Monthly Archives: June 2010

Anthill: how biologist EO Wilson turned science into best-selling fiction | The Observer

That lifetime has mostly involved the comprehensive study of a particular world that first intrigued him way back when: the world of ants. Much of what we know about social insects and the “superorganism” of the hive and nest has been a result of Wilson’s research and observation. Over six decades and 20 books he has detailed every aspect of ant societies: how they divide labour and spread knowledge, how they mate and fight, live and die. Wilson has used this wisdom – “sociobiology” – to make arguments about genetics and conditioning that have applications thoughout the living world, and which extend to our understanding of human nature and society. Much of that wisdom he has now brought to bear on Anthill, his debut novel, which has at its heart an extraordinary ant's eye view of the world, a social realist book-within-a-book of the rise and fall of a particular ant colony.

via Anthill: how biologist EO Wilson turned science into best-selling fiction | Science | The Observer.

4 1/2 Hours: Across the Stones of Fire

4 1/2 HOURS: ACROSS THE STONES OF FIRE

Produced by The Coal Free Future Project benefiting The Appalachian Community Fund

Written by Jeff Biggers

Directed by Stephanie Pistello

When Marie and Hovie’s 150-year-old family homestead is threatened by a planned mountaintop removal operation they must come to grips with their conflicting fates. Will their love for each other and the land survive an epic journey “Across the Stones of Fire?”

Films & Visuals by Ben Evans

Purchase Tickets Here.

Running time: 60 minutes, no intermission

Venue: The Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond Street

Performance dates:

Tues 6/8 @ 5:30pm

Wed 6/9 @ 7:30pm

Sat 6/12 @ 12pm

Sun 6/13 @ 7pm

via 4 1/2 Hours: Across the Stones of Fire (Planet_Connections).

Tuesdays at the 10th: SILA from Mo`olelo

In June 2009, Mo`olelo received a two-year grant from The James Irvine Foundation to commission playwright Chantal Bilodeau to write  a new play that explores the intersection of race, class and climate change.

Chantal journeyed to the Canadian arctic in August 2009 and met with scientists and Inuit activists.

Please join us for a reading and discussion of the first draft of this play, currently titled Sila, on June 15. Your feedback will help Mo`olelo and the playwright as we continue to develop the script.

About the play:
The Arctic is melting and everyone wants a piece of it. In the race to shape the future of the region, four characters – an ice scientist, an Inuit activist, an officer for the Marine Communications and Traffic Services and a polar bear – see their values challenged as their lives become intricately intertwined. Mixing puppetry, projection, spoken word poetry and three different languages (English, French & Inuktitut), Silais a plea for increased collaboration in dealing with the big challenges of our time.

Directed by Seema Sueko
Featuring: Mike Sears, Jacob Bruce, Randy Reinholz, LaVonne Rae Andrews, Tonantzin Carmelo

When: Tuesday, May 25
5:15 PM Pre-reading munchies by Cooking 4 Life - Cooking-4-Life will be offering a free sampling of healthy vegetarian lasagna, delicious coleslaw salad and an opportunity to register for one of their free gourmet dinners in the lobby  of the theater before the reading.
6:00 PM Reading

Where: The 10th Avenue Theatre, 930 10th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101

Cost: FREE (Suggested donation of $5 at the door)

Reservations: Space is limited. RSVP at tickets@moolelo.net or 619-342-7395

Traffic & Parking: Please note that there is a 7:05 PM Padres game at Petco Park on June 15. We recommend arriving at the theater early, for the 5:15 PM reception to avoid the game day traffic. There is metered street parking around the building, and a $5 parking lot one block away at the northeast corner of 11th Avenue and E Street. The machine at this lot accepts Visa, Master Card and exact cash – please note on some game days the parking fee at this lot is raised to $10.

Art in the Open Philadelphia

Jury selects 35 Artists to participate in Art in the Open Philadelphia!

Art in the Open (AiO) is a citywide event that celebrates artists, their inspirations for creating art, and their relationships with the urban environment. Inspired by, but re-framing, the tradition of painting en plein air (creating art outside, on site), 35 artists working in a variety of media will create art outside, on-site over the four-day period of June 9-12, 2010along the banks of the tidal Schuylkill River – from the historic Fairmont Park Water Works and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, south to landmark Bartram’s Garden.

During the day, partnering institutions will offer extensive opportunities for public engagement with the festival, showcasing the vibrant community of working artists, galleries and institutions that make Philadelphia a major Urban Art Center, and its two rivers: waterways which continue to inspire creative response and also serve as an ecologically critical lifeline for its residents.

Art in the Open Selected Artists

Nancy Agati, Maria Anasazi, Austin + Mergold, Cynthia Back, Laura Anderson Barbata, Sonia Elizabeth Barrett, Michael Bartmann, Joan Becker, Ava Blitz, Harry Bower, Michele Brody, Nic Coviello, Laure Drogoul, Anda Dubinskis, Mindy Flexer, Candace Fong, Valerie George, Roy Andres Hofer, Ellie Irons, Diedra Krieger, David Lee, Dan Lobdell, Joe Mangrum, Ed Marston, S. Zachary Martin, Daniel Petraitis, Christopher Pierro, Paul Santoleri, Diane Savona, Tremain Smith, Leah Stein Dance Company, Katie Tackman, Denise Karabinus Telang, Blaise Tobia, Roman Tybinko

via Art in the Open Philadelphia.

SMMoA Pairing Art & Social Action

The Santa Monica Museum of Art will be hosting two remarkable events this month which pair art making with social action.  Taking place this Thursday, June 3, artist Mel Chin will be will make a special visit to SMMoA and participate in one of our signature programs, A Collection of Ideas…, to discuss his projects Operation Paydirt and The Fundred Dollar Bill Project.  Over the past several years Chin has brought national attention to the serious issue of high lead content in water, particularly in New Orleans, through the collaboration of hundreds of thousands of art participants across the US (more information below). Next Saturday, June 12, SMMoA will also be dedicating our quarterly education workshop Cause for Creativity to Chin’s vision. In this workshop participants will have the opportunity to create their own Fundred Dollar Bills and become part of this country-wide collaborative art project.

Thursday, June 3, 7 pm
A Collection of Ideas… 
Mel Chin: So I guess it has to be this way… Refraction, response to crisis, reframing a few dreams, and more on the delivery of a 300 million dollar difference
 
In 2006, artist Mel Chin was profoundly affected by post-Katrina New Orleans and developed, alongside scientists, an initiative called Operation Paydirt to help remediate the alarming levels of lead content in the soil there. The estimated cost of treating New Orleans soil is $300,000,000. Chin will discuss the Fundred Dollar Bill Project which supports Operation Paydirt through contemporary art, engagement, and action. TheFundred Dollar Bill Project is a way to become involved in monumental advocacy to inspire and enact change through a process of collecting hand-drawn Fundreds – $100 bill templates that allow for personal expression. Chin needs 3 million Fundreds by July 2010 when he will go to the steps of Congress and ask for $300 million to fund the soil remediation project in New Orleans and ultimately in all major U.S. cities. SMMoA will host its own Fundred Dollar Bill Drawing Party on Saturday, June 12 (see below)


                   

Saturday, June 12, 2-5 pm
Cause for Creativity: Fundred Dollar Bill Drawing Party
 
In collaboration with artist Mel Chin’s Fundred Dollar Bill Project, described above, participants will hand-draw Fundreds that will be collected and presented to Congress as a unique testament of civic engagement through art. Joining us at Cause for Creativity is Daybreak Designs – an arts and crafts business which empowers homeless women recovering from mental illness to rebuild their lives through creative, personal and financial growth. Daybreak Designs will have lovely hand-made goods for sale during the Fundred Dollar Drawing Party. 

Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches van on site

FREE
RSVP: rsvp@smmoa.org or 310.586.6488 x125