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.

Opening January 3 and running until February 1, a variety of new exhibits are on display at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center galleries.

National Society of Arts and Letters: 2014 Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition of Emerging Artists

Indiana artists aged 18-29 compete for a $1,000 Best in Show prize awarded annually by the Bloomington Chapter of the NSAL. This local group has given away over half a million dollars to support budding careers invisual arts, dance, drama, literature, music, and musical theatre since 1966.

Janelle Beasley: “Comfort Zone” (paper collages)

Lucas Adams and Bailey Tichenor: “Northern Exposure” (paintings and photographs)

Galleries are open Monday – Friday, 9 am – 7 pm, and Saturday, 9 am – 5 pm.

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.

A holiday show of handmade work by more than 50 local artists.

Opening January 3 and running until February 1 at Pictura Gallery is a new photography exhibit by Antonio Bolfa: “Haiti: Mass Garbage Dumps of Cite Soleil”.

“The town of Cite Soleil has the biggest garbage dumping grounds in the city of Port au Prince and possibly the country of Haiti. It is a vast wasteland that stretches to the horizon, always expanding as peoples’ waste is dumped there. On and around this massive wasteland a community has grown. People erect makeshift homes and raise families among the fields of garbage where they scavenge the refuse for food, scrap metal and other recyclable items so they can survive. There are no jobs, health care or education. A good day is when garbage trucks deliver batches of spoiled meat that are free for eating. Following the tragic earthquake on January 10th, 2010, the international community poured financial assistance into the country. Since that day, not a single penny has been received by the community of Cite Soleil. As I watched people fight for their survival, I would always think to myself, “What do these people need to sacrifice in order to live like this? Do these people have to relinquish some part of their humanity in order to survive? Or does this kind of hardship define a part of what humanity is in the 21st century?” I am still shocked that this level of poverty and base survival still exists in 2013.”

Artist talk will be held Thursday, January 30 at 7 pm. Gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday, 11 am – 7 pm.

Willy Wonka and his Oompa Loompas lead the sweet-natured Charlie Bucket on the tour of a lifetime through a fantastical chocolate factory. Featuring the songs Pure Imagination and Candyman. Showing December 20 through January 4. See all showtimes at website.

Age recommendation: 3+

Show Location: Buskirk-Chumley Theater

Based on Roald Dahl’s classic 1964 children’s book, and on the 1971 cult classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder. Features all the music from the Wilder movie and several additional songs added for the stage. Cardinal’s 8th annual family holiday production at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Previous holiday shows include The Wizard of Oz, Annie, the Sound of Music and A Year with Frog and Toad.
“Willy Wonka” features a cast of dozens local actors, including Mike Price in the role of Willy Wonka, Chicago veteran actor Richard Henzel as Grandpa Joe, and veteran Cardinal actor Lola Kennedy as a female Charlie.

Don’t ya hate it when the Holiday’s end? How about one last fling before going back to work?

You NEED a shot of the Inside Edge at Bloomington’s #1 Alternative Dance Club, the Back Door?

• Marta Jasick & The U-Station Agents: Contemporary Folk

• Paige Talbert & The Last 35: Indie Rock

• The Kimmie & Johnny Trailer Trash Combo: Irreverent Cow Punk
https://www.facebook.com/Kimmie.And.Johnn/app_2405167945

• Donna Barbick Carlton: Middle Eastern Bellydance
http://allaboutbellydance.com/

• The Business (Formerly “Old Kinderhook”): High-Powered Progressive Americana

• PLUS incidental acoustic music from Johnny Profane & Friends…

What’s a night out at Inside Edge like?

It’s celebrating life on the edge. Music: Indie Rock, Punk, Outlaw Country, Post-Americana. Comedy: with a sting so sly you hardly notice, til ya bleed a little. Dance: Belly Dance, Post-Post Interpretive. Magic: beyond Cirque Du Soleil.

Some people dig roots music. Some, indie rock. Some, our own “punch in your nose” Altcountry/Rockabilly sound.

But good music is, well, GOOD. All these “inside edge” genres are just different enough, sophisticated enough that you fans overlap.

So we mix a cocktail of Roots blues, AltRock, and mebbe a truly hip spoken word/HipHop sound…. PLUS the kind of face-to-face interaction with up-and-coming musicians right there on the dance floor you’d NEVER get anywhere else–even with a backstage pass!!!

Whaddya know! We got an interesting evening….

And this is just the beginning!

Once a month, we’ll open the doors at the Back Door — Bloomington’s most elegant alternative dance club — to up-and-coming interesting bands who need a shot, plus at least one more established band a night.

With music — and comedy and more — that appeals more to 30+ A D U L T S than the barely-legal-to-drink set.

PLUS, there’s a CONTEST! The audience votes for the best band of the night. And the top 2 bands take home some hard-earned bucks. Along with overdue bragging rights!

Imagine a dark, cozy, intimate nightclub dressed with white tablecloths and people sipping martinis.

And couples dancing….

Imagine a REAL night out. To a galaxy far far FAR away…..

Imagine yrslf and yer sweetie at “Cabaret Inside Edge,” hosted by Kimmie & Johnny….

YEE-HAW, BITCHES!

Bring your dancing shoes!