Museum Events

The Mathers Museum hosts a number of events that are fun and educational.



Wrapped in Paisley: The Story of the Kashmir Shawl
Tuesday, February 16, 11:30 a.m.
Joan Hart, curator of Wrapped in Paisley: The Story of the Kashmir Shawl will present a lecture on her collection and exhibit. The event is hosted by Music in the Woods, but is free and open to the public.



Margaret Mead Traveling Film & Video Festival: Umbrella (San)
Friday, February 19, 7 p.m.
The American Museum of Natural History's Margaret Mead Traveling Film & Video Festival, the longest-running showcase for independent cultural documentaries in the United States, will be returning to Bloomington this spring. Hosted by the Mathers Museum of World Cultures, and funded by Indiana University ArtsWeek 2010, the Mead Festival films will be presented free to the public beginning Friday, February 19 and shown through Sunday, February 21. For more information, visit the Mathers Museum's Mead Traveling Film & Video Festival web site.

The first film presented will be Umbrella (San). Tracking the life of an umbrella from factory to market, filmmaker Du Haibin shows how the lives of farmers in rural China have changed since the economic reforms instituted by Deng Xiaoping in 1978. "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" couched the upturning of the ideals of the Cultural Revolution in nationalist terms to soften the blow dealt to farmers once glorified by the state. Haibin is part of the Sixth Generation of Chinese filmmaking, which has proven unafraid to confront China's dictatorial policies in the wake of Tiananmen Square.

All films are free and open to the public, and will be shown at the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology Auditorium, adjacent to the Mathers Museum. The films are sponsored by ArtsWeek 2010.




Margaret Mead Traveling Film & Video Festival: Bomb Harvest
Saturday, February 20, 7 p.m.
From 1964 to 1973, the United States dropped a planeload of cluster bombs (about 100 per sortie) onto Laos every eight minutes, day and night – the equivalent of more than half a ton of bombs for every man, woman, and child. Many of these bombs still litter the Laotian landscape and remain live, rendering the largely poor, rural population vulnerable to explosions 25 years after the CIA-funded secret war has ended. Filmmaker Kim Mordaunt and producer Sylvia Wilczynski follow Australian Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician Laith Stevens as he trains young Laotians to become certified bomb technicians.

All films are free and open to the public, and will be shown at the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology Auditorium, adjacent to the Mathers Museum. The films are sponsored by ArtsWeek 2010.




Native American Finger Weaving Workshop
Sunday, February 21, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Participants at this free workshop, led by Rebecca Riall and presented in partnership with the Native American Community Center, will learn two finger weaving patterns common to several Native nations in eastern North America. All materials will be provided, but if you would like to bring your own yarn colors, please bring wool, or wool blend worsted weight yarn with a high wool percentage, in four colors. Participants must register by e-mailing the Native American Community Center of Bloomington at info@naccbloomington.org or call (812) 391-3457.



Margaret Mead Traveling Film & Video Festival: Don't Let it All Unravel, Peace with Seals, and Stone Pastures
Sunday, February 21, 2 p.m.
The last three films of the Mead Festival include:

Don’t Let It All Unravel
A short animated tale about the environment.

Peace with Seals (Mír s Tuleni)
Monk seal specialist Emanuele Coppola and director Miloslav Novák are on the hunt for any trace of a real, live Mediterranean monk seal. Conversations with marine biologists and philosophers as well as the beachgoers on the Mediterranean shores who have supplanted the seals lead them to believe that the only monk seals left are those preserved in Coppola's extensive collection of archival footage. Presented as a wistful documentary fable, the film might well stand as a warning sign for more ominous things to come.

Stone Pastures
Director Donagh Coleman uses the Himalayas as a backdrop to follow a family of goat and yak herders as they spend a year preparing pashmina wool for market. Their livelihood depends on the income from the wool, and every member of the family, from young children to grandparents, helps with the painstaking process of nurturing the baby goats through the harsh winter, sheering their bellies, separating the wool one strand at a time, and finally weaving blankets.

All films are free and open to the public, and will be shown at the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology Auditorium, adjacent to the Mathers Museum. The films are sponsored by ArtsWeek 2010.



Musical Fun at the Mathers Museum
Sunday, February 21, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Yuriria Rodriguez will present this free family-friendly event focused on young children (infants through five years old). The children will be able to participate at their own level, singing in English and Spanish, moving, listening, watching, or exploring musical instruments, and adults will be able to learn ways to share fun music activities with their children at home, regardless of their own musical experience. The event will be sponsored by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.


Wrapped in Paisley: The Story of the Kashmir Shawl
Tuesday, February 23, 1 p.m.
Joan Hart, curator of Wrapped in Paisley: The Story of the Kashmir Shawl will present a lecture on her collection and exhibit. The event is hosted by the Women's Club, but is free and open to the public.



Family Craft Day: Musical Instruments from Africa (at the Monroe County Public Library)
Saturday, February 27, 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Come and celebrate Black History Month by making musical Instruments and dancing to the tunes of new rhythms. The musical instruments will include rattles, drums, and tambourines. The event will be free and open to the public, and presented in collaboration with the Lotus Education & Arts Foundation, the African Studies Program, and Indiana University’s Office of Multicultural Initiatives.



Family Craft Day: Lotus Blossoms World Bazaar (at Binford Elementary School)
Saturday, March 27, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Try your hand at mask and banner making during the Lotus Blossoms World Bazaar. The event will be free and open to the public, and presented in collaboration with Lotus Education & Arts Foundation and Indiana University’s Office of Multicultural Initiatives.



Family Craft Day: Weaving Traditions from Around the World
Saturday, April 10, 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Learn about tools and ways of making a variety of woven items from around the world-from Jamaican woven fish and Kente cloth, to finger weaving and basket making. The event will be free and open to the public, and presented in collaboration with Lotus Education & Arts Foundation and Indiana University's Office of Multicultural Initiatives.



Native American Clay Pottery Workshop
Sunday, April 25, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Participants at this free workshop, led by Bridgette Savage and presented in partnership with the Native American Community Center, will learn about Native American clay pottery. All materials will be provided, but participants must register by e-mailing the Native American Community Center of Bloomington at info@naccbloomington.org or call (812) 391-3457.



Musical Fun at the Mathers Museum
Sunday, April 25, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Yuriria Rodriguez will present this free family-friendly event focused on young children (infants through five years old). The children will be able to participate at their own level, singing in English and Spanish, moving, listening, watching, or exploring musical instruments, and adults will be able to learn ways to share fun music activities with their children at home, regardless of their own musical experience. The event will be sponsored by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.



Musical Fun at the Mathers Museum
Sunday, May 9, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Yuriria Rodriguez will present this free family-friendly event focused on young children (infants through five years old). The children will be able to participate at their own level, singing in English and Spanish, moving, listening, watching, or exploring musical instruments, and adults will be able to learn ways to share fun music activities with their children at home, regardless of their own musical experience. The event will be sponsored by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.