During Wee Read caregivers share rhymes, songs, fingerplays, and books with their little ones under 3.

Held in the Children’s Storytime Room. Program lasts approximately 25 minutes.

Occurs regularly on Thursdays. Wee Read occurs at 10:15 am with a repeat program at 11:15 am.  Please choose either time.

This extraordinary exhibition, drawn entirely from the rich collection of the Reading Public Museum, explores the path to Impressionism through the nineteenth century and the complex relationship between French Impressionism of the 1870s and 1880s and the American interpretation of the style in the decades that followed. More than seventy-five paintings and works on paper help tell the story of the new style of painting which developed at the end of the nineteenth century—one that emphasized light and atmospheric conditions, rapid or loose brushstrokes, and a focus on brightly colored scenes from everyday life.

Some of the artists featured in the exhibition include Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt, who exhibited in the official Impressionist exhibitions in Paris in the 1870s and 1880s. Among the earliest American artists to embrace the style were John Singer Sargent, William Merritt Chase, John Henry Twachtman, Childe Hassam, and Frank W. Benson.  A host of American artists who embraced the style by the turn of the century including Robert Lewis Reid, William Paxton, Chauncey Ryder, and Guy Wiggins, are highlighted in the exhibition.

As a companion exhibition to Across the Atlantic, the CRMA will present a selection from the private collection of Tom and Nan Riley.  Drawing exclusively on French works, artists such as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro will complement the French works included in Across the Atlantic.  It will be a rare opportunity to see important French works from a local private collection in celebration of the 125^th anniversary of the origins of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.

Retired computer entrepreneur Peter Norton (Norton Antivirus Software) is a contemporary art collector as well as an active participant in various civic and philanthropic activities. In 1988, the Norton Family Christmas Project began commissioning artists to create original, multiple-edition works that were mailed as holiday greetings to friends, colleagues, and selected institutions.  In 2017, the CRMA received the bulk of these wonderful holiday greetings from Director Emeritus Terry Pitts and his wife Kathy Hall.

The objects and artists’ books that comprise the Project collection are incredibly varied. A sense of whimsy runs through many of the pieces: salt and pepper shakers become snow globes, a music box exhorts us to be silent.  Many works also have a sociopolitical focus, addressing issues as varied as slavery, AIDS, and gender identity.  Taken together, the Norton Family Christmas Project objects and artists’ books provide a wonderful snapshot of the last thirty years of activity in the art world at large, presenting the work of both emerging and more established artists.  The 2018 edition of the Norton Family Christmas Project was the last and ended the series.

Explore the medium of oil pastels with artist Kimberly Machovec-Smith. Kimberly was first drawn to oil pastels because of their creamy texture, vibrant colors, and their user-friendly qualities. Oil pastels do not require solvents or mediums, there are no brushes to clean and no leaky tubes of paint. Learn which tools are helpful to have, how to effectively blend and layer colors, and how to help them set up when the image is complete. Materials will be provided. For ages 12 and up. A $15 materials fee is required, payable to the artist. Due to limited space, preregistration is required by Feb. 24th. To preregister contact CRMA Education Director Erin Thomas at 319-366-7503 or ethomas@crma.org.

By Fred Alley, James Valcq, and Lee David Zlotoff; directed by Caroline Price. A feisty parolee follows her dreams, based on a page from an old travel book, to a small town in Wisconsin and finds a place for herself working at Hannah’s Spitfire Grill. It is for sale but there are no takers for the only eatery in the depressed town, so newcomer Percy suggests to Hannah that she raffle it off. Entry fees are one hundred dollars and the best essay on why you want the grill wins. Soon, mail is arriving by the wheelbarrow full and things are definitely cookin’ at the Spitfire Grill.

A soul satisfying … work of theatrical resourcefulness. A compelling story that flows with grace and carries the rush of anticipation. The story moves, the characters have many dimensions and their transformations are plausible and moving. The musical is freeing. It is penetrated by honesty and it glows. – The New York Times

Presented by the University of Iowa Department of Dance

Dancers in Company 2020 Home Concert

February 26, 27, 28, 29 at 8:00 p.m.
Space Place Theater, 101 North Hall

Dancers in Company, the University of Iowa’s touring ensemble, presents an evening of contemporary dance for their home concert. Now in its 36th year, the company’s repertory will reflect current trends in concert dance from leading companies in the field such as Urban Bush Women. Curated by company directors George de la Peña and Alexandra Bush, this evening of dance engages with current social and cultural themes as well as exploring the joys of combining music and dance. UI Dance students will perform as well as conduct workshops and public discussions to facilitate community conversations throughout Iowa and neighboring states. We urge you to catch the only UI home performances from this company of talented and exciting dancers.

Works featured in this year’s concert include:

And Let’s Go
Choreography by Alex Bush, in collaboration with the company
And Let’s Go is a meditation on preparation and an ode to movement as an art and a state of being. It celebrates movement as cultural expression through community, and embraces athleticism, rigor, and play as integral components of a rich movement experience. The choreographer was inspired by her toddler son’s joyful exploration of movement, and her own curiosity around nurturing one’s love of moving while also cultivating a career out of those same principles. And Let’s Go features music by the Hawkeye Marching Band Drumline.

LOOKS LIKE HAPPY
Choreography by Melinda Myers, in collaboration with the ensemble

The Pathology of Love
Choreography by Charlotte Adams, in collaboration with Tony Orrico and Nicole Wong
The Pathology of Love premiered in New York in Joyce Soho’s 2003 season by Charlotte Adams & Dancers. Described by The New York Times as, “arresting,” this piece was performed by Tony Orrico and Nicole Wong who collaborated with Charlotte Adams in creating the intricate and physically challenging partnering that continues to deliver and emotional whop to audiences.

Damper Lifted Oblivion
Choreography by Tony Orrico, in collaboration with the dancers

I Shall Wear My Trousers Rolled
Choreography by Charlotte Adams
I Shall Wear My Trousers Rolled, inspired by T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, suggests the romance of the past through overlapping images and memories. The piece features seven dancers, costume design by Margaret Wenk-Kuchlbauer, and a collage of earth 20th century music: Louis Armstrong, Irving Berlin, Claude Debussy, Charles, Ives, and Bessie Smith.

Women’s Resistance excerpt from Les écailles de la mémoire (The Scales of Memory) (2008)
Choreography by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Germaine Acogny, in collaboration with the original cast
Women’s Resistance was originally created for Urban Bush Women. This performance of Women’s Resistance by the University of Iowa Department of Dance is staged by Urban Bush Women.
Urban Bush Women BOLD Facilitators and Re-stagers: Keisha Turner and Maria Bauman-Morales

Tickets:
$14 Adults
$8 Seniors (65+)
$8 Students & Youth
$5 UI Students (with valid ID)
Tickets are available through the Hancher Box Office at 319.335.1160 or 1.800.HANCHER or online at hancher.uiowa.edu/tickets.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact the Hancher Box Office in advance at 319.335.1158.