4078.
13 – Presentation. Anime Revo-Manga Pages to American Movement. 5:30 p.m. in Lawson Hall, room 221. Jonathan Flowers and the Anime Club as part of the Asian-American Heritage Month.
FOR THE MEDIA: Nathan Stephens, nathan.stephens@siu.edu or 453-3740.
13 – Art exhibit. Rickert Ziebold Competition Winners Announcement, 3:30 p.m. in the Surplus Gallery, Old Glove Factory (432 S. Washington Ave.). The exhibit opens for public viewing beginning at 11 a.m. Be there at 3:30 p.m. to find out which artist or artists win the award, based on School of Art and Design faculty voting. This is often a good photo-opportunity – the faculty judges are very close-lipped about the winner or winner and it genuinely is a surprise when they make their announcement. The student artists are generally present for posed photographs or candids before the announcement, but it’s impossible to recreate the moment of the announcement. The gallery closes that day at 4 p.m.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Diane McClain-Inman, dinman@siu.edu or 453-4313.
13 – Reception. Morris Library Undergraduate Video Contest winners’ reception, 3-6 p.m. in Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium. In January, Morris Library personnel issued a call to undergraduate students: make a 90-second video about life in Morris Library for a chance to win $800 and the possibility of broadcast on WSIU. The winners receive their accolades here.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Sarah Prindle, sprindle@lib.siu.edu or 453-1249.
14 – Presentation. Japanese Internment Camps, 5 p.m. in the Student Center, Mississippi Room, by Pamela Smoot. This is an Asian-American Heritage Month event.
FOR THE MEDIA: Nathan Stephens, nathan.stephens@siu.edu or 453-3740.
15 – Lecture. “When Are You Dead? Expanding Objections to Brain Death and Recommended Responses.” The 2015 Ryan Bioethicist-in-Residence, Thaddeus Pope, addresses the legal concept of death, and what happens when neurological death, also known as brain death, is not an acceptable definition to all parties involved. The lecture is at 5 p.m. in the Lesar Law Building courtroom.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Alicia Ruiz, aruiz@siu.edu or 453-8700.
15-16 – SIU Drama Days, sponsored by the Department of Theater, is an outreach program for area high school students, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at McLeod Theater. Students participate in theater performances and in workshops on topics including acting, movement and improvisational theater. Approximately 200-250 students each day.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Susan Patrick-Benson, susanpb@siu.edu or 453-7579.
15-17 – Little Grassy Literary Festival, readings and panel discussions in Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium. See details in Spotlight of the Week, above.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Allison Joseph, aljoseph@siu.edu or 453-6854; or K. Brattin, k.brattin@gmail.com.
16 – Guest speaker. Asian American Heritage Month Keynote Speaker: Rais Bhuiyan, “The Healing and Transforming Power of Forgiveness,” 7 p.m. in Morris Library, John C. Guyon Auditorium. Bhuiyan, a Bangladesh native, is the survivor of an attack by “white supremacist” Mark Stroman. Bhuiyan campaigned to reduce Stroman’s sentence from capital punishment. Though he was unsuccessful in that campaign, he has since launched “World Without Hate,” a campaign to promote forgiveness.
FOR THE MEDIA: Nathan Stephens, nathan.stephens@siu.edu or 453-3740.
17 –FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Diane McClain-Inman, dinman@siu.edu or 453-4313.
Art exhibit reception. If you missed your chance to congratulate the Rickert-Ziebold Trust Award winners and finalists at the winners’ announcement, you have a chance at the Rickert-Ziebold exhibit reception, 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Surplus Gallery in the Old Glove Factory (432 S. Washington Ave.). The reception includes an awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m.
17 – Music performance. SIU Guitar Ensembles, 7:30 p.m. in the Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Isaac Lausell, isaac.lausell@siu.edu or 536-8742.
17 – FFA event. Hundreds of high school FFA students will visit SIU to participate in judging contests that challenge them to evaluate the merits of livestock and dairy, and to identify various plants in a horticulture contest. This annual event encourages interaction between College of Agricultural Sciences students and high school students.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Susan Graham, sgraham@siu.edu or 453-2469.
18 – Music performance. SIU Jazz Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. in Shryock Auditorium.
FOR THE MEDIA: Contact Dick Kelley, kelley2@siu.edu or 536-3385.
CURRENT EXHIBITS:
University Museum exhibits: Master of Fine Arts Candidates Thesis Exhibitions join the schedule from now through the end of the spring 2015 semester. On exhibit April 3-10 are the thesis works of: Chintia Kirana – installation; and Zhe “Joe” Ren – new media 2-D, with an artists’ reception 4-7 p.m. on April 10. On exhibit April 17-24 are the thesis works of: Kathy Maves – ceramics; and Joey Tigert – painting, with an artists’ reception 4-7 p.m. on April 24. There is no admission to University Museum.
Art Exhibit: Graduate Student Art Exhibits, Morris Library First Floor Rotunda Exhibit Space. These exhibits run through May 31.
Art Exhibit: Buckminster Fuller and the Sacred Geometry of Nature, Morris Library Hall of Presidents. The exhibit runs through April 30.