Water cooler: Museum of Arts and Culture offers Thursday webinars on popular series
The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture will remain closed until May 4 per the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order, but it has several innovations available to keep the Spokane community connected to the arts.
Its free lecture series has moved to Zoom to bring the lecture right to your home. The upcoming webinars are all part of the MAC’s “Revealing Pompeii” series. They all begin at 6:30 p.m., and there is one available today called “Roman Gladiators: Killing Machines? Fact and Fiction.”
The upcoming lectures are: April 16: “Street Theater: A Pompeian Neighborhood in Five Acts; April 23: “Kitchens, Dining Rooms, and Latrines: Daily Routines in a Roman House”; April 30: “Humans as Artifacts: Inventing and Displaying Pompeian Body Casts.”
Those interested in the webinars can find the Zoom conference information at northwestmuseum.org.
Also available virtually are the MAC’s current exhibitions, including its signature Campbell House tour. Find the “Campbell House Grand Tour” on its YouTube channel. This video will explain the ties between the Campbell family and the Pompeii exhibits on display at the museum.
The other exhibitions are available right on the website. Explore “Quiltscapes” to learn more about this enduring folk art tradition and read the stories woven into each piece’s history and design.
- “Spokane Memories” features photographs in the museum’s permanent collection that capture life in Spokane in the late 1800s and early 1900s, including local businesses and houses, children picking berries in Spokane Valley, a Depression-era bankruptcy sale in downtown and many more.
- “Uncommon Gifts” features the expanded collect of hallmark Northwest art pieces that were acquired by the donations made from the Safeco collection, one of the most renowned and oldest corporate collections of art from this region.
- “David Douglas: A Naturalist at Work” is the fullest and most developed of the MAC’s online exhibitions with informational blurbs and videos as well as high-quality images. Learn about Douglas, who transformed a childhood love of the outdoors into a career as a naturalist that included work in the botanical gardens of the University of Glasgow and a job as a plant collector for the London Horticultural Society, which ultimately led Douglas to our neck of the woods.
- “Works on Paper” features the art collected by the Washington Art Consortium, beginning in 1975. The art comes from the cooperation of museums from all over Washington. One of the real treats of this exhibit is to view art of local modernists, including Harold Balazs, Mary Elizabeth Dwight, Shaw McCutcheon, William Morris and Milt Priggee.
- “Stories From Within: Selections from the Permanent Collection” includes selected works that highlight the universality of storytelling.
The MAC also offers lessons on its various social media accounts and a virtual version of Story Time at the MAC available on Facebook. New readings are available every weekday through April and are best suited for ages 3-5.
Social circle
Brain train
Test your knowledge with today’s trivia question
What state is best-selling horror author Stephen King from?
- Maine
- Vermont
- Texas
- Hawaii
Wednesday’s answer: 912
Dancing shoes
Dance is one of the most ancient and universal forms of human expression, and whether you are coordinated or not, it never hurts to move around and release some endorphins. Here are some online resources to help you get on up and bust a move, boogie woogie, cut a rug or what have you.
Modern Dance Series: Live classes with Sarah Walter of Salt Lake City Dance Festival, a two-day dance workshop series. The classes are made with small spaces in mind and are available on Instagram@sarahrosedance or at Facebook.com/sarah.walter.3114. There is a livestreamed class at 8:30 a.m. and another at noon Saturday.
More at facebook.com/events/ 1472753589561445/
Ailey Extension: New York-based dance school, the Ailey Studios at the Joan Weill Center for Dance, is offering online classes live on Instagram. Upcoming classes include Age-Defying Stretches, All Styles Vogue, All Levels West African, Bellydance Burn, Ballet Lecture Beginner Hip-Hop, ’90s Dance Cardio and more. The classes feature a variety of instructors and topics from the school. Visit aileyextension.com/keepdancing to see a complete class schedule.
Edge Performing Arts Center: Enjoy classes from one of Los Angeles’ premier dance studios. They teach jazz, ballet, heels, tap, theatre dance, turns, salsa, dance-cardio and more. Find them on Instagram @edgepac for announcements about upcoming clases.
More at instagram.com/edgepac/?hl=en
Dancing Alone Together: This online platform aggregates livestreamed dance classes with the aim to connect the dance community during these times. Find a variety of classes including movement mediation, improvisation, jazz and ballet barre, hip hop, contemporary and more. Visit dancingalonetogether.org/classes for a list of upcoming classes and broadcast locations.
Listen up
Podcasts offer ins and outs, and what have you, of the art world
“Beyond the Studio”: Enjoy candid discussion on the many challenges of making a living in the arts, including financial planning, time management, business practices in addition to other challenges unique to the industry.
“ArtCurious”: Explore the strange, juicy and unexpected stories of art history that will open up the subject for novices and art lovers alike. Delve into alluring questions like: Was Jack the Ripper actually a British painter? Is it true that Van Gogh committed suicide? Was one of the best works of art ever created due to a feud between Michelangelo and Raphael?
http://www.artcuriouspodcast.com/about
“Art For Your Ear”: There are the facts of the art world, but then there is also the gossip. Enjoy some inside scoops on some talented and successful contemporary artists and why they do what they do.
https://www.thejealouscurator.com/blog/art-for-your-ear-podcast/
“ArtTactic”: Get a deeper understanding of the art market through interviews with auction house CEOs, the success stories of industry veterans, founders of online art marketplaces and more.
https://arttactic.com/podcasts/
“The Savvy Painter”: Analyze the marketing and business solutions of experienced artists and find tactics that suit you. A mixture of personal stories and advice.