Daily Terror: Cluster Bombs (exhibit opening at Y)

In response to the tremendous human toll that cluster munitions have inflicted in Laos and many other parts of the world, the University YMCA and First Mennonite Church of Urbana are sponsoring an exhibition entitled Daily Terror. Titus Peachy's presentation will discuss the impact of cluster bomb munitions on civilian populations as well as the work of MCC and others to advocate for their elimination.

Produced by the Mennonite Central Committee of the Mennonite Church USA and Canada, this display presents stories and graphic images of devastation and pain that cluster bombs inflict upon civilian populations decades after their deployment in a conflict.  The project also presents the advocacy work and on-the-ground ordnance clearing efforts that Mennonite Central Committee and other non governmental agencies have engaged in for many years.

Titus Peachy is the Director of Peace Education for the Mennonite Central Committee. Titus registered as a conscientious objector and performed alternative service in Vietnam from 1970-1973. He and his wife Linda worked with MCC in Laos from 1980-1985. Titus later returned to Laos to help coordinate the Cluster
Bomb Removal Project. The MCC Peace Education Program engages in a broad range of peace advocacy as well as coordinating with other peace
organizations and those engaged in cluster bomb and mine clearance work.

Visitors to the exhibit will have the opportunity to join the postcard campaign in support of the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act. 

Daily Terror is a free event and will be on view at the University YMCA from October 23 until October 28, 2011 (9am-9pm daily).

Please note: Titus Peachey can be heard on WILL's Keepin' the Faith hosted by Steve Shoemaker on Sunday, October 23, 5:00pm.

http://www.universityymca.org

http://greatlakes.mcc.org/clusterbombs

'Waveland' Captures the Ground Zero of Hurricane Katrina and the BP Oil Spill

Exhibition Opening

Friday, October 14, 7:00-9:00 pm

Valerie Oliveiro, Artist - www.valerieoliveiro.com

Ambient, avant world music by Jason Finkelmann
Artist talk at 8:00, focus performance following
Murphy Gallery @ the Y

Free and open to the public.

Preview the photographs on Valerie Oliveiro's website: valerieoliveiro.com

Waveland, Mississippi was actual ground zero for Hurricane Katrina. It was the worst hit beach on the Mississippi gulf coast from the BP oil spill. Historically, natural and human forces have tried to claim it. This exhibition presents Valerie Oliviero's landscape photographs, part of her continuing study of transition and intervention in space.

Oliveiro is Singapore-born, self taught photographer. She is now the resident photographer at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, and before that she was a freelance Production Manager and Stage Manager for 14 years. She received an MFA (Yale School of Drama) in Stage Management and has worked with international artists in performing arts venues and festivals all around the world. Her photos have appeared in the New York Times, American Theatre Magazine and Time Out.

This exhibition will be open at the University YMCA from October 14 - December 23, 2011 (Monday through Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm each day). Free and open to the public.

For more information: www.universityymca.org/art

University YMCA, 1001 South Wright Street, Champaign

Exhibition sponsored by: Art @ the Y, an initiative of the University YMCA.

Contact: Ann Rasmus, ann@universityymca.org, 217-337-1500

WEBSITE RELAUNCH! Celebrate and Learn on September 22nd.

It's not just a pretty face... the new website has got some smart new features to make everything easier for you! Read about it below and visit the website: http://www.universityymca.org

RELAUNCH CELEBRATION

September 22nd, 3:00-4:00pm

Murphy Lounge

Refreshments Provided.

PHOTOS

There's a fancy new photo slideshow on the front page. All of our photos now link to our unlimited pro Flickr page so you can download pictures for free! In fact, the Y has been digitizing our photo collection extensively this summer. We are asking for your help to identify people, places, and dates. So go ahead and explore... add a comment to a photo if you have some information. You can even order prints. (Alternately, if you see a picture of yourself on the website or on Flickr and would like to have it removed, just contact us and we’ll take care of it.)

GOOGLE ADD ONS

Google forms and calendars minimize the need for downloading pdfs. Information is available more quickly and the format is more user-friendly. Check out our Pledge page or Alternative Orientation Facilitate page to see what these forms look like. Each Y program is associated with a Google Calendar. The most comprehensive of these is our Events Calendar, but they are also available for Friday Forum and Global Lens. You can add any series of our events to your own Google Calendar by clicking on “Add to your google calendar” or just check our site anytime. 

PAYPAL

Student groups can recruit volunteers and request donations from family and friends using PayPal. Although we still prefer that larger donations of $25 or more, including memberships and contributions to our annual fund, go through our Support Us page, PayPal is a convenient way for student groups to garner support from family and friends. Anyone with a PayPal account can donate an amount of their choosing. Because we’re a non-profit, PayPal only deducts thirty cents and 2.2% from each transaction.

VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT

Our Employment and Volunteering page has been revamped and is ready for student programs to submit requests for volunteers. This is a good place to get information out. Let us know what the event is, how long you’ll be recruiting, and what volunteers will be doing.  

BLOG

Our news feed links directly to this blog. If something interesting is going on or there is a news event at the Y, we can include it in our blog. Right now, Jenni and Kasey are the main authors, but any student group can submit a narrative and photos, or just ideas for upcoming and past events.

TELLING STORIES
The Y has started an oral history project called “Telling Stories.” Right now, we’re featuring three students and a former Y staff member who recently passed away. You can listen to these audio documentaries streaming online or download them for free on our Telling Stories page. If you’d like to tell your story, contact Jenni.  

There's much more to come. Give us your feedback and help us keep the website up to date. 

Special Thanks to:

Paul Young, Electric Pictures

Mike Stephens, YMCA Alum

for their talent and generosity in designing this site.

EMAIL: jenni@universityymca.org with your comments, questions, and suggestions.

Newest Art @ the Y Exhibit!

Off-the-Grid Art Opens at the University YMCA:

Denny Anderson’s ‘The Treehouse: Recycled, Repurposed, Reimagined’

See more photos in our Flickr Photoset.

Exhibition Opening

Monday, August 25, 5:00-7:00pm

Presentation by Denny Anderson at 5:30pm

Murphy Gallery @ the Y

Designer, builder and Scoutmaster, Denny Anderson has created a living laboratory of green construction and technology for the Boy Scouts of Camp Drake. His treehouse cabin is built from cast off, donated, reused or repurposed materials and is powered by a passive solar system with a bicycle back-up.

The triangular cabin is built at the edge of a ravine with one of the three cantilevering points touching ground level to provide wheelchair access. Fifteen bunk beds, a loft, food prep and storage spaces provide a compact functional space. Area Boy Scouts will soon be learning about more than knots, tents and campfire building.

This exhibition will be open at the University YMCA from August 19th through early October. Images, blueprints, and materials on display guide visitors through the design and construction of the completely off-the-grid sustainable project that will help to school a new generation of environmentally aware, active and competent young people.

For more information: www.universityymca.org/art

University YMCA, 1001 South Wright Street, Champaign

Exhibition sponsored by: Art @ the Y, an initiative of the University YMCA.

Contact: Ann Rasmus, ann@universityymca.org, 217-337-1500

Art Therapy Workshop: Reflections During a Storm

Although there were tornado and thunderstorm warnings all evening, a good group of students and local residents braved the weather (to the point of getting soaked, in some cases!) to join in on an art therapy workshop that reflected on the human form - the work on display in Murphy Gallery @ the Y and the bodies of those in attendance.

Art Therapy Session [Image on Flickr]

The Illini Art Therapy Association leads art workshops open to any U. of I. students—undergraduate and graduate—on the first and third Tuesdays of each month from 7:00pm to 9pm. This past Tuesday, April 19th at 7pm the Illini Art Therapy Association hosted an art therapy workshop at the University Y in our Murphy Gallery. The workshop was held in conjunction with Art @ the Y's current Emerging Artists exhibition because Emma Taufer, one of the six featured female students from the School of Art and Design, is also involved with the Illini Art Therapy Association.

The workshop opened with a short stretching session. Listening to the rain and thunder outside provided an even better soundtrack than the soft piano music playing in the background. Next, the leader spoke about the connection between the art exhibition themed around the human form and the connection to our own bodies. She opened the door so we could reflect on our relationship with our own human forms. 

Next, we rolled out huge sheets of paper and traced each other laying down in different positions. We had an opportunity to meditate and focus on various parts of our bodies, from head to toe, to think about colors and images and feelings or spaces of emptiness we associate with each part. When everyone gradually began to paint, color, and write on the tracings of their bodies, we opened ourselves to an outpouring of expression. Looking around the room, I felt both introspective and open to the creativity that was happening around me. 

Body Drawing [Image on Flickr]

I took a few pictures, which are at the end of the Art Opening set on Flickr, but each drawing seemed so personal that I didn't want to impose the lens too much on what was happening. So I'll just say that each contoured body was so different from the next. Each drawing represented a process of healing, embracing, or the beginnings of a new understand of our distinct corporeal forms. It was a beautiful experience and I'd highly recommend attending an art therapy session with the Illini Art Therapy Association! It's a perfectly comfortable experience alone or with friends and a great way to let your mind and body process each other through artwork. 

Illini Art Therapy Association Site

Art @ the Y

Global Lens Film Series 2011: Featuring 'Dooman River' this Thursday

 "Every person has a voice. Every voice tells a story. Every story reveals a world. The Global Film Initiative proudly presents an extraordinary series of ten feature films."

Download pdf of poster.

Thursday, April 21st

5:30pm @ the University Y

FREE and open to the public

Directed by Zhang Lu
Korean and Mandarin, with subtitles in English
China, 2009, 89 minutes

STORY

Writer-director Zhang Lu’s fascinating window into a rarely seen corner of rural China revolves around 12-year-old Chang-ho, living with his grandfather and mute sister along the frozen riverborder with North Korea. Although fraught with unemployment and other tensions, his community seems sympathetic toward the Korean refugees fleeing famine and misery; Chang-ho even bonds over soccer with one young border-crosser who comes scavenging food for a sibling. But he soon turns on his new friend as suspicions mount against the illegal immigrants and his sister reels from unexpected aggression, provoking a quandary over his loyalties in an exquisitely detailed story of compassion and strife across an uneasy geopolitical border.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

Zhang Lu was born in Jilin-Sheng, China in 1962. He studied Chinese literature at Yenben University and began writing poetry and novels in 1986. He made his feature debut with Tang Poetry in 2004, and his second feature film, Grain in Ear, was invited to the 2005 Critics’ Week in Cannes, where it won the ACID/CCAS Support Award. Dooman River is his fifth feature film.

Come to the Y every THIRD THURSDAY AT 5:30pm to see our monthly International film!

Schedule: http://www.universityymca.org/globallens/

Location: 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign

The Global Lens film series is sponsored by the Center for Global Studies and the Global Film Initiative. For more information, visit www.globalfilm.org.