Author to discuss spiritual activism

Kansas City, Mo. Author and minister Marianne Williamson will give the talk “Relationship as Spiritual Activism” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 W. 47th St.

Williamson is the co-founder of Global Renaissance Alliance.

LHS student receives award for drawing

Amanda Umholtz, a Lawrence High School junior, is one of 20 students to receive national Gold Awards from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards in the area of drawing.

Umholtz, whose entry was a pastel drawing, will receive a cash award and will attend the awards ceremony in June at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Her drawing will be displayed at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Artists to show works Friday night

Kansas City, Mo. An open studio will feature works by several artists from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday at the Hobbs Building, 1427 W. Ninth St. in the West Bottoms area.

Showing their works are Suzanne Andersen, Antonia, Maura Cluthe, Lori Raye Erickson, Keith Kavanaugh, Erin Miller, Linda Sackin, Douglas Schwietert, David Stallings, Adam Stare, Terry Swafford and Rebecca Wilkinson.

The event is free and open to the public.

Entries being sought for Grand Nude Show

Kansas City, Mo. Entries are being sought for the Grand Nude Show 2002 at the Hobbs Building, 1427 W. Ninth St. The show is open to artists in the greater Kansas City area who are older than 19 and can deliver their work.

Selection will be by 35mm slides. Artists may enter up to five works in any medium, except photography, video, film or computer-generated art.

The show will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 12-19. A reception will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 11.

The entry fee is $25. Entries are due Sept. 6. The prospectus is available online at www.rebeccawilkinsonstudio.com or by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Grand Nude Show 2002, c/o Rebecca Wilkinson Studio, The Hobbs Building, 1427 W. Ninth St., studio 402, Kansas City, MO 64101.

KU senior’s film recognized at showcase

Isa Kretschmer, a Kansas University senior from Lawrence, was a winner in the recent Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee. He placed second in the student competition with his film “What Now?”

His animated film “Startup” was selected for the showcase.

Kretschmer, a senior in film studies, also has received recognition from the KAN Film Festival.

KU students design logo for fitness center

Two Kansas University design students created the logo for the new Student Recreation Fitness Center at KU.

Jackie Berra, Fenton, Mo., and Justin Nicholson, Lawrence, designed the logo during their internships with The Arts Group, which provides opportunities for visual communications undergraduates to work with clients on the KU campus.

They received a plaque of recognition during the fitness center’s groundbreaking in late April.

Student violinist ties for first place

Kansas University student violinist Aleksandr Snytkin tied for first place in the Springfield Symphony’s Sixth Annual Hellam Young Artists’ Competition in April at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo.

Snytkin’s prize included $2,500 and an opportunity to perform with the Springfield Symphony. He tied with a student from the Juilliard School.

Snytkin performed Johannes Brahm’s “Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77” and was accompanied by pianist Melanie Hadley.

This was the first U.S. competition for Snytkin, a native of Lithuania. He has competed in six competitions in Europe, but never received first place.

Exhibit tells story of Arab relocation

Topeka Thousands of Arabs left Syria between 1875 and 1924 for a new life in the United States. Many were Christians and found homes in the Midwest. Their story is told in a new exhibition, “Nishkur Allah (Thanks be to God): Arab Christians in the Heartland,” at the Heartland Orthodox Christian Museum, 523 S.W. Van Buren.

The exhibit, which includes musical instruments, housewares, photographs and religious items, opens Tuesday and runs through Sept. 1.

A Lebanese festival will be from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. Middle Eastern food will be available and Arabic dancing will be presented.

The exhibit can be viewed from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturdays, with extended hours to 6 p.m. on Thursdays, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Suggested donations are $2 for adults and $1 for children.