Visit the Whatcom Museum at two locations in Bellingham, WA for the following programs and exhibitions in March 2015.
Programs
Travelogue: A Single Woman’s Travels and Trekking in Uzbekistan
Thursday, March 5; 7 – 9 pm
Whatcom Museum | Old City Hall, 121 Prospect Street
$3 suggested donation
Experience an armchair journey with Marie Laure Valandro, as she takes us through the amazing country of Uzbekistan. Travel from the ancient cities of Samarkand, Bokhara, and Xhiva to the northern mountains and the central region. Learn about the fascinating people of this central Asian country, a great mixture of people from Turkish/ Persian/ Mongol/ Chinese/ Russian ancestry. Marie Laure Valandro is a writer with eight books to date, and a former language teacher. Presented by Bellingham Parks and Recreation.
Museum Advocates: The Story of Mount Baker and the Mountain Runners
Thursday, March 12; 11:30 am – 1 pm
Whatcom Museum | Old City Hall, 121 Prospect Street
$3 suggested donation; Museum members free
Learn the cultural history of Mount Baker as seen through Todd Warger and John D’Onofrio’s book, Mount Baker. The authors take us on a journey of discovery through time with stories of the volcano’s gold rush, logging industry, historical marathon, building of a lodge, its celebrity-filled discovery by Hollywood, and the present day mountain activities. Join the advocates for coffee at 11:30 am. The program begins at noon.
Historical Society: Searching for Ella Higginson
Thursday, March 12; 7:30 pm
Whatcom Museum | Old City Hall, 121 Prospect Street
$3 suggested donation
The first prominent literary author from the Pacific Northwest, Ella Rhoads Higginson (1861-1940) has been largely forgotten as a key American writer. Higginson, who lived much of her adult life in Bellingham, was celebrated for her award-winning fiction, her lyric poetry, which was set to music and performed internationally, and her distinguished position as the first Poet Laureate of Washington State. Laura Laffrado shares her research on the life and work of Higginson and recognizes Higginson as a significant voice in American literature. Presented by the Whatcom County Historical Society.
Brown Bag: What Were the ‘Hindu Riots’ of 1907?
Thursday, March 19; 12:30 pm
Whatcom Museum | Old City Hall, 121 Prospect Street
$3 suggested donation/ Museum members free
September 4, 2007 marked the 100-year anniversary of Bellingham’s “Hindu” riots, when a mob rounded up the city’s East Indian immigrant workers from timber mills and ordered them to leave town. The documentary, We’re Not Strangers, gives a glimpse into the connection between the current local immigrant community from India and those who lived in Bellingham more than 100 years ago. Satpal Sidhu introduces the 15-minute documentary, answers questions, and discusses the current relevance of century-old events. Presented by Village Books.
Travelogue: Saludos de Colombia
Thursday, March 19; 7 – 9 pm
Whatcom Museum | Old City Hall, 121 Prospect Street
$3 suggested donation
Join staff and students from Explorations Academy as they share stories and pictures from a month of travel and study in Colombia. While abroad, students studied Colombian literature, history, and ecology, as well as a Spanish intensive and a cross-cultural communication course. Explorations Academy is a fully accredited, experiential high school located in downtown Bellingham that offers innovative, integrated curriculum and numerous hands-on learning opportunities. Presented by Bellingham Parks and Recreation.
Audubon Society: Tundra and Trumpeter Swans: Washington Winter Birds
Tuesday, March 24; 7 pm
Whatcom Museum | Old City Hall, 121 Prospect Street
$3 suggested donation; Museum members free
Learn the facts, myths and legends of Tundra and Trumpeter Swans. Swan biologist Martha Jordan presents their life history, biology and identification tips, plus new information about Tundra Swan migration. Trumpeters, the largest waterfowl in the world, were rescued from near extinction by hunting and lead poisoning and again grace our skies and waterways. Learn about the critical problems and controversies surrounding these special birds and what is needed to insure their future. Presented by North Cascades Audubon Society.
18th Annual Art Career Day
Friday, March 20
Whatcom Museum Campus
For Whatcom County students interested in a career in the visual arts, the Whatcom Museum is hosting the 18th Annual Art Career Day, offering an opportunity for select students to meet artists and arts professionals to learn about art forms and business practices. Students experience hands-on activities, see Museum exhibitions, and visit with college reps and peers from other high schools.
Exhibitions
NEW! Tom Sherwood: A Golden Perspective
Opens Saturday, March 7, Through June 7, 2015
Whatcom Museum | Lightcatcher, 250 Flora Street
Join us for a new exhibition featuring Bellingham-based artist Tom Sherwood. His work interprets the beauty of the human form and the natural environment in exquisite detail. His mastery of materials and techniques that define Renaissance art – egg tempera and gold leaf on wood panel, perspective, and anatomy – elevates the work to a spiritual dimension. In his paintings, drawings, and wood block prints, the artist integrates a rich variety of inspirations: poetry, garden landscapes, mythology, architecture, and mathematics. Based in Bellingham since 1970, Sherwood has traveled and taught art at colleges and universities in the United States and China. His life and work have touched many prominent Washington artists, including Susan Bennerstrom, John Cole, Ann Morris, and Thomas Wood, among others.
Mingled Visions: Images from The North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis
Through May 10, 2015
Whatcom Museum | Lightcatcher, 250 Flora Street
Featuring 40 original photogravures from Edward S. Curtis’ epic work, Mingled Visions: Images from The North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis features highlights from the sweeping collection of more than 700 photogravures in The North American Indian portfolio. Curtis is one of the most widely collected fine art photographers (public and private collections) in the US, and possibly the world. Mingled Visions is organized by the Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque Iowa.
A Curator’s Perspective: Selections from the Collection
Through May 17, 2015
Whatcom Museum | Lightcatcher, 250 Flora Street
The theme of this exhibition, Magic Windows/Framing Place, derives its name from a painting, Magic Window, by the renowned artist Robert Colescott. Dreamy interiors, surreal landscapes, and cosmic visions are highlighted through a diverse mix of work that traces the way artists represent multiple worlds of reality and experience. Curated by Barbara Matilsky, Whatcom Museum’s Curator of Art, this exhibition represents the personal preferences of a curator whose experience looking at works of art defines a distinct aesthetic taste. For the curator, this collection offers opportunities and challenges contingent on the nature of the museum’s holdings as s/he tries to tease out a theme from widely disparate artworks in different styles, media, and periods. Drawing upon imagination, knowledge of art history, and willingness to experiment with unconventional groupings of work, the curator makes a selection and presents a unifying idea that hopefully engages the viewer’s mind, senses, and spirit.
Big Cameras, Big Trees: Darius Kinsey at Large in the Woods
Ongoing
Whatcom Museum | Old City Hall, 121 Prospect Street
Throughout his fifty-year career in commercial photography, Darius Kinsey captured the monumental interaction between men, machinery and mammoth trees that defined early logging in Northwest Washington.
Now Playing
Ongoing on the 2nd Floor Passageway of the Lightcatcher
Whatcom Museum | Lightcatcher, 250 Flora Street
Complementing our past exhibit The Art of Genre: Posters from Hollywood’s Golden Age, this 2nd floor hallway show features a dozen historic images of movie theaters in downtown Bellingham, including the Bell Show, the Star, the Liberty, the Dream, the American, the Avalon and the People’s. Photographs are in stunning black and white, just like early motion pictures. Curated by Jeff Jewell.