A three-stop gallery walk will launch Arts and Culture Week at the University of Colorado at Boulder campus on Friday, Sept. 19.
Events at the Dennis Small Cultural Center, the CU Museum of Natural History and the CU Heritage Center will begin eight days of programming highlighting the breadth of artistic and cultural resources available at CU.
A diverse array of CU-Boulder programs will host a variety of free and low-cost events ranging from a performance by virtuoso musical artists Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer to museum open houses and lectures.
The Sept. 19 kickoff is the now-signature gallery walk, starting at 4 p.m. at the Dennis Small Cultural Center in the University Memorial Center. Following at 5 p.m. will be a social hour and open house at the CU Museum of Natural History. The series of receptions will conclude with a 6 p.m. open house for the exhibit "Traditions and Renditions: 50 Years of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival" at the CU Heritage Center, on the third floor of the Old Main building.
Following the gallery walk, at 7:30 p.m., participants will have the opportunity to attend either a free performance of the CU Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band at Macky Auditorium, or the first two one-act plays of this year's Theatre and Dance season, "4:48 Psychosis" and "The Lottery" at the University Theatre Loft.
Events celebrating indigenous cultures and their arts start on Sept. 23 with a 7 p.m. lecture from visiting artist C.Maxx Stevens in Fleming Building room 155 presented by the art and art history department. Stevens is celebrated for her dynamic and interrogative art installations at such venues as the National Museum of the American Indian and Canadian Museum of Civilization. She is a member of the Seminole/Muscogee nation in Oklahoma.
The celebration continues at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 25 with a reception and gallery talk hosted in the lobby of Fiske Planetarium. The featured show, "Under One Sky," brings together collaborative prints by Associate Professor Melanie Yazzie and Aboriginal, Maori and Norfolk Island indigenous artists. Following at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 26, Paul Taylor and CU Professor John Stocke will explore the star knowledge of the Wardaman people, an Aboriginal tribe of northern Australia through the traditions, songs and stories of tribal elder Bill Yidunduma Harney. Throughout Arts and Culture Week, the exhibits "Under One Sky" at Fiske Planetarium and the CU Museum of Natural History's "Silavut: Inuit Voices in a Changing World" will exhibit indigenous art.
The featured musical performance of Arts and Culture Week is a CU Artist Series performance by mandolinist Chris Thile and double bassist Edgar Meyer. Widely regarded as one of the most interesting and inventive musicians of his generation, 26-year-old Thile has elevated the mandolin to the sophisticated level of the finest jazz and classical performances. Meyer and Thile's diverse program of original music opens the 2008-09 season of the Artist Series. Tickets are available through the CU Concerts box office at 303-492-8008.
And in a related event, on Sept. 26 the Office of Faculty Affairs will host an afternoon of panel presentations and community discussions on the theme of developing the arts and humanities at CU-Boulder. The goal of the forum is to generate a vigorous conversation about the role of the arts and humanities on campus. The gathering will be held from noon to 5 p.m. in Norlin Library in the Center for British and Irish Studies, room M549.
The forum is open to the public and CU faculty, staff and students are encouraged to attend. For more information contact Andre Grothe at 303-492-4603 or arpac@colorado.edu.
Arts and Culture Week is presented through the cooperation of the Arts and Culture Roundtable of CU-Boulder, in appreciation of the student fees that provide vital support for cultural institutions on the Boulder campus.
During the Sept. 19 gallery walk complimentary guest parking for community members will be available after 5 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis in lot 208 adjacent to the CU Museum of Natural History. Paid parking is available in the Euclid Avenue Autopark and lots 204 and 310 at a cost of $3 per evening.
For more information about the wide variety of events hosted during the week visit . For year-round listings of CU-Boulder events, the majority of which are open to the public, visit the CU-Boulder Events Calendar at .