Hi there! In case you didn’t realize it, we live next door to one of the best sources of low-cost entertainment and education in the Pacific Northwest (shout out to my $5 Ronan Farrow tickets). Below is just a sampling of what’s going on at the UW over the week.
I’m particularly excited about Emily Pothast’s lecture You Are Not Invited: A Critical Survey of Seattle Art History and Crisis Management and Informatics (or any panel) with Kate Starbird. Pothast has been performing, writing, and lecturing on media and culture around Seattle for years, and I’m excited to see where she takes the theme of inclusion/exclusion in the context of Seattle’s art scene. And on the nerdier side, I recently had an opportunity to attend a talk by Starbird, whose work on crisis events and disinformation is disturbing, necessary, and profoundly relevant.
FAMILY-STYLE
Family Nature Classes (9:30 – 11:30 a.m., ongoing)
Join the UW Botanic Gardens Naturalists for “science-based exploration and outdoor play” for preschoolers age 2-5 and their caregivers. There are classes on bats, birds, chemistry, reptiles, mammals, and I wish I were 5 again. COST: $19/class for 1 adult and 1 child. Additional child: $9.50/class. Preregistration is required, lots more details here: https://www.uwbotanicgardenscatalog.org/Family-Nature-Classes-C266.aspx Contact Information: [email protected], 206-685-8033
ARTS, MUSIC, AND PERFORMANCE
IMPfest XI (7:30 p.m., May 24th and 25th) Editor: This was posted after this event occurred. No fault of the author.
“Guest artists Lucia Pulido (voice, cuatro) and Stomu Takeishi (bass) headline the Eleventh Improvised Music Project Festival. The annual festival, co-hosted by the School of Music and the student-led Improvised Music Project, presents up-and-coming musicians, faculty all-stars, and seasoned professionals of international renown.” Cost; $20/$10 students and seniors (62 and over)
Studio Jazz Ensemble & UW Modern Band (Tuesday, May 28, 7:30pm)
For $10 you get everything from big band to new compositions, all under the direction of Cuong Vu and Fred Radke. Meany Studio Theater, more info here: https://music.washington.edu/events/2019-05-28/studio-jazz-ensemble-uw-modern-band
Brechemin Piano Series (Thursday, May 30, 7:30pm, Music Building)
FREE! Students playing piano, what could be better? https://www.facebook.com/events/457344334756760/
LECTURES AND PRESENTATIONS
Crisis Management and Informatics (Wednesday, May 29th, 3 p.m., Allen Library Rm 485)
The last in a series of discussions with leaders from business, government, and academia on the latest developments in cybersecurity and technology issues.
Speakers for this event are Megan Finn, UW Information School; Curry Mayer, City of Bellevue; and Kate Starbird, UW Human Centered Design and Engineering. Annie Searle, Lecturer, UW Information School will be moderating.
You Are Not Invited: A Critical Survey of Seattle Art History (Thursday, May 30, 6 p.m., Jacob Lawrence Gallery)
https://www.facebook.com/events/2706509716045816/
“In 1953, Morris Graves sent out cards reading “You Are Not Invited” to a party at his home to everyone on the Seattle Art Museum’s mailing list. When the unsuspecting crowds arrived, they discovered the moldering remnants of a feast that had been held ten days prior. Using this incident—the first “happening” in the Pacific Northwest—as a point of departure, “You Are Not Invited” traces a history of visual art in Seattle by analyzing how the phenomenon of the “uninvited guest” has manifested since the city’s founding. On the one hand, this designation can be applied to the waves of white settlers, gold rush prospectors, and high-tech newcomers who have flooded the city, displacing those who came before them. On the other, it can represent those who have been denied a seat at the table and thus “uninvited” from popular canons of Northwest art history, such as the Coast Salish, who were driven out by legal statute in 1865, or the Japanese-American artists who were painting the insides of internment camps while the Northwest Mystics waxed philosophical about their East Asian influences. Originally presented as two hour-long lectures, this densely packed survey concludes with an overview of contemporary Seattle artists whose work directly addresses themes of memory, legacy, and the stewardship of living history.” This amazing lecture appears to be FREE.
ODD CORNERS OF THE UW
UW SURPLUS PUBLIC STORE! (Tuesday, May 28th, 12-6 p.m.)
A lot of stuff flows through the UW and if you’ve ever wondered where it ends up, this is the place. The store is open to the public every Tuesday, noon to 6pm. Out of binders? Need 826 tennis balls? An Illumina MiSeq Benchtop DNA Sequencer? Now’s your chance. https://facilities.uw.edu/finadmin/movingandsurplus/inventory/index#pub
Flower Power Hours (5 – 7 p.m., last Tuesday of the month, next one is next Tuesday, May 28th)
“Come learn about the flowers grown at the UW Farm. Make bouquets for the CSA program and make one for yourself as well!
Riz Reyes leads this informative fragrant workshop the last Tuesday of each month. Free and open to the public. Drop-in anytime during the four-hour volunteer shift. If this is your first time volunteering at the UW Farm please sign-up on the website and fill out the application and questionnaire before arriving.”
There are a lot of free or cheap music events one can find on the UW Music department calendar. The degree recitals are free and often with interesting music choices since they are intended to showcase the skill as opposed to sell tickets.
Meany Hall always have impressive lineup of international dance performances. They used to call it World Series. I don’t think they use that name anymore, but the concept is still the same. Some of the music performances scheduled at Meany Hall are required viewing for specific college classes, so you’ll see a lot of students in attendance that obvious have no idea what they are getting into.