Is it magic or is it science? Have great fun exploring the surprising tricks mirrors can play on your brain! This special hands-on exhibition for people of all ages is on display at WonderLab (Tuesday – Sunday) through April 13.

Featured exhibit on display in the Upper Loft Gallery: Annual Winter Exhibition, featuring paintings by Contemporary Art Guild Member Artists and works from the Marie Goth Estate Permanent Collection. Now – December 31

Reception: Second Saturday, December 14, 5:00-8:00 pm (during the Holiday Village Art Walk) Please join the Guild for an evening of light refreshments and to purchase your $10 raffle ticket for your final opportunity to win the beautiful autumn landscape created collaboratively by nine Guild Member Artists. Contributing artists include Mark Burkett, Ronald Mack, Thom Robinson, Rena Brouwer, Patricia Rhoden, Wyatt LeGrand, Jeanne McLeish, Pamela Chase Newell, and Chris Newlund. The lucky raffle winner will be drawn during the Holiday Art Walk reception. (need not be present to win).

“For the Beauty of the Earth”, an exhibition of photographs and artwork by Glenda Breeden and Patricia C. Coleman, opens November 1, 2013 in Lennie’s Restaurant and Brewhouse. Opening Reception is Tuesday, November 5th 7:00pm to 9:00pm in Lennie’s Bar and Brewhouse, 1795 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN. Exhibit runs through December 31, 2013. Glenda Breeden is passionate about photographing nature. She is a peace activist, writer, photographer, poet, mother, grandmother and advocate for justice. Patricia C. Coleman loves the process of moving ideas into artist reality. Artist, poet, storyteller, she is owner of Patricia’s Wellness Arts Café where she shares her arts and crafts and herbal products, and the creations of ten other local artist and artisans. Photographs and art purchase information will be available at Lennie’s. You can reach Patricia at 812-334-8155 or see more of her work online at http://www.hartrock.net/cafe.htm.

Sunday – Thursday 11 am – 11 pm
Friday & Saturday 11 am – Midnight
*The Pub is open one hour later.

Special Exhibition, “Art Interrupted: Advancing American Art and the Politics of Cultural Diplomacy”
Runs September 15-December 15
This exhibition reconstructs a 1946‒47 exhibition titled Advancing American Art, which featured over one hundred examples of stylistically diverse American art from the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s. Organized by the State Department as a form of cultural diplomacy, Advancing American Art traveled to venues in Latin America and Europe before political controversy in the United States led to its cancellation. Art Interrupted illuminates a fascinating historical moment when modern art was seen as a powerful tool for furthering democratic ideals around the world.

New in the Galleries: “Photographing Rosie the Riveter”
Runs October 1-January 26
The conscription of men into military service during WW II led to a demand for female workers in the factories supplying munitions and war supplies. Government photography projects, such as the Farm Security Administration (FSA), revamped their operations to support the efforts of the Office of War Information (OWI). This installation features propagandistic images of female assembly-line workers by Andreas Feininger, Alfred T. Palmer, and Howard Liberman. Organized by Maura Campbell-Balkits, a museum intern in the Department of Communications and Culture.

New in the Galleries: “Ancient Jewelry”
Runs October 15-December 15
In conjunction with the Jewelry Symposium in the Hope School of Fine Arts (October 17–20, 2013) and the accompanying international jewelry exhibition in the Grunwald Gallery, a new selection of ancient jewelry will be on display in the second floor gallery. The IUAM collection of jewelry is one of the largest in the United States. Necklaces, bracelets, diadems, earrings, and finger rings from our collection are breathtaking examples of metalsmithing skill—and of beauty.

New in the Galleries: “Stories with Shadowy Figures”
Runs October 22-December 21
An installation of puppets from Java, presented in conjunction with the shadow puppet performance on October 27.

From boldly graphic raffia textiles to intricately incised carving on wooden cups, complex surface design is a hallmark of Kuba aesthetics and an indicator of prestige and value for Kuba and Westerners alike. Complementing the Kuba objects permanently on display in the Wielgus gallery, The Patterned Kingdom includes additional objects from the museum’s collection, including several hats given by the late IU textile artist Budd Stalnaker, as well as loans from IU professor emeritus and painter William Itter.

This exhibit runs through December 22, 2013. Located in the Raymond and Laura Wielgus Gallery of the Arts of Africa, the South Pacific, and the Americas, Focalpoint, third floor.

Gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm, and Sunday, noon to 5 pm.

Gathering :a handmade pop-up shop: will be “popping up” in downtown Bloomington this holiday season from November 23 to December 24, 2013 in the Fountain Square Mall, Suite 125 at 101 West Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington, IN. The shop will be displaying over 50 local and regional artists’ indie crafts, all available for purchase. We’re open Wednesday/Thursday 12:30pm – 5pm, Friday/Saturday 1pm-7pm, and Sunday from 12pm-5pm! Come, gather with us!

Visit the I Fell Building Dec 6-8 for local artworks in a festive Holiday Market. The market begins during First Friday at the Fell Dec 6th from 6 to 9 p.m. The Gypsy Moon food truck and Rainbow Bakery will have savory and sweet treats. Handmade local art and crafts will be on display in the large gallery inside–checks, cash, and credit cards accepted. Working artists’ studios will be open with their art for sale along with the art of other area artists. The market continues on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 12 noon to 5 p.m. The I Fell Building is on the west side of downtown Bloomington at 415 West 4th Street.

A wine and shopping experience for the whole family! Enjoy live holiday music with jazz musicians Neil Ferris and Matt McDougall. Sip on mulled mead and holiday cocktails while holiday shopping. Children and adults alike, can make Oliver cork ornaments in our free Little Elves’ Workshop.

Santa Claus will be located on the bottom level of Fountain Square Mall, Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm and Sundays from noon to 4 pm. Also on December 23 from 1 to 4 pm and December 24 from 10 am to 4 pm. Photos by Lisa Walker Photography. Each photo is $5, with $1 donated to charity.

Exhibits include:

“Picturing Archaeology”: Described in their words and illustrated by their images, the research and fieldwork of 13 Indiana University archaeologists is presented in Picturing Archaeology at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures/Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology.

“Rhythms of the World”: a free audioguide tour of musical instruments from around the globe featured in exhibits throughout the museum. The audioguide includes narration and musical clips of the highlighted instruments. This exhibit will run until December 20.

“Thoughts, Things, and Theories…What Is Culture?”
Thoughts, Things, and Theories…What Is Culture? examines the nature of culture through the exploration of cultural traditions surrounding life stages and universal needs.This exhibit will run until December 20.

“From the Big Bang to the World Wide Web: The Origins of Everything”
This exhibit examines history on a large scale, through the exploration of cosmic, biological, and human origins. This exhibit will run until December 20.

“Treasures of the Mathers Museum”
Decades of collecting and curating will be featured in this exhibit, presented in conjunction with the institution’s 50th anniversary. This exhibit will run until December 20.

“Photos in Black and White: Margaret Bourke-White and the Dawn of Apartheid in South Africa”
In 1949, Margaret Bourke-White, one of the most famous photojournalists in America, travelled to South Africa on assignment for Life magazine. Some of her rarely-seen images from that period are featured in Photos in Black and White: Margaret Bourke-White and the Dawn of Apartheid in South Africa at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures. Curated by Alex Lichtenstein, Associate Professor of History at Indiana University, the exhibition offers a comprehensive look at Bourke-White’s photojournalistic portrayal of South Africa in 1949 and 1950. This exhibit will run until December 20.

“Melted Ash: Michiana Wood Fired Pottery”
This exhibit explores the methods used to produce hand-made, wood fired pottery, and features works from northern Indiana and southern Michigan. This exhibit will run until December 20.

Museum is open Tuesdays through Fridays, from 9 am to 4:30 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays, from 1 to 4:30 pm. Check website to see all of the Mathers Museum’s exhibits.