Shirley Osterhaus, who organizes Western Washington University's World Issues Forums/Paths to Global Justice program, now in its 10th year, mailed me the schedule for winter quarter. The forums are dedicated to providing thought-provoking educational opportunities to the campus and Bellingham community that support an informed and engaged global citizenry.
All events are in the Fairhaven College Auditorium from noon to 1:20 p.m., and all are free. For more information, call 650-2309. Here's the schedule:
Jan. 11: "Seeking Salaam: Ethiopians, Eritreans, Somalis in the Pacific Northwest," with Sandra Chait, an immigrant from South Africa and independent scholar in Seattle.
Jan. 18: "The World Water Crisis: Challenges Of Access to Clean Water in Kenya," with Mark Purington, executive director of Eleos Project, an international nonprofit; and Sara Purington, a Fairhaven student from Kenya.
Jan. 25: "San Quentin: A Monstrosity," with Reginald Pulley, former warden of San Quentin.
Feb. 1: "Art and Social Engagement," with Harrell Fletcher, associate professor of art and social practice at Portland State University; and Wendy Red Star, an adjunct art professor at PSU.
Feb. 8: "Let Us Water the Flowers: The Memoir of a Political Prisoner in Iran," with Jafar Yaghoobi, a former political prisoner in Iran.
Feb. 15: "Doing Good in Africa: Lessons from Traditional Agencies of Self-Help in the Continent," with Yomi Durotoye, director of the African Studies program at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.
Feb. 22: "How Our Way of Life is Killing Africans," with Canadian author Gary Geddes.
Feb. 27: "Libya from Dictatorship to Revolution," with Ali Abdullatif Ahmida, professor and chair, department of political science at the University of New England.
Feb. 29: "Routes to Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict," with Simona Pinton, a researcher and professor of international and human rights law at the University of Venice, Italy, who recently joined the Seattle University School of Law.
GARDEN- BOOK SALE BENEFITS MASTER GARDENERS
The Garden Spot Nursery, 900 Alabama St., near Trader Joe's, is hosting a used garden-book sale the month of January, with proceeds going to Washington State University's Master Gardener Program.
If you have books to donate, you can box them up and drop them at Garden Spot, said owner Marcy Platner, who is a master gardener.
If you would like to help host a Master Gardener information table at Garden Spot during a Saturday in January, contact Beth Chisholm at 360-676-6736 or beth.chisholm@wsu.edu.
NEW SPACE ANCHORS ART EVENTS IN ANACORTES
Thanks to overwhelming support from artists and art lovers alike, a new project for the regional community has launched at Anchor Art Space, 216 Commercial Ave., in Anacortes, one block from the port.
Anchor Access will offer programs with a broad focus on the arts, with exhibitions, talks, literary events and workshops. Upcoming events can be found online at anchorartspace.org.
More than 400 people attended an auction and launch party Dec. 2 that raised more than $11,000 in seed money. The first program is a monthlong, artist-in-residency with Aaron Haba of Camano Island.
On Jan. 6, there will be an open house and reception with Haba from 6 to 9 p.m., as part of Anacortes Art Walk.
In February and March, the space will host an installation by Seattle artist Scott Schuldt, which will include work from his "The View from the Canoe Project." That exhibition will open Feb. 3, with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m.
"The View from the Canoe Project" documents waterways in and around Seattle. The project began in 2008 while Schuldt was canoeing three to four days a week in local waters.
It occurred to him that he was having a rare opportunity to witness seasonal changes on a day-to-day basis, and he began recording his observations in a blog.
The multimedia project includes video, photography, a blog, hand-surveyed, hand-drawn maps, drawings and a growing installation of hand-carved canoe paddles.
During his two-month exhibition at Anchor Access, Schuldt will host an artist talk and offer two workshops: a beading bee, and a workshop on mapping.
As an aside, Anchor Art Space is down the street from Marine Supply and Hardware, known as a great place to get lost in (similar to Bellingham's Hardware Sales).
ABOUT BEHIND THE SCENES
Behind the Scenes focuses on the people who make the arts and entertainment world of Whatcom County happen. It appears in Take Five, The Bellingham Herald's entertainment section, each Thursday. Margaret Bikman is the Entertainment News Coordinator at The Bellingham Herald.
