A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change

You are cordially invited to the opening reception on November 12, 2009 to meet Shadra Strickland, Coretta Scott King award winning children's book illustrator and prestigious fine artist. Strickland will discuss her creative experiences and her part in the traveling exhibition "Our Children Can Soar", based on the book of the same title. Strickland will autograph "Bird", her award winning children's book and selected prints from her collection. This exhibit features original art by thirteen premier children's book illustrators.

Exhibition Opening and Reception
November 12, 2009 • 6:30 p.m.
Cleveland Public Library
Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch

November 12- February 13, 2010
Cleveland Public Library - Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch
1962 Stokes Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
(Between Chester Avenue and Euclid Avenue)

For details, please call (216)623-2822 or (216)623-7018.
Books will be available for purchase courtesy of A Cultural Exchange.
Illustration above is by Bryan Collier

Research shows that a form of Halloween was first celebrated in Ireland and that it featured a blending of two worlds, ours, and the world of the spirits or dead.  The celebration was held at the end of the harvest, just before the storms of winter.  Their celebrations included costumes, mainly creatures from the natural world.  

The Special Collections Department at the Cleveland Public Library has become the recipient of recent transfers of items that feature illustrations of costume from various countries.  Many of the works contain plates that have examples of regional costume illustrated in pochoir, a French technique of stenceling.  Others offer examples of theatrical ensemble used for performance or masque balls.

Works by artist Émile Gallois include, Costumes Japonais et Indonésiens;  Costumes de L'Union Fran,caise; and Le costume en France des Merovingiens à Françoisier ; and also available is Domini e Maschere, by G. Palanti which features 16 illustrated plates. 

To see these and other books on costume, visit the Special Collections Department on the 3^rd Floor of Main Library.

Passport Project's mission is to provide exciting educational experiences that build community through the arts, encourage respect for diversity and rejection of racism, and inspire a passion for learning and the global community. On November 21st, 2009 at 2PM in the Louis Stokes Wing auditorium of the Cleveland Public Library (325 Superior Ave., Cleveland, Ohio, 44114), the Passport Project Global Dance & Music Collective will present music and dance from around the world, with a special interactive presentation of dance and percussion of Guinea as shared by Mohamed Tounkara, Passport Project's guest artist from this West African country. A slide show of photographs from Guinea will be shared as well, as we consider community in one of the poorest nations in the world and how we can build community in Northeast Ohio. For more information on this FREE performance call 216.623-2848. 

Passport Project is based in the Buckeye neighborhood of Cleveland. 12801 Buckeye Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44120, (216) 721-1055. http://www.passportproject.org/

In celebration of the 175th anniversary of William Morris's birth, the Cleveland Public Library's Special Collections Department is featuring a display of his works. 

William Morris was born in 1824, near London, England.  He was a writer of poetry, fiction, and a translator of ancient and medieval texts.  He was also an architect, artist, and a socialist reformer.  Morris created designs for textiles, furniture, and wallpaper that helped to initiate the Arts and Crafts Movement in England.  The Arts and Crafts Movement emphasized simplicity, good craftsmanship, and good design.  The movement rejected the Victorian ideas of opulence and over embellishment.  The importance of William Morris can be seen today in the lasting legacy of his designs and the enduring appeal of his work.

The Cleveland Museum of Art is featuring the exhibit Paul Gauguin: Paris, 1889 from October 2009 through January 18, 2010.   Visit the Fine Arts Department at Main Library to check out books about Gauguin, his art and life.

Here are just a few titles on Paul Gauguin that may be of interest to you (click on titles to place a request):

• Paul Gauguin by Anna Barskaya [ND553.G27 A4 2004]
• Gauguin and the Origins of Symbolism edited by Guillermo Solana [N6853.G34 A4 2004]
• Technique and Meaning in the Paintings of Paul Gauguin by Vojtêch Jirat-Wasiutynski [ND553.G27 J58 2000]
• Paul Gauguin: A Life by David Sweetman [ND553.G27 S96 1995]
• Gauguin and Impressionism by Richard R. Brettell [N3853.G34 B74 2005]

IMAGE: Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903). Breton Girls Dancing, Pont-Aven, 1888. Oil on canvas; 73 x 92.7 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon 1983.1.19. Image courtesy the Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington