Currently the MSU Museum is showing two exhibitions that feature the work of African youth engaged in photography education and documentation projects. Visual Griots of Mali and PhotoExchangers: Youth connecting Ghana and the US through cross-cultural communication will be on exhibition through March 15, 2009.

The following free, open to the public, special events are set for Thursday, March 5, 2009.

Noon-1:30 p.m. Youth, Education, Visual Studies, and Photo Documentation: A Public Conversation
Join a public conversation led by MSU Professors Candace Keller and Penny Foster-Fishman with special guests Shawn Davis, curator of the Visual Griots of Mali exhibition and Marit Dewhurst and Samara Hoyer-Winfield, developers of the PhotoExchangers project based in Ghana.
Location: Heritage Hall Gallery, MSU Museum

2-3 p.m. Exhibition Walkabouts
Tour the exhibitions with Shawn Davis, curator of the Visual Griots of Mali exhibition and with Marit Dewhurst and Samara Hoyer-Winfield, developers of the PhotoExchangers project based in Ghana.
Location: Heritage Hall Gallery and Youth Art Gallery, MSU Museum

3:30 - 5 p.m. Museums, Education, and Youth Photographers
A special opportunity for museum studies students, faculty, area teachers, and others interested in youth-based photo documentation to learn about two projects in Africa that have resulted in exhibitions currently at the MSU Museum. Hosted by MSU Professor and Museum curator Marsha MacDowell, participate in a guided Q&A session with Shawn Davis, curator of the Visual Griots of Mali exhibition and with Marit Dewhurst and Samara Hoyer-Winfield, developers of the PhotoExchangers project based in Ghana.

This exhibition and related activities are presented as programs of A World of Arts & Culture at MSU. Support for these activities has been provided by a "Creating Inclusive Excellence" grant from MSU's Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, MSU Public Humanities Collaborative, the Michigan State University Museum, and the Museum Studies Program at MSU.

For more information about Visual Griots of Mali go to http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/Current/visual_griots_of_mali.html

For more information about PhotoExchangers: Youth connecting Ghana and the US through cross-cultural communication go to http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/Current/Photo_Exchangers.html

Michigan State University and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources extends a cordial welcome to visitors to the 93nd of Agriculture and Natural Resources Week (formerly Farmer's Week). The nation's pioneer land-grant college was founded more than 150 years ago, guided by a philosophy to serve all the people of the state, an idea that still prevails in 2009.

Agriculture and Natural Resources Week (ANR Week) continues to be one of the largest events of its kind in the nation. ANR Week 2009 provides a wide-variety of topics in areas such as agriculture, horticulture, and natural resources, i.e. Quiet Water Symposium, Michigan Wildflower Conference, Growing of Michigan's Organic Future, MSRBA Rabbit Show, Michigan Audubon Society and the 81st state convention of the Michigan FFA.

At the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center during ANR Week is an exhibit developed by the MSU Museum on critical issues related to food and society. The exhibit was inspired by the central theme: food is all around us and at the same time, too many of us, a silent partner in life. This display addresses contemporary issues around food, identify some of the forgotten but real costs of the food we produce and explore the energy footprint of what it takes to bring us the food we purchase in the neighborhood supermarket. The MSUM and College of Natural Science, Residential Initiative on a Sustainable Environment worked together on this project. This exhibit will then be available for loan throughout Michigan.

Learn more and see the complete schedule of events here: http://anrweek.canr.msu.edu/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx

Visit the Michigan State University Museum in March for educational programs presented in conjunction with the MSU Museum exhibition, "Threads of Change: The Transformation of West African Textiles."

-Saturday, March 21 -- 1 p.m. - 3 p.m., in the MSU Museum Auditorium. The "STAMP, PAINT, CUT!" African fabric workshop for children is presented free of charge and no pre-registration is required.

Malian artist, Boubacar Doumbia and Kandioura Couilbaly, along with artist and translator Janet Goldner will instruct young artists in the making of Malian bogolanfini, or mud cloth designs and techniques.

Visiting artists Kandioura Coulibaly and Boubacar Doumbia are members of Kasobane, a collective of fabric artists from Mali, which is largely responsible for popularizing bogolan (or mud cloth) as a symbol of national and ethnic identity. Both attended the National Art Institute in Bamako and have exhibited in Europe, Africa, Cuba, Japan and Canada. In addition, Coulibaly does costume design for cinema and Doumbia produces textiles for interior decoration in Mali and abroad. Visiting artist Janet Goldner is a sculptor living in New York City. She has been traveling to Mali for 35 years and has collaborated with Kasobane on a number of projects.

-Wednesday, March 25 -- 7 - 9 p.m. International Book Club Meeting: "Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali," by Kris Holloway. The author will be present (via speaker phone) for the discussion in the MSU Main Gallery. This program is sponsored by the East Lansing Public Library and is presented free of charge.

One of Entertainment Weekly's top 20 narrative travel books and a Boston Globe bestseller, "Monique and the Mango Rains" is the true story of the life and death of a remarkable West African midwife, seen through the eyes of a young Peace Corps volunteer who worked side-by-side with her, birthing babies and caring for mothers, in a remote, impoverished village. It is a rare tale of friendship that reaches beyond borders to vividly and irrevocably unites another woman's world with our own. About the author: Kris Holloway served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, West Africa from 1989-1991, where she met her husband, John Bidwell. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan, focusing her research on maternal and child health. She has used her unique background in writing, public health and development to further the mission of numerous non-profits and educational institutions including Planned Parenthood, the National Priorities Project, the University of Michigan, Springfield College, and the Greenbelt Movement International. She currently works as the Director of Institutional Relations at the Center for International Studies and lives in Northampton, Mass., with John and their two sons.

-OF SPECIAL INTEREST FOR EDUCATORS: Thursday, March 26, 12 noon - 4 p.m.: Teaching an Integrated Study of Africa. This special program presented by MSU's African Studies Center is designed to integrate West African arts into elementary, middle school and high school curriculum for art teachers, language arts teachers and social studies teachers. Please call the MSU African Studies Center at (517) 353-1700 to register by March 24. "Threads of Change: The Transformation of West African Textiles" has been extended in the MSU Museum's Main Gallery through Nov. 29, 2009.

The MSU Museum is Michigan's natural history and culture museum and the state's first Smithsonian Institution affiliate. The MSU Museum features three floors of special collections and changing exhibits and is open seven days a week free of charge (donations are encouraged). Located on West Circle Drive next to Beaumont Tower on the MSU campus, the MSU Museum is accessible to persons with disabilities. Hours are Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. -5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Visitor parking is available in front of the building and at metered spaces at the Grand River Ramp, one block away at the corner of Grand River Avenue and Charles Street. For more information, call (517) 355-2370 or see http://museum.msu.edu .

Caked or torted, truffled or turtled, bittersweet or milk, liquid or solid - come revel in inspired indulgence and find the ideal form of chocolate conveyance at the 20th annual Michigan State University Museum Chocolate Party Benefit.

The event is set for 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009, and is presented by the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center in East Lansing. The MSU Museum Chocolate Party Benefit is one of the few professional culinary events in the country open to the general public, with area chefs and culinary students competing to create inspired, edible masterpieces featuring the key ingredient: chocolate. Competitors have sculpted everything from carousels, film reels, pyramids and gardens out of all forms of chocolate. Meanwhile, local restaurants, caterers, bake shops, candy makers, and other vendors share their taste-tempting chocolate creations. This year's competition theme is "Wonders of the World," which will inspire the creativity and culinary excellence of the competition entries.

In this popular mid-winter event, chocolate lovers indulge for a special cause: the Chocolate Party benefits care and preservation of the extensive cultural and natural history collections of the MSU Museum. The MSU Museum stewards nearly 1 million objects, artifacts and specimens. Tickets are available at the door for $35. A special "Premier Chocolatier" ticket for $75 offers an advance preview of Chocolate Party creations and a yearlong MSU Museum membership. For more information, call (517) 355-2370 or see http://museum.msu.edu/Events/ChocolateParty/ . Find your friends on facebook at the Chocolate Party page and RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=40351062074 .

Science and research units across MSU continue to honor naturalist Charles Darwin's 200th birthday in February with a number of public programs. Here's a glimpse:

*Thursday, February 19
Dr. Richard Colling, of Olivet Nazarene University will talk about his experience as author of "Random Designer" as part of MSU's Department of Geological Sciences Alumni / Shell Oil Distinguished Lecture Series 4 p.m., Room 204 Natural Science Building, MSU.

*Wednesday, February 25
"Lyman Briggs College Spring Book Debate: Darwin's On the Origin of Species." A panel of Briggs professors will discuss the Origin in its various scientific, historical, religious, philosophical and aspects, with extensive audience participation. 7p.m., C106 Holmes Hall.

*Thursday, February 26 "The Paleoclimatic Framework of Human Evolution." Dr. Gail Ashley, Rutgers University. Department of Geological Sciences Alumni / Shell Oil Distinguished Lecture Series. 4 p.m., Room 204 Natural Science Building, MSU.

*JUST ADDED: Thursday, March 5
"Science Comedian Brian Malow," 118 Psychology Building, 7 p.m. Free. Malow entertains and ignites interest in science with hysterical, thought-provoking science comedy routines about the environment, insects and viruses, evolution and extinction, the speed of light, gravity, cell phones, computers... everything under the Sun... and even the Sun itself!

Some things get better with age, the MSU Museum Wine Tasting Benefit is definitely one of them. Find the perfect wine at the Michigan State University Museum's fourteenth annual Wine Tasting Benefit, on Friday, March 27, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, Harrison Road at Michigan Avenue, in East Lansing.

The Wine Tasting Benefit features more than 150 award-winning selections, independently owned wineries, importers and industry professionals on-site.

The evening also features live music, appetizers, a silent auction and door prizes. The Kellogg Center's State Room restaurant will offer a special discount to Wine Tasting participants, either before or after the event. Tickets are $40 and are available now online at http://museum.msu.edu/Events/WineTasting/ , and will be available soon at the Museum Store, Goodrich's Shop Rite, at Harrison and Trowbridge roads in East Lansing.

Proceeds from the event support MSU Museum development efforts. For more information, call (517) 355-2370. The event is sponsored by the Greater Lansing Vintners Club, Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, Elite Brands, Goodrich's ShopRite, The School of Hospitality Business, and the Michigan State University Museum.

The Michigan State University Museum announces honorees in two programs celebrating and sustaining traditional arts practices in the state: the 2009 Michigan Heritage Awards (MHA), and the 2009 Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (MTAAP) recipients.

The Michigan Heritage Award is the state's highest distinction to honor individuals who continue their family community and cultural traditions with excellence and devotion.

"The Michigan Heritage Awards are presented each year to honor master practitioners in Michigan who continue the folk traditions of their families and communities through practice and teaching," explains Yvonne Lockwood, curator of folklife at the MSU Museum and coordinator of the MHA program. Receiving a 2009 Michigan Heritage Award for their achievements are: Willard Finch of Stockbridge for decorative architectural painting; and Les Ross Sr. of Marquette for Finnish "lumberjack" style harmonica playing.

Later this year, the recipients of the 2009 Michigan Heritage Awards will be recognized at a public ceremony at the Great Lakes Folk Festival, produced Aug. 7-9 by the MSU Museum in downtown East Lansing. The National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs provide support for the Michigan Heritage Awards program.
Since 1985, the MSU Museum's Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program has paired a master artist with an apprentice artist. Past apprenticeships have helped sustain traditions in diverse traditional art forms such as fiddle playing, quill box making, storytelling, tamale making and rag-rug weaving. MTAAP Master artists receive a monetary stipend for working with the apprentices in their specialized area of traditional arts.

The 2009 Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program's master artists and their apprentices, respectively, are:
-Kelly Church of Hopkins and Cherish Parrish of Hopkins, for Native American black ash baskets;
-Renee Dillard of Harbor Springs and Kristina Deland-Phillips of Portland, for Native American black ash baskets;
-William McDonald of Delton and Brian C. Ballard of Hopkins, for decoy carving;
-George Martin of Hopkins and Paul Shananaquet of Hopkins, for Indian corn making;
-Edythe Nichols of Sault Ste. Marie and Elaine Clement of Sault Ste. Marie, for Native American regalia clothing;
-Ronald Paquin of Sault Ste. Marie and Cecil Pavlat, Sr. of Sault Ste. Marie, for Native American birch bark containers;
-Roopa Shyamasundara of Rochester Hills and Anita Sulibhavi of Rochester Hills, for Indian dance, Bharatanatyam;
-Amy Stillman of Ann Arbor and Angela Dewey of Ann Arbor, for Hawaiian hula dancing.

The Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Learn more here: http://museum.msu.edu/s-program/mtap . For more information, contact the MSU Museum at (517) 355-2370 or see http://museum.msu.edu .

The MSU Museum also features a long-term exhibition, "Michigan Artists: Passing on Tradition," showing many of the traditional arts and cultural expressions of past heritage award and apprenticeship program master artists.

See an MSU Special Report -- Discovering Darwin -- at http://special.news.msu.edu/darwin/index.php , including interviews with MSU experts, Darwin's correspondence with MSU's Professor Beal, a photo gallery, resources and other links.

At the MSU Museum on Feb. 12, Charles Darwin's actual birth date: "Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle" lecture by Mike Gottfried, curator of vertebrate paleontology and associate professor of geological sciences, at 7 p.m. in Habitat Hall. This program is free of charge.

Textile master artists from Mali will visit the Michigan State University campus in February for a series of educational programs presented in conjunction with the new MSU Museum exhibition, "Threads of Change: The Transformation of West African Textiles."

Visiting artists Kandioura Coulibaly and Boubacar Doumbia are members of Kasobane, a collective of six fabric artists from Mali, which is largely responsible for popularizing bogolan (or mudcloth) as a symbol of national and ethnic identity. Both attended the National Art Institute in Bamako and have exhibited in Europe, Africa, Cuba, Japan and Canada. In addition, Kandiaoura does costume design for cinema and Boubacar produces textiles for interior decoration in Mali and abroad. Visiting artists Janet Goldner is a sculptor living in New York City. She has been traveling to Mali for 35 years and has collaborated with Kasobane on a number of projects.

"This exhibit showcases West African textiles and illustrates how these garments have transformed over time. From the striking designs of Malian mudcloth to the intricate weavings of kente cloth from Ghanac, visitors can see not only the beauty of these clothes but also how they have been affected by their historical and cultural contexts," notes Chris Worland, guest curator and fabric artist.

Programs on tap include:
-Wednesday, Feb. 11 -- 7 - 8:30 p.m. Panel discussion with artists-in-residence Kandioura Coulibaly and Boubacar Doumbia, and educator Janet Goldner at the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, Snyder Hall Auditorium. This program is free of charge.
-Sunday, Feb. 15 -- 2 p.m. Gallery talk and demonstration by the artists Kandioura Coulibaly and Boubacar Doumbia with Janet Goldner in the MSU Museum Main Gallery. This program is free of charge.

Upcoming programs planned for the spring include a youth workshop making mud cloth, as well as an international book club discussion. Learn more at http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/Current/the_transformation_of_west_african_textiles.html .

"Threads of Change: The Transformation of West African Textiles" runs in the MSU Museum's Main Gallery through Aug. 20, 2009. This exhibition is made possible by project partners at Michigan State University: African Studies Center, Center for Advanced Study of International Development, MSU Museum, Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives: Creating Inclusive Excellence Grant, and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities.

More from the exhibit about bogolanfini, or mud cloth, and West African textiles
Bogo means clay or mud, Lan means with or by means of, and fini means cloth. The textiles on exhibit provide examples of the diverse cultural roles and meanings that textile traditions represent in several West African countries. Textiles are often symbols in the societies where they are found and may convey meaning about the social status of the wearer, reflect religious beliefs, or be associated with rites of passage such as funerals, marriages, and puberty ceremonies... These characteristics, represented by the pieces on display here, provide a unique window through which we can learn about the vibrant cultures of West Africa.

The MSU Museum is Michigan's natural history and culture museum and the state's first Smithsonian Institution affiliate. The MSU Museum features three floors of special collections and changing exhibits and is open seven days a week free of charge (donations are encouraged). Located on West Circle Drive next to Beaumont Tower on the MSU campus, the MSU Museum is accessible to persons with disabilities. Hours are Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. -5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Visitor parking is available in front of the building and at metered spaces at the Grand River Ramp, one block away at the corner of Grand River Avenue and Charles Street. For more information, call (517) 355-2370 or see http://museum.msu.edu .