Art from Down Under

Guest curator Roger Benjamin of the University of Sydney will lecture on "Aboriginal Art from Papunya Tula: From the Beginning," Feb. 12 at 5:15 p.m. at the Johnson Museum. He gives a gallery talk Feb. 13 at 4:30 p.m., prior to the museum's reception for winter exhibitions, with remarks from collectors John Wilkerson, Ph.D. '70, and his wife, Barbara Wilkerson. A "ground work" of sand and plant fibers will be on view, and the artists will give a public talk on Feb. 14 at 3 p.m.

Faculty chamber players

Cornell faculty performers Miri Yampolsky (piano), Joseph Lin (violin) and John Haines-Eitzen (cello) will present a chamber music recital of works by Robert Schumann, Leos Janácek and Beethoven Friday, Feb. 13, at 8 p.m. in Barnes Hall. Yampolsky and Haines-Eitzen open the program with Schumann's Adagio and Allegro for Cello and Piano, op. 70. Lin then joins Yampolsky for Janácek's Sonata for Violin and Piano. Following intermission, Yampolsky returns to the stage to perform Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, op. 111 -- the last of the composer's piano sonatas. Free and open to the public.

Sneak Preview

Scott Ferguson '82, a co-producer of "Brokeback Mountain," presents his latest production, a new comedy, "Gigantic" starring Paul Dano and Zooey Deschanel, Feb. 14 at 7:15 p.m. in the Willard Straight Hall Theatre. He will also show clips from the upcoming HBO biopic he produced about Cornell Rhodes Class of '56 Professor Temple Grandin. Ferguson will also visit classes. Information: Marilyn Rivchin, mr38@cornell.edu.

Swingin'

The Cornell Rooftop Mayhem Jumpswing Club presents a Valentine's Big Band Swing Dance Feb. 14 at 9 p.m. in Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room. The Sixth Annual Sweetheart Swing DancE features the 21-piece Ageless Jazz Band. Take an introductory dance lesson at 8 p.m. No partner needed. Information: http://rso.cornell.edu/swing/.

Dangerous crossing

The Africana Studies and Research Center Spring '09 Colloquium Series presents "Slave Ship/Ghost Ship" with historian Marcus Rediker of the University of Pittsburgh, Feb. 17 at 4:30 p.m. in the center's multipurpose room. Rediker's 2007 book, "The Slave Ship: A Human History," won the George Washington Book Prize. The selection committee called the book a "definitive and painfully evocative account of the floating prisons that carried an estimated 12.4 million Africans across the 'Middle Passage' of the Atlantic to help build the new America."

Listen up, Barack

Several Cornell professors offer "Advice for Obama: An Economics Panel Discussion," Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. in Call Auditorium, Kennedy Hall. Panelists include Sean Nicholson, associate professor of policy analysis and management; Maureen O'Hara, the Robert W. Purcell Professor of Management; Eswar Prasad, the Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy; Karl Shell, the Thorne Professor of Economics; and moderator Francine Blau, the Frances Perkins Professor of ILR Labor Economics. Free and open to the public.

Plant-design workshop

The Lab of Ornithology offers a daylong conference called "Designing With Native Plants: Creating Sustainable Landscapes for the Finger Lakes and Upstate New York" Feb. 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A variety of speakers will talk about such topics as creating bird habitats, natural landscaping techniques and wildflower meadows. Information: Rick Manning, 607-592-4647, rmannin4@twcny.rr.com.

Sherman Alexie

Novelist ("The Indian Killer"), poet ("The Business of Fancydancing") and screenwriter ("Smoke Signals") Sherman Alexie will deliver the 2009 Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Lecture March 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Alice Statler Auditorium. Alexie's young adult novel, "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," won the 2007 National Book Award in young people's literature. Free tickets are available at the Graduate School dean's office, the American Indian Program office, Willard Straight Hall, the Clinton House and the Bookery II. Information: 255-5810.