The Lowe Art Museum will host a curator lecture for its Useable Art: African Aesthetics in Daily Life exhibition on Sunday, January 16 at 2 p.m. at the Lowe. The lecture by Marcilene Keeling Wittmer, emeritus professor of art history at the University of Miami, will review the Lowe’s extensive holdings of African art, which include not only ceremonial masks and ritual figures but also many objects made for use in daily life. Useable Art: African Aesthetics in Daily Life showcases a selection of the finest containers, textiles, tools, home furnishings, and other useful objects–very few of which have ever been displayed. The works selected demonstrate a consistent and recognizably African aesthetic dominating crafts just as it does figurative and ritual art.

Admission to the lecture is $10; free for Lowe members, UM faculty, staff, and students. Refreshments will be served following the lecture.

About the curator/lecturer
Marcilene Keeling Wittmer taught art history at the University of Miami from 1972 to 2004. She served as chair of the Department of Art and Art History from 1984 to 1988 and from 1998 to 2001. She is currently consulting curator of tribal art at the Lowe as well as curator of the Alan Potamkin Collection of African Art. Her primary area of research has been the art of Cameroon and Nigeria and publications include Cameroon (1976), Three Rivers of Nigeria (1978), Visual Diplomacy, The Art of the Cameroon Grassfields (1991), and Useable Art: African Art from the Lowe Art Museum and South Florida Collections (2005). Her recent research interests involve the African Diaspora, in particular the study of African-American quilts and artistic interaction between Africans and Native Americans.

When the King of Navarre and his three courtiers forswear all pleasure—particularly of the female variety—in favor of a life of study, the arrival of the Princess of France and her ladies plays havoc with their intentions. Using every kind of verbal gymnastics to poke fun, Shakespeare’s most intellectual comedy is brought to hilarious life in Dominic Dromgoole’s highly entertaining production, rich in visual humor and sexual innuendo. Jonathan Fensom’s knot garden and original music by Claire van Kampen create the framework for an engaging performance by an excellent cast. The film screens on Saturday, January 15 at 12 p.m.; Sunday, January 16 at 12:30 p.m.; and Monday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for this production are $15. Free for UM students. For more information or to buy tickets online, visit www.cosfordcinema.com; or call the box office at 305-284-4861.

Anna has everything she thought she could ever need: a respectable career, a caring family, and a loving partner, Alessio. But when she meets Domenico, a handsome, married waiter, her neatly ordered world begins to fall apart. They quickly fall into a heated affair, based on secret meetings, stolen caresses, cell phone fights, and endless lies. Anna’s increasingly distant behavior goes unnoticed by Alessio, while Domenico’s wife becomes steadily more suspicious of her husband. As the two lovers begin to fall deeper under the spell of passion, they are faced with a life-changing choice, which neither is entirely prepared to make. Italian and French with English subtitles. The film screens on Friday, January 14 at 9:15 p.m.; Saturday, January 15 at 5:30 and 10:15 p.m.; and Sunday, January 16 at 6 p.m. Admission is $7 for seniors, University of Miami alumni, faculty, non-UM students, and staff. General admission is $9. Free for UM students. For more information or to buy tickets online, visit www.cosfordcinema.com; or call the box office at 305-284-4861.

Hildegard von Bingen was truly a woman ahead of her time. A visionary in every sense of the word, this famed 12th-century Benedictine nun was a Christian mystic, composer, philosopher, playwright, poet, naturalist, scientist, physician, herbalist, and ecological activist. In Vision, New German Cinema auteur Margarethe von Trotta reunites with recurrent star Barbara Sukowa to bring the story of this extraordinary woman to life. In a staggering performance, Sukowa portrays von Bingen’s fierce determination to expand the responsibilities of women within the order, even as she fends off outrage from some in the Church over the visions she claims to receive from God. French and Latin with English subtitles. The film screens on Friday, January 14 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, January 15 at 3:15  and 8 p.m.; Sunday, January 16 at 3:45 and 8:30 p.m.; and Monday, January 17 at 5 p.m. Admission is $7 for seniors, University of Miami alumni, faculty, non-UM students, and staff. General admission is $9. Free for UM students. For more information or to buy tickets online, visit www.cosfordcinema.com; or call the box office at 305-284-4861.

Shenise Johnson

The 16-1 Miami Hurricanes women’s basketball team is off to its best start in school history. Led by All-ACC players and All-American candidates Shenise Johnson and Riquina Williams, this year’s team wants you to be a part of their historic season. The University of Miami is pleased to announce that the Women’s Basketball Employee Day Game, presented by Verizon Wireless, will take place on Sunday, January 16 at 1 p.m. at BankUnited Center when the Hurricanes take on the Boston College Eagles. Employee Day tickets are on sale now and are available to all full-time and part-time regular benefitted employees. Eligible employees will receive one (1) complimentary ticket and have the opportunity to purchase up to three (3) additional tickets for only $1 each.

In addition, the first 100 employees will receive a voucher for a complimentary personal pizza and drink at the concession stand and the first 200 employees will receive a free University of Miami t-shirt compliments of the Atlantic Coast Conference when they check in at the Employee Day table at BankUnited Center. Be sure to stop by the Employee Day table just inside the entrance of the BankUnited Center to redeem these incentives.

Wear your orange and green, and come out to support the hometown team. A large, vocal, and enthusiastic crowd can help make the difference for your Hurricanes, so get your tickets now! If you’ve already purchased your Employee Day tickets, we look forward to seeing you at the game. To order your Women’s Basketball Employee Day tickets, follow these steps:

1. Click here to access the UM Employee Day ticket website.
2. In the Free Ticket drop-down menu, select one (1) free Employee Day ticket and enter your C number [case sensitive, use a capital C and No spaces].
3. In the $1 Ticket drop-down menu, select the number of additional $1 tickets you would like [a maximum of three (3)] and enter your C number [case sensitive, use a capital C and No spaces].
4. Select “TicketFast Now” to print your tickets at home at your convenience.
5. Follow the online directions to create your account and check out.
6. Tickets will be e-mailed to you; check your e-mail inbox and print your tickets.
7. Select the “No” option when asked whether or not you would like to insure your tickets.
8. Bring your “Print at Home” tickets to the game.

Ticket sales representatives will also be on UM campuses offering Employee Day tickets. Please bring your ’Cane Card to one of the following locations:

• Miller School campus: Tuesday, January 11 – The Quad from 12 to 2 p.m.\
• Coral Gables campus: January 12 and 13 – UC Breezeway from 12 to 2 p.m.

For more information or assistance, call the Hurricane Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-CANES or 305-284-2263.