HUMANITIES INQUIRY 2006

Artwork: "Planet Ocean." Ray Troll.
©1992. www.trollart.com

 
Now in its sixth year, the Humanities Inquiry draws the Bainbridge Island community into a multidisciplinary examination of a common humanities theme or issue. Past inquiries have explored the concept of American popular culture as a mirror of American values, the many connections between food and culture, the challenges and consequences of exploration, the state of today's information media, and why Shakespeare matters.

Sharing an Ocean invites the Bainbridge Island community to examine - through lectures, discussions, drama, poetry, music, and art - how Bainbridge Island and the Pacific Northwest are impacted culturally, economically, environmentally, socially, and politically by being part of the Asian Pacific Rim. Although Iraq and the Middle East are getting most of the media attention these days, many experts predict that it is the developments in the Pacific Rim, and especially the reemergence of China as a global power, that will define the coming century.

Bainbridge Island organizations, businesses, and individuals that participated in Sharing an Ocean include IslandWood, Eagle Harbor Book Company, Bainbridge Island Historical Society and Museum, Bainbridge Performing Arts, Bainbridge Island Arts Education Community Consortium, Island Theatre, Bainbridge Public Library, Island Gallery, Island Music Guild, Kids Discovery Museum, Soundscape Players, and artist Michelle Van Slyke. Additional events and participation are in the works and welcomed.

The Presenting Sponsor of the 2006 Humanities Inquiry was Pacific Rim Shipbrokers, Inc. Headquartered in the San Juan Building on the corner of Winslow Way E. and Ferncliff Avenue N.E., Bainbridge Island, Pacific Rim Shipbrokers has been serving the worldwide maritime community since 1984 as a full-service charter broker for the bulk cargo market.

Check back for schedule updates plus relevant articles and resources.

CHINESE HOUSEHOLD ARTIFACTS – From 1850 – 1920

January 29 – March 31
Bainbridge Island Historical Society and Museum
215 Ericksen Ave. N.E

Bainbridge Island Historical Society and Museum exhibit of Chinese artifacts from 1850 to 1920: household items similar to what might have been used on the Island during that period. The exhibit is curated by collectors Tom and Linnea Lauer, who lived in Asia for seven years.

SLIDE PRESENTATION AND READING OF PACIFIC VOICES: Keeping Our Cultures Alive, edited by Mariam Kahn & Erin Younger

March 2, 7:30 p.m.
Eagle Harbor Book Company
157 Winslow Way E.

A collection of essays, photos, and illustrations on the myriad sources of cultural idntity - objects, rituals, ceremonies and traditions - that both anchor and showcase the ways of life of Pacific Rim communities. Published in December 2005 by the University of Washington Press as a companion to the "Pacific Voices" permanent exhibit at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

THE PACIFIC OCEAN:
Its Health & Human Impact

March 4
IslandWood
4450 Blakely Ave. NE
Co-sponsored by IslandWood.

• 10 - 11 a.m. Ocean Discovery.
  Author Bradford Matsen: Multimedia presentation based on his books Descent: The Heroic Discovery of the Abyss (Pantheon, 2005), the story of the earliest deep-ocean exploration by William Beebe and Otis Barton in the Bathysphere, and Sea King: Jacques Cousteau and the Ocean Century (Pantheon, 2007).
• 11 a.m - noon. The Pacific Ocean as Resource: Aquaculture
  Peter Granger, Ph.D., Program Leader for Marine Advisory Services, Washington Sea Grant Program, University of Washington.
• Noon - 1 p.m. Lunch Break: Film - Return of the Plankton (30 minutes). Follow two scuba divers on an incredible journey through the underwater world that surrounds Bainbridge Island. Produced by Bainbridge Island artist Cameron Snow with underwater videographer John F. Williams and science advisor Bruce Claiborne.
• 1 - 2 p.m. Rhythms of Change: Climate Impacts on the Ocean
  Amy Snover, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington.
• 2 - 3 p.m. Oceans and Human Health
  Usha Varanasi, Ph.D., Director, Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) in Seattle, WA, Part of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

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ISLAND THEATRE PRODUCTION OF SEASCAPE, by Edward Albee

March 18 & 19, 7:30 p.m.
Bainbridge Public Library
1270 Madison Ave. N

Winner of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize, Seascape is a compelling examination of the significance and meaning of life that occurs when two couples, one human and one reptilian, have a cross-species encounter on a deserted beach.

POETRY CORNERS

THROUGHOUT APRIL

Poster-sized poems by local poets on the theme of "The Ocean" posted in stores and other venues throughout downtown Winslow.

THE HISTORY AND IMPACT OF ASIAN AMERICAN IMMIGRATION TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

April 12, 7:30 p.m.
Bainbridge Public Library
1270 Madison Ave. N

Moon-Ho Jung, Ph.D. Department of History. University of Washington.

Island Gallery Exhibit- Pacific Rim Artistic Collaboration: Design and Technology

Throughout May
The Island Gallery
106 Madison Ave. N.

An exhibit of the work of West Coast artists represented by the Gallery who are collaborating in furniture-making and wood-fired ceramics through visits, apprenticeships, and workshops in Japan. Their work reflects a blend of American and Asian influences.

SOUNDSCAPE PLAYERS CONCERT:
"Pacific Rim."

May 21, 4 p.m.
Island Music Guild Hall
10598 Valley Road

Instrumental and multimedia compositions  by composers from Asia, Australia, and California, plus refreshments and wine tasting.

Slide presentation by artist Michele Van Slyke on a Cultural & Professional Exchange to the People's Republic of China

May 24, 7:30 p.m.
Bainbridge Public Library
1270 Madison Ave. N

Bainbridge Island artist Michele Van Slyke led a delegation in March of fourteen artists and arts-related business owners, mainly from Bainbridge, at the invitation of the China Workers' Center for International Exchange (CWCIE) in Beijing for the purposes of preserving and promoting world peace. She and others in the group present a slide talk on their experiences.

Photo: Andrea Roby-King

BIAECC PACIFIC RIM PERFORMANCE - LeLaLa Native American Dance

June 2, 7:30 p.m.
The Playhouse
200 Madison Ave. N.

The Le-La-La Dancers are a Victoria, B.C. based First Nations traditional dance troupe whose members are from the Kwakwaka'wakw (kwa-kwa-kee-wak) Nation of northern Vancouver Island, Through vibrant regalia, exquisite carved cedar masks and heartbeat drum rhythms, the troupe presents a variety of animal and spirit dances that have been passed down from generation to generation.

FILM SCREENING: Made in China

June 4, 4 p.m.
IslandWood
4450 Blakely Ave. N

Seattle filmmaker John Helde's documentary about his search to uncover his father's and other Chinese-born Americans' experiences growing up in China during the early 1900's.

These stories reveal a childhood at once American and Chinese, playing out against a backdrop of war and resulting in a cultural "double vision" that shaped the Americans' lives forever. A story about identity, belonging, the meaning of home, and the China-America connection, Made in China is a personal film about an American experience nearly forgotten.

60 x 60: A Concert of Music by Contemporary Pacific Rim Composers

June 6, 7pm.
Island Music Guild
10598 Valley Rd.

60x60 is a pre-recorded concert series creating an environment of many different styles and approaches to contemporary music. With 60 pieces each 60 seconds long from different composers, the concert brings a variety of sounds and creativity all put together in a one hour concert. Co-sponsored by Island Music Guild.

KOTO TALES: Frolicking Folktales
from Japan.

June 10, 11am & 2pm.
Kids Discovery Museum
305 Madison Ave. N.

Gather round the big dragon instrument for Elizabeth Falconer's award-winning combination of music, puppets, and stories from Japan . 45 minutes performance is recommended for ages 4 – 8.

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