Ring in the new year with a variety of arts events, from exhibitions of arts and crafts and photography to the works of nine contemporary Native artists on display in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s “Common Seeing: Meeting Points” exhibition, which corresponds to the UO’s Common Reading program book “Braiding Sweetgrass.”

Freebie Fridays at the Erb Memorial Union is back with more fun weekly craft projects, and University Theatre opens its second play of the season, “Personal History,” in the Hope Theatre in the Miller Theatre Complex.

Exhibitions

The UO Visual Arts Team kicks off the new year Jan. 2 with the printmaking works by Lily Cronn in the EMU’s Aperture Gallery on Jan. 2. Working with the University of Oregon Prison Education Program’s Inside-Out program, the Visual Arts Team presents “Resonance,” an exhibition of work by more than 20 incarcerated artists from Oregon prisons. The exhibition opens Jan. 3 at the Adell McMillan Gallery in the EMU.

UO associate professor of art Rick Silva’s “Western Fronts: Cascade Siskiyou, Gold Butte, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears” opens Jan. 15 at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. An experimental video that reflects the political and ecological threats that face four U.S. national monuments combines aerial drone footage and photogrammetry with 3D animation to create a nature documentary that collapses into itself.

Focusing on the artistic work, career and feminist social activism of early 20th-century artisan and entrepreneur Clara Barck Welles, “A New Woman—Clara Barck Welles, Influence and Inspiration in Arts and Crafts Silver” has opened at the art museum. The founder and owner of the Kalo Shop of Chicago, known for its arts and craft silver holloware, flatware and jewelry, Barck Welles trained and supported generations of designers, jewelers and silversmiths. If you can’t make it to the museum, take a virtual tour of the exhibit.

Shot in Oregon, California, Hawaii and Iceland, a series of large-scale black-and-white photographs in professor of art Ron Jude’s “12 Hz” depict the raw materials of the planet and its systems, from lava flows and sculptural formations of welded tuff to river and tidal currents and glacial valleys. The exhibition at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is accompanied by an audio installation by Joshua Bonnetta that combines field recordings and manipulated seismic recordings collected from an array of sensors that record vertical ground motion.

Don’t miss the powerful work of painter and printmaker Max Pollak on display at the art museum. “Max Pollak: In the Barrack Camp at Nikolsberg” documents the living conditions, hardships and daily life of Jewish refugees at the camp in Moravia during World War I.

Corresponding with the UO’s Common Reading program — this year’s selection is “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants” by Robin Wall Kimmerer — art museum’s “Common Seeing: Meeting Points” exhibition in the Focus Gallery brings together the works of nine contemporary Native artists to visually expand on the issues of ecology, parenting, Indigenous land and water rights, sustainability, climate change and the preservation of language in the book. The exhibition runs through April 10, 2022.

Crafts

Freebie Friday is back in the new year. Create mini acrylic art on Jan. 7, make your own stitched book for journaling Jan. 14, and create a friendship bracelet for your bestie Jan. 28. Do your crafting at the O Desk between noon and 2 p.m. or take home a prepackaged kit that includes everything you’ll need to create each craft.

Lectures

Looking for expert advice on achieving your long-term goals beyond a New Year’s resolution? Join psychologist Rita Ludwig on Jan. 5 live on Zoom and Facebook for “Ideas on Tap: Uncovering the Secrets of Goal Achievement,” the Museum of Natural and Cultural History’s monthly pub talk. On Jan. 13 at the museum, learn about the materials and process used in weaving with Brenda Brainard, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians.

Join Department of History doctoral candidate Hayley Brazier on Jan. 13 in the Knight Library’s Dream Lab for “Under the Sea with Historic Oregon Newspapers,” an exploration of the historical perceptions of Oregon’s marine species through the lenses of print and art.

Presented by the Department of Art and the Center for Art Research, the winter 2022 Visiting Artist Lecture Series presents on Jan. 13 in Lawrence Hall “I’ve Left My Body to Occupy Others,” a lecture from Pei-Hsuan Wang inspired by her 11-year-old white and East Asian mixed-heritage, first-generation Taiwanese American niece and the challenges of her upbringing navigating between the East and the West. On Jan. 27, join Justine Kurland for the virtual lecture “From Girl Pictures to SCUMB Manifesto: A Retrospective of Photo Work.” The lecture will cover Kurland’s photography career, ending with her most recent collage work.

Film

Ducks After Dark returns Jan. 6 to the Redwood auditorium in the EMU with activities and movie night. Free entry for UO students with a valid UO ID.

Music

Musical entertainment prevails at Beall Concert Hall throughout January, beginning with a performance of Beethoven’s Op. 30 No. 1 in A major and Op. 12 No. 3 in D major on Jan. 6 by violinist Fritz Gearhart featuring Alexandre Dossin. On Jan. 21 as part of the Faculty Recital Series, School of Music and Dance faculty members will present a Mozart and Brahms Quintet recital. Chamber Music of Lincoln Center performs Jan. 23. Experience a concert by members of the UO Symphony Orchestra on Jan. 27. Conducted by director of bands Dennis Llinas, the UO Wind Ensemble performs Jan. 28.

Fritz Gearhart on violin and Genevieve Lee on piano perform the final concert of the Beethoven Violin Sonata Cycle featuring Sonata in G major, Op. 30, No. 3 and Op. 47 on Jan. 28 in Berwick Hall.

Theater

On Jan. 28, University Theatre opens “Personal History” in the Hope Theatre, part of the Miller Theatre Complex. A snapshot of the history of African Americans and their struggles in this country, “Personal History” follows a Black couple as they navigate three moments in American life, stretched out over a century in Chicago. The production runs through Feb. 5 and is free for UO students with ID.

Streaming resources

Google Arts & Culture is a great starting place for finding exhibits, collections, audio, video, images and more.

Learn about Oregon’s story via the Museum of Natural and Cultural History’s virtual exhibit “Oregon—Where Past is Present.” Through interactive displays and anthropological collections, learn about the first Americans as well as the dynamic cultures of today’s tribes.

Explore the UO Channel for a variety of live-streamed events, Department of Art Visiting Artist Lecture Series videos, guest speakers and more.

—By Sharleen Nelson, University Communications