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.

What: Tai Chi for Wellness with Margret Kingrey

Where: Endwright Center, 631 W. Edgewood Drive, Ellettsville, IN 47429

When: Tuesdays & Thursdays, January 7 through 30
Intermediate Tai Chi: 10:00 – 11:00 am
Beginning Tai Chi: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Cost: Eight Classes for $50 (preregister & pay-in-full), or $7 pay-per class.
(Endwright Center Members: $45)

About: Tai Chi is a program which improves flexibility, muscle strength, balance as well as increases energy and metabolism. It is also known to decrease anxiety and allow improved breathing. Being a form of movement with intention developed centuries ago in China, it has been used as a martial art as well as a meditative practice.

Margret Kingrey, MA, OTR, is a certified instructor for Tai Chi for Health from Dr. Paul Lam’s Tai Chi for Health Institute since 2009. Dr. Lam’s program is internationally recognized, as well as by the Arthritis Foundation and the American Diabetes Association.
Margret has taught Tai Chi for Health at the Endwright Center, Meadowood Retirement Community and at Ellettsville First United Methodist Church. Prior to becoming a certified Tai Chi instructor, Margret practiced occupational therapy for over 35 years in a variety of settings. She is currently a licensed occupational therapist in Indiana and Massachusetts.

For more information call 812-876-3383 ex. 515

“Community Voices Gallery: League of Women Voters”
League of Women Voters exhibit, open now through March 29, 2014, through photos, documents, written history and objects you will be able to see the involvement of the Bloomington Chapter of this nationwide organization. Please note, museum hours are Tues-Sat, 10am-4pm.

“Giants in Cornfield, Civil War Sesquicentennial”
“Giants in Cornfield, Civil War Sesquicentennial” exhibit open now through April 12, 2014, gives an incredible look at the soldiers from Monroe County and their role in the battles of the Civil War. Please note, museum hours are Tues-Sat, 10am-4pm.

“Old Fashioned Christmas”
Come view Christmases from the past in the History Center’s “Old Fashioned Christmas” exhibit. November 29 – February 15, 2014 Please note, museum hours are Tues-Sat, 10am-4pm.

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.

Pick up a flyer at the Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington or Ellettsville or download a copy from www.mcpl.info/friends and present it when paying your bill. Ali’s Kitchen will donate 20% of your check to Friends of the Monroe County Public Library to help fund the many programs offered by the library.

What: Improving Your Balance Class

When: Twice Weekly (8 classes), Monday & Thursdays,
Jan 6 through Jan 30, 1:00 – 2:00 pm

Who: Sarah Hugus, Endwright Center Fitness Specialist

Where: The Endwright Center, 631 W. Edgewood Drive, Ellettsville, 47429

Cost: $24 (only $3 per class!). $16 for Endwright Center Members

Additional Information:
Falling is currently the number one cause of serious injury in older adults, so good balance is an extremely important aspect of maintaining an active lifestyle as we age. Fortunately, balance can be improved through a variety of strength and flexibility exercises. This class will teach and reinforce basic skills to help maintain and improve balance in order to prevent the occurrence of falls.

While most balance exercises do not require equipment, we are pleased to incorporate our new balance exercise tools provided by a Smithville Charitable Foundation grant. Materials such as wooden wobble boards, foam balance pads, and Therabands help strengthen muscles associated with balance and coordination. Payment options are available upon request.

For more information: call the center at 876-3383 ex. 515.

Six week Class: Thursdays, beginning January 23 – February 27

What: Winter is the perfect time to explore the basics of still life painting. These studies are perfect for learning the fundamentals of shape, light, line and composition. They can provide an educated entry point to all other artistic endeavors. This class will guide you through the tools of the trade while also allowing for your own creative expression.

About the Instructor: Veda Stanfield is a mostly self-taught painter. She’s been observing and painting for decades. She calls her paintings of still lives, landscapes and skyscapes “haunted realism.” She hopes to capture and reveal to the viewer the light, the beauty and the mystery of the everyday world around us. Veda has shown her work in local and regional galleries and has paintings in many private collections all across the country from Boston to New Mexico.

Additional Information: Call for supplies list or with questions: 812-876-3383 ex. 515
Limited supplies will be on-hand at the center.

PRIDE is a Bloomington, IN film festival exploring a wide variety of issues and situations involving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer communities. PRIDE programs a variety of live performance, lecture, public participation events and films that express a wide range of viewpoints and feature many different personality types and situations, advocating community-wide attitudes of awareness, acceptance and appreciation of diversity. The goal of the festival is to educate and strengthen the local community and celebrate artistic talent and achievement. The 2014 festival will run from January 23-26.

Visit the website for more information and the events schedule: http://pridefilmfestival.org