On Friday, February 3, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, 340 N. Senate Avenue, Indianapolis, will be open from 10AM to 9PM. These extended hours are part of our Super Bowl Week events.  During our extended Friday hours, we will be part of the Indianapolis Downtown Artists & Dealers Association First Friday Gallery Tour.

Our special guest for this month’s event will be Pamela Bliss. Ms. Bliss has a master’s degree in Arts Administration from Indiana University. She is an Adjunct Professor of Fine Arts at Indiana University-East and will be teaching mural painting at Herron School of Art and Design this fall. She also created and directs the public art competition in Wayne County, Indiana.

For all of you Vonnegut fans, she is the creator of the Vonnegut mural at 345 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis! Ms. Bliss will discuss what led her to paint large imagery murals as well as the process of painting murals. She also will explain how she was selected for the prestigious 46 for XLVI mural project and touch on how 46 for XLVI is similar to the Works Progress Administration murals from the 1930s. Ms. Bliss’s talk begins at 6:15PM.

Finally, the newly acquired Schehr collection (containing first edition Vonnegut books and magazines) and the just-arrived Kurt Vonnegut sculpture from Latvia will be on display throughout the evening.

For additional information about February’s First Friday event, click here.

We hope you’ll join us for an informative and entertaining presentation. If you are unable to attend, please share this post with your social networks.

–Shannon

As part of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library (KVML)‘s first anniversary celebration on Saturday, January 28, the library will host an hour-long lecture about Hoosier labor organizer Powers Hapgood.

So who was Powers Hapgood? In a June 2003 interview with The Progressive, Vonnegut told Hapgood’s story.

“Powers Hapgood was a rich kid. His family owned a successful cannery in Indianapolis. Powers was radicalized. After he graduated from Harvard, he went to work in a coal mine to find out what that was like. He became a labor organizer. He led the pickets against the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti. I got to know him late in his life when he’d become a local CIO official. There was some sort of dustup on a picket line, enough to bring the cops into play. Hapgood was testifying in court about what was to be done about CIO members who had made trouble. The judge stopped the proceedings at one point and said, ‘Hapgood, why would a man with your advantages, from a wealthy, respected family, Harvard graduate, lead such a life?’ Powers Hapgood replied, ‘Why, the Sermon on the Mount, sir.’ Not bad, huh?”

Hapgood was the inspiration for the Kenneth Whistler character in Vonnegut’s Jailbird.

Born in Indianapolis in 1889, Powers Hapgood came from a family of intellectuals who worked for social justice.  Hapgood’s father owned the Columbia Conserve Company and established a system of workers’ ownership and management.  Powers’ uncles were both writers;  Hutch wrote The Spirit of the Ghetto among other works and was a Harvard English instructor and an anarchist. Norman wrote Professional Patriots, was a drama critic, and the U.S. ambassador to Denmark.   Powers Hapgood continued his family’s legacy.

Powers Hapgood’s granddaughter, Liza Newman, will share stories of her grandfather’s amazing life during this free lecture, which is open to the public. It begins at 2PM on Saturday, January 28, at the library.

Join us for stories of one man’s dedication to the lives of workers. As battles over organized labor continue today, this lecture is a timely one.

As always, please share this post with your social networks.

–Shannon

As part of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library (KVML)‘s first anniversary celebration on Saturday, January 28, the library will host an hour-long panel discussion with survivors of Japanese-American internment camps. The panelists will recount their family lives before World War II, their experiences in the camps, and their lives after the war ended.

The Vonnegut Library began exploring the stories of Japanese-American internees in November 2011 with a screening of the award-winning documentary The Cats of Mirikitani and an exhibition of the art of former internee, Jimmy Mirikitani. As January 29 is the last day of the Mirikitani exhibit, we could think of no better way to conclude it than to hear from other internees in these camps.

Panelists include

• Jean Umemura, a 50-year resident of Indianapolis and retired teacher
• Charles Matsumoto, a 46-year resident of Indianapolis and retired pharmacologist
• Katherine Ase, a 31-year resident of Indianapolis and retired nurse 
• Anne Moore, a 40-year resident of Indianapolis and retired librarian 

The discussion is free and open to the public. It begins at 1PM on Saturday, January 28, at the library and will be moderated by KVML’s Executive Director Julia Whitehead.

Please join us for eyewitness accounts of a time in United States history when national security concerns trumped individual liberties. If you are unable to attend, please share this post with your social networks.

–Shannon

The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library (KVML)‘s first anniversary celebration is fast approaching on Saturday, January 28. This week’s blog posts will explore some of the events we have planned for the day in greater detail.

Heartland Actors’ Repertory Theatre (HART) will present a staged reading of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s only play, Happy Birthday, Wanda June in partnership with the library.

Production:  Happy Birthday, Wanda June

Location:  The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library – 340 N. Senate Avenue (The Emelie Building)                 

Date:  ONE SHOW ONLY:  Saturday, January 28, 2012

Time:  7 pm

Ticket information: $45 – Purchase at http://www.eventbrite.com/org/435374436?s=1687503.  Limited number of tickets available.  

Now a period piece, set in 1960, the timeless themes of this hysterical classic are as relevant today as ever.  HART has assembled a remarkable cast of familiar faces.  Company members Ryan Artzberger, Robert Neal, Ben Tebbe, Sam Fain, and Diane Timmerman will be joined by Constance Macy, Ryleigh Mill, Taylor Kleyn, and Mark Goetzinger.  Sound Design by Brian Hartz.  HART co-founder and Artistic Director Michael Shelton will direct.

Get your tickets now or share this post with your Vonnegut and/or theatre-loving friends and family!

Like the majority of folks in Indianapolis, we at the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library are very excited that our city will be hosting the Super Bowl this year. To celebrate this great moment in the city’s history, we will be having extended hours as well as special events during the days leading up to the Super Bowl.

The *OFFICIAL* KVML Super Bowl Week Events Calendar follows. Save the dates, stop by, and check out some of our offerings—including the new Schehr collection, which features first-edition Vonnegut books and magazines.

• January 28: First Anniversary Celebration, Free public open house featuring discussions and music from noon to 5PM. There will be a staged reading of Vonnegut’s only play, Happy Birthday, Wanda June, at 7PM. Tickets are required for the reading. Go to http://www.eventbrite.com/org/435374436?s=1687503 for tickets.
• January 28-January 29: Final two days of The Cats of Mirikitani exhibit. Come see the paintings of Japanese American internment camp survivor Jimmy Mirikitani. Mirikitani was the subject of the award-winning documentary The Cats of Mirikitani.
• January 30-February 2: Extended library hours of 10AM to 8PM (Note that we will be open on Wednesday, too. We are normally closed on this day.)
• February 3: Extended library hours of 10AM to 9PM including First Friday event with 46 for XLVI muralist Pamela Bliss (creator of the Vonnegut mural at 345 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis).
• February 4: Extended library hours of 10AM to 8PM
• February 5: Special library hours of noon to 3PM

Continue to watch our blog for more information about these events in the coming days. We hope to see you at one or more of our offerings. For those of you who don’t live near Indianapolis or don’t want to brave the downtown traffic during Super Bowl Week*, please share this post through your social media networks.

–Shannon

*For those of you who are planning to make the trip downtown, here’s a guide to getting around Indianapolis during the Super Bowl festivities. For those of you utilizing the “Bowl Route” to get around town, we’re just right off New York Street, north on Senate Avenue.

Events include speakers, music, and performance

To celebrate the first anniversary of its opening, The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library will host a day of informative and entertaining events on Saturday, January 28. Programs begin at 1PM EST and are held at the library located at 340 N. Senate Avenue in Indianapolis.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS TO ATTEND THESE EVENTS!

(All events are free to the public unless otherwise noted.)

• All day: View the library’s newest acquisition, the Schehr Collection, which contains Vonnegut’s first edition books and magazines.
• 1PM: Japanese Americans held in internment camps during World War II share their stories of life in the camps. The panelists will touch on the subjects of war, peace, loss, and healing. The Vonnegut Library began an exploration of these themes in November 2011 with a screening of the award-winning documentary The Cats of Mirikitani and an exhibition of the art of former internee, Jimmy Mirikitani.
• 2PM: Liza Newman, granddaughter of famous Hoosier radical and labor organizer Powers Hapgood, discusses her grandfather’s amazing life and also his connection to Kurt Vonnegut. Hapgood was the inspiration for the Kenneth Whistler character in Vonnegut’s Jailbird.
• 3PM: A string quartet from Butler University’s School of Music will provide live music.
• 4PM: Kevin Schehr recalls the stories behind some of the rare Vonnegut items in the Schehr Collection held at the library.
• 7PM: The Heartland Actors Repertory Theatre (HART) will present a staged reading of Vonnegut’s only play, Happy Birthday, Wanda June. Tickets are $45.00 per person. Seating for this event is limited, so act now! To order tickets, go to http://www.eventbrite.com/org/435374436?s=1687503.

For more information about any of these programs, contact the library via phone at 317.652.1954, e-mail info@vonnegutlibrary.org, or visit the web site at http://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/.

Even if you can not attend yourself, please share this post with everyone you know!

As mentioned in last week’s blog post, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library will be open this Friday, January 6, from 6PM to 9PM as part of the Indianapolis Downtown Artists & Dealers Association First Friday Gallery Tour.

Jason Turner of La Porte, Indiana, will be the featured artist. His main area of interest is portraits done in both medias of paint and oil pastel.  Says Jason, “A painted portrait is not that dissimilar from a snapshot, but it is also an interpretation by the artist of the person portrayed.  Artists are in complete control of how they choose to depict a person visually.  They choose the color, style, and tone of the painting in essence with their perception the subject.  As opposed to just a photograph, a painted portrait enraptures the person and displays how others perceive them.  In my work, I show my interpretations and try to capture the complexities of people I have chosen to portray.”

Stop by the library at 340 N. Senate Avenue on Friday evening to meet Jason and see some of his works. 

–Shannon

On Friday, January 6, The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library will be open from 6PM to 9PM as part of the Indianapolis Downtown Artists & Dealers Association First Friday Gallery Tour. If you want to visit the library in the evening rather than during our regular business hours, this is your chance!

Jason Turner of La Porte, Indiana, will be the featured artist. Jason graduated from Purdue University in 2000 with degrees in fine arts and art education.  During college, Jason studied abroad in London. While there, he displayed his art at the Kingsgate Art Gallery.  His area of interest generally is portraits done in both medias of paint and oil pastel.  Jason’s works have been displayed in London, St. Louis, and Valparaiso, Indiana.

Here’s the link to additional information about January’s First Friday event. Hope to see you there!

–Shannon

The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library has received a $50,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to build further our organization’s development in fundraising, board governance, marketing and public relations.

“Lilly Endowment has been a catalyst for our development, and we are thrilled that the organization understands the great potential we have,” said Julia Whitehead, executive director of the Vonnegut Library.

Among other activities, the library plans to use a portion of the funds for consultation and planning of a citywide book festival for 2013, as well as to establish Vonnegut Library chapter presences in San Francisco and New York City. The Vonnegut Library recently announced a Ball State grant and in-kind donations from community partners totaling more than $70,000, an effort spearheaded by Ball State University to improve the library’s marketing efforts and to create a traveling museum, complete with oral histories, a digital library, and historical information about Vonnegut.

The nonprofit Vonnegut Library will celebrate its first anniversary Jan. 28,2012, at the Vonnegut Library, 340 N. Senate Ave., Indianapolis, with an array of speakers, music, and theatrical performances.

Join the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in a celebration of art and the human spirit as the KVML proudly presents an Indianapolis showing of the award-winning film The Cats of Mirikitani and discussion with the director of the film, Linda Hattendorf, on November 25 at the Athenaeum Theater.

The film, an official selection at over 75 film festivals, follows the journey of Japanese-American artist Jimmy Mirikitani from the perspective of the filmmaker, Linda Hattendorf, who opens her apartment to the homeless artist after the September 11^th, 2001, terrorist attack on New York.  The film is a wonderful blend of beauty, humor, tragedy, and loss. Mirikitani’s experiences allow for an intimate exploration of the lingering wounds of war—and the healing power of art. The Cats of Mirikitani is a heartwarming affirmation of humanity that will appeal to all lovers of peace, art, history, and cats.

The film will be shown on November 25 at the Athenaeum Theater, located at 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN. From 7-8 pm, there will be a reception for those who would like to attend. At the $24.00 level, you can attend the private reception (catered by the Rathskeller!) with the film director and see the film after the reception ends. The film and director’s discussion will begin at 8 pm. The price to attend only the film will be $12.00. Purchase tickets at http://mirikitani.eventbrite.com.

Note that some of Jimmy Mirkitani’s art will also be available for viewing at the KVML for six weeks after the event.

We hope to see you at this important event on November 25. Even if you can’t attend, please share this post far and wide!