Don't throw that out!
Matt Johnson's photo exhibit, "Time and Materials," took off when his stepmother prepared to sell the family home and asked him to help clean out the garage. "There's a lot here; some of it might be junk," she said. Johnson, however, saw photographic fodder. The eye-popping results are on display this month at Alaska Pacific University's ConocoPhillips Gallery. In the adjacent Leah J. Peterson gallery, you can see oil and wax paintings reflecting the natural elements of Homer, where artist Kathy Smith resides.
Hushed history
National Endowment for the Arts award winner Donna Mack, who got her MFA in creative writing at the University of Alaska Anchorage, will present a talk about her recently published novel, "Whispered Secrets Whispered Prayers," at 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 27, at the UAA Campus Bookstore. The story is set in North Dakota in 1947 and recounts the life of a German family that has emigrated from the Ukraine. If Mack's name sounds familiar, she was the owner of Anchorage's One People world art and craft shop for many years. The talk is free.
Welcome wilderness
Everyone else may have high-tailed it out of town for the long weekend, but the Alaska Prospectors Society will carry on as advertised. Their next presenter is Adrienne Lindholm, who will talk about the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Lindholm says her talk will "take a look at how far we've come in our understanding of this strange new idea of wilderness. We'll explore what makes Alaska wilderness special, what it means to Alaskans, and why we're excited to celebrate Alaska's wilderness legacy." The public is welcome to attend the talk at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, May 29, at First United Methodist Church, 725 W. Ninth Ave. Admission is always free, but donations for rent and snacks are greatly appreciated.
Compiled by arts reporter
Mike Dunham