Kicking off fall 2020 is Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, which celebrates the independence anniversaries for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, Mexico and Chile, and the Mexican holiday Día de la Raza (Day of the Dead).

Although in-person events are still restricted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still virtual venues to enjoy, including the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s post-Mexican revolution exhibition “Nuestra Imagen Actual: Our Present Image: Mexico and the Graphic arts 1925–1956,” a variety of streaming concerts from Virtual CM@B and UO theater arts alumna Heidi Schreck’s play “What the Constitution Means to Me.”

Art

Join exhibiting artists Bruce Burris, Harrell Fletcher, Jessica Jackson Hutchins and Marie Watt on Oct. 7 at 5:30 p.m. for “Hallie Ford Fellows: Art and Activism,” a virtual live presentation and Q&A on the intersections of activism, social practice and art making. The program supports the UO’s Common Reading 2020-21 theme “Listen. Learn. Act.,” dedicated to learning about the Black experience and finding ways to dismantle racism.

The museum also continues its JSMA Creates, object-based art lessons to do at home based on works from the museum’s collections and Masterworks on Loan Program. Developed by the museum’s education department, the lessons are designed for artists and kids of all ages and skill levels. Instructions are available as downloadable PDFs and in video format. Lesson 3: Fourth Dimensional Drawing, inspired by artist Alexander Calder’s “Fish,” is now available.

Exhibitions

Opening Sept. 28 at the Erb Memorial Union’s Aperture Gallery is Timber Culture, a traveling exhibition that delves into Oregon’s history of logging, migration, segregation and integration. Curated by the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center, the exhibition features portraits of the people, communities, buildings and work equipment that encapsulated the industry.

Celebrating Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on Oct. 3 opens “Nuestra Imagen Actual: Our Present Image: Mexico and the Graphic arts 1925–1956,” an exhibition featuring 64 lithographs, woodcuts and wood engravings by 22 artists including Elizabeth Catlett, Leopoldo Méndez, José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Rufino Tamayo, Mariana Yampolsky and other members of Mexico’s world famous “Taller de Gráfica Popular” or People’s Graphic Workshop, which was established in 1937. In the decades following the Mexican Revolution (1910-20) printmaking flourished and the art of the time reflected themes on fascism and imperialism, promoted labor and indigenous rights, and expressed a renewed interest in cultural traditions.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the museum will be hosting several related virtual program events throughout the fall, including “Almuerzo y arte,” a virtual lunch and art on Oct. 21, in which curator Cheryl Hartup and UO student Wendy Echeverría García will discuss their favorite works in the exhibition. Hartup and Echeverría García will also participate in a virtual presentation of the exhibit “Transcultural Bridges and Political Activism” on Nov. 13 as part of the Eugene Public Library Foundation’s lunch break series, “In Conversation with Experts and Enthusiasts.”

Nov. 1-2, the 39th annual Día de los Muertos virtual celebration will feature virtual outdoor altar viewing in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s north and south courtyards and a virtual music, dance and poetry program through JSMA Facebook live.

Theater

Looking for something entertaining and informative and just in time for the 2020 election? UO theater arts alumna and playwright Heidi Schreck’s “What the Constitution Means to Me,” filmed in the final week of its Broadway run last year, will be available to view on Amazon Prime Video Oct. 16. The play, which earned Schreck two Tony Award nominations, traces the effects of the founding document on generations of women. According to Schreck, she will be donating part of her proceeds from the film to the Broadway Cares COVID Relief Fund and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Voting Rights 2020 initiative.

Music

Beginning in October, Virtual CM@B will stream high-definition concerts through the School of Music and Dance’s YouTube channel. Each concert from top performers will be available for five days. Tune in for virtual performances by pianist Gilbert Kalish on Oct. 11, pianist Anne-Marie McDermott on Oct. 25, a flute and strings performance Nov. 8 and a streaming orchestral performance Nov. 22.

Museum of Natural and Cultural History

Be sure to explore the “Museum from Home” page and enjoy the museum remotely. The pages are also now available in Spanish and English.

Streaming resources

Even if you can’t be there in person, through the wonder of the internet you can virtually enjoy exhibits, collections, audio, video and images.

Take a guided tour of New York City captured on original color film in 1937 at Open Culture.

Traveling to Italy may be out of the question during the pandemic, but you can take a very cool virtual walking tour of some of its most historic places, including the Colosseum, the ruins at Pompeii and St. Peter’s Basilica.

You may have seen the iconic image of the moon from Georges Méliès classic 1902 silent film “Le Voyage dans la lune” (A Trip to the Moon), but have you ever seen the film? You won’t soon forget this out-of-this-world, early sci-fi flick.

Watch “Freedom Riders,” a must-see documentary for understanding Black history and the struggle for civil rights in the early 1960s, online at PBS’ American Experience.

For all things arts and culture, be sure to spend some time browsing the Kennedy Center website, featuring everything from ballet and comedy to dance, jazz and theater.

—By Sharleen Nelson, University Communications