Nov. 21, 2002

"Giddap" (1931 Kansas City Star quilt pattern), maker unknown, possibly made in Illinois, circa 1931. This quilt is one of several in the International Quilt Study Center's current mini-exhibit, "Cast Your Vote: Political Quilts from the IQSC." It will be on display through Dec. 20. Photo courtesy of the International Quilt Study Center.

'Cast Your Vote' is current exhibit

Stop in at the International Quilt Study Center and see our latest mini-exhibit, "Cast your Vote: Political Quilts from the IQSC," now through Dec. 20 in room 212 of the Home Economics Building on East Campus. The exhibition features a flag quilt by artist Mary Maxtion, a 1930s donkey quilt, perhaps made in support of the Democratic party, and an unusual quilt top featuring commemorative fabrics from the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Docents will give guided tours of the state-of-the-art storage facility that houses the International Quilt Study Center collection of more than 1,250 quilts.

The IQSC storage facility is open for drop-in visitors from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Wednesday. Scheduled visits and tours may be arranged by calling 472-6549.

Melissa Haviland, "Indulgence," 2002, fabric, silkscreen and reed. Photo courtesy of Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.

Thesis exhibit opens Dec. 2

Melissa Haviland, a graduate student in the Department of Art and Art History and a Kimmel Fellow, will present her MFA Thesis Exhibition Dec. 2-12 in the Eisentrager-Howard Gallery in Richards Hall.

An opening reception will be from 5-7 p.m. Dec. 6 in the gallery.

The exhibition, titled "de bride ment," is a collection of works connected to her infatuation with and repulsion from the White Wedding in American culture.

The work, while criticizing aspects of wedding tradition, embraces a wedding's visual characteristics.

The show will include wood engraving prints and fabric sculpture pieces, most encrypted with subtle silkscreen printed patterns.

The Eisentrager-Howard Gallery is open from noon to 5 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, noon to 7 p.m. Thursdays, and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays.

It's a 'Christmas from Dublin' when the Three Irish Tenors take the Lied stage at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4. Photo courtesy of the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

Celebrate 'Christmas from Dublin' Dec. 4

A genuine Irish Christmas will dazzle Lincoln when "Christmas from Dublin" comes to the Lied Center stage. It begins at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 and features the Three Irish Tenors: Ciaran Nagle from Riverdance The Show, Anthony Norton from La Scala Milan, and Paul Byrom, the John McCormick Tenor of the Year 2001. Joining The Three Irish Tenors will be an ensemble of musicians and Jacqueline Whelan, one of Ireland's most recognized sopranos, who will accompany herself on the traditional Irish harp.

Byrom started voice training at age 7 and is still working on his technique at The Leinster School of Music. Byrom's career has included everything from roles in musicals such as South Pacific to classic operas such as Faust. He has won many awards and competitions in Ireland and recently sang the National Anthem at the All Ireland Football Final to a crowd of more than 70,000 people.

Nagle trained at the College of Music in Dublin and for three years sang with the National Chamber Choir, Ireland's only professional choir. He has also sung with the Lyric Opera Company and Opera Ireland. He has performed in many musicals and recently toured with Riverdance for 18 months.

Norton began his musical training at The Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, and continued his studies at Trinity College. He began his operatic career with the Scottish Opera and became a member of the La Scala Opera Company of Italy. Norton sang principal roles with the group for five years including tours throughout Europe. Since his return to Ireland, Norton has been busy performing with Opera Ireland, The Opera Theatre Company and The National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, as well as serving as assistant director for Opera Ireland and The Opera Machine and artistic director of Drawing Room Opera.

Kit Voorhees, director of UNL's Arts Are Basic program, will give a lecture 30 minutes before the performance in the Lied Center's Steinhart Room.

Tickets for this performance are $36, $32 and $26; tickets are half-price for college students and those 18 and under. For tickets, call the Lied box office at 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231.

Professor to speak about new book Dec. 1

Ricardo Garcia, UNL professor of curriculum and instruction, will speak about his new book, "Coal Camp Days," at 2 p.m. Dec. 1 at Lee Booksellers Edgewood Center, 56th and Highway 2.

"Coal Camp Days" (University of New Mexico Press, $24.95) is a fictionalized memoir of Garcia's childhood in a small New Mexico coal-mining town. Garcia's father, descended from the Spanish settlers of the area, worked in the mines alongside Eastern Europeans, Italians, Greeks and African Americans. Garcia's boyhood memories - collecting scrap iron, hunting rattlesnakes, riding a railroad hand car and visiting the mine with his father - mingle with reflections on small-town life.

Garcia also will sign copies of his books at the Dec. 1 event. For more information, call 420-1919.

The Vagina Monologues auditions are Dec. 6, 7

For the fourth year in a row, V-Day is coming to UNL. A benefit production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues will be performed in February 2003 as part of the V-Day College Campaign.

Auditions for those seeking parts in the performances are from 6-10 p.m. Dec. 6 and noon to 5 p.m. Dec. 7 in the Georgian Room of the Nebraska Union. Participants will be asked to read from one of four monologues available at the auditions or tell a personal story.

There will be a company meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 8 in the Nebraska Union Georgian Room.

The goal of the production is to raise awareness to stop violence against women and girls and to raise funds for the Rape Spouse Abuse Crisis Center. The production is sponsored by the University Health Center Sexuality Education eXchange & PERSUNL Program, the Rococo, Lied Center and the Woods Charitable Foundation.

For more information, contact Pat Tetreault, University Health Center sexuality education eXchange & PERSUNL program coordinator, at 472-7447.

AIDS quilt on display Dec. 1-5

The University Program Council will sponsor the display of a portion of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on campus Dec. 1-5.

The display will be in the Centennial Room of the Nebraska Union and will be open from 5 p.m. to midnight Dec. 1, which is World AIDS Day, 9 a.m. to midnight Dec. 2-4 and 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 5. Viewing of the quilt is free and open to the public.

Since 1987, The AIDS Memorial Quilt has been a way to provide healing, remembrance, education and prevention in the struggle to end AIDS. More than 42,000 individual 3-by-6-foot memorial panels have been sewn together by friends and family to create a memorial for those who have died of AIDS. The quilt is the largest example of a community art project in the world and has redefined the tradition of quilt making in response to contemporary circumstances.

The NAMES Project Foundation sponsors the quilt and has presented portions of it to more than 13 million people at tens of thousands of displays around the world.

For more information on the NAMES Project Foundation and The AIDS Memorial Quilt, visit <www.aidsquilt.org>.