venangago-go: September 7, 2006 - Joann Wheeler Exhibit, Meadville Mural, and EA Poe's bones

An exhibit of work by local artist Joann Wheeler will open with a reception at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 19, 2008, in the Robert W. Rhoades Center at Clarion University–Venango Campus. The reception is free and open to the public.

A resident of Oil City for twelve years, Ms. Wheeler was hired to be its Arts Champion in 2006 and has since coordinated the Oil City Arts Revitalization and the Artist Relocation Program. Under her leadership, seven artists have relocated with their families and 21 artists rent space in the National Transit Building.

For more information about the exhibit, please contact the Venango Campus Office of Student Affairs at 814-676-6591, extension 1269.

The 12’ x 73’ mural above, implemented through Allegheny's Arts & Environment Initiative, is now installed on the Hovis Annex Building in downtown Meadville on the east side of the corner of Park Avenue and Chestnut Street.

Resources for the Market Alley mural were provided by a gift from the Valera Richards family in memory of the late Gwendolyn Barboni, a local artist and past director of the Meadville Council on the Arts. Funds were also provided by the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Core Communities Program. Numerous community partners have helped support the project including the Grassinger family, owners of Hovis Interiors, who provided permission to locate the mural at the site; ACE Lumber, which is assisting with materials costs; and area residents John Koehler and Jed Miller, both of whom provided technical consultation.

For additional information about CEED or Meadville, PA: Not Your Run of the Mill Community, contact Amara Geffen at amara.geffen@allegheny.edu.

The Oil 150 celebration marking the sesquicentennial of the petroleum industry will debut in Oil City with a film festival Friday through Sunday, Sept. 12-14.

Pittsburgh Opera Theatre has announced their 2008-2009 sereis. I'm lukewarm on the Byham series choices, but the more intimate salon series of chamber operas at several "non-performances" spaces in the city sounds like a lot of fun. If I can swing the time and the money, look for a review in the future.

Philadelphia Wants Poe's Bones

Robert Giroux, an editor and publisher who introduced and nurtured some of the major authors of the 20th century and ultimately added his name to one of the nation’s most distinguished publishing houses, died on Friday in Tinton Falls, N.J. He was 94.

The first manuscript I ever sold was on the role of government in the arts during the Great Depression, so yeah, I'm a little excited to see that more than 3,000 photographs of Government run amusement park Play will become available on the Internet. Most were taken in the depths of the Depression.

Tucson Weekly interviews Mogwai.

To celebrate The Surrogates movie wrapping principal photography, surviving San Diego, and all the cool new summer and fall releases, for the next ten days -- through Friday September 12th -- Top Shelf is having a giant $3 graphic novel web sale.

The Allegheny College Playshop Theatre opens its 2008-2009 season with an evening of two original one-act plays that address issues of diversity and transformation in American life: “Swapping Broomsticks for Muskets: Women of the Civil War” and “Color Me White.”

The performances begin at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 12 and 13, in the Playshop Theatre, which is located in Arter Hall on the Allegheny College campus.

“Broomsticks for Muskets” is based on the stories of four real 19th-century women who dressed as men in order to fight in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

“Color Me White” is a new piece written and performed by Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Theatre Dan Crozier. It investigates a white, middle-aged male's attempts to broaden his cultural horizons. The play is directed by Roberta Levine.

Tickets for both performances are $7.50 for adults; $5 for non-Allegheny students, senior citizens and Allegheny employees. Admission is free for Allegheny students with identification. Audiences should note that the production contains language and situations some may find offensive. For more information or to order tickets, contact the Playshop Theatre Box Office at (814) 332-3414.

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A cool overcast early fall Sunday just cries out for some cello, don't you think? (and really can you go wrong with a song titled, "Air on a G string"?