Contacts: Sarah Clark-Langager, director of the Western Gallery, (360) 650-3963, Sarah.Clark-Langager@wwu.edu and Nolan Dennett, artistic director of WWU's Dance Program, (360) 650-3129, Nolan.Dennett@wwu.edu
BELLINGHAM - The Western Gallery, the Department of Art and the Dance Program at Western Washington University will present a collaborative exhibition and dance residency in the Western Gallery this spring.
The collaboration features a photography exhibit by Dianne Kornberg, performances by Montréal Danse, a student-organized exhibition and interdisciplinary talks.
The internationally acclaimed Montréal Danse will perform "The FURIES Alpha 1/24 (The Monsters Within)" at 8 p.m. April 4-5 and 11-12, as well as at 2 p.m. April 6 and 13 in the Western Gallery. Rehearsals, which are open to the public, will be from 2 to 5 p.m. on April 9 and 10 at the Western Gallery. 
Artistic Director Kathy Casey described the dance as "an all out, breakneck dance of fury and desire driven by rage, tenderness, monstrous speed, shifting alliances and seduction." Each performance will be followed by a discussion involving the audience and professionals in such areas as political science, journalism and psychology.
Tickets for the performance are available through the WWU Box Office and cost $25 for general admission, $15 for faculty and staff and seniors and $10 for students.
One visual backdrop for the performances by Montréal Danse will be an exhibition of photography by Portland artist Dianne Kornberg. From April 4-13, Kornberg will display new works, created specifically for this performance, as to create a visual context for "The FURIES." Following the Montréal Danse residency, there will be a second exhibition by Kornberg titled "Field Notes: Photographs by Dianne Kornberg, 1992-2007" which will be on display at the Western Gallery from April 18 through May 31.
In "Field Notes," Kornberg presents exquisite photographs of specimens which fascinate and repel the viewer. From inchoate forms to marine life to the skeletal remains of animal and insects in boxes, she provides the evidence of life eroded by use and time.
An additional visual environment for the collaboration will be provided by a student-curated exhibition titled "Intricate Linkages" by art students of Assistant Professor of Art Julia Sapin. The exhibition, intended to complement the Kornberg exhibitions and Montréal Danse performances, will touch on the topics of nature, culture, motion and emotion through a selection of works from the Al and Vera Leese Collection.
The collaboration will also feature two interdisciplinary forums held in the Western Gallery which are free and open to the public. At noon on Tuesday, April 8, "Dance as a Weapon/Art as Social Commentary" will feature a dialogue with Kathy Casey, artistic director of Montréal Danse and Sarah Clark-Langager, director of the Western Gallery. At noon on Thursday, April 10, a forum titled "Visual Dialogues" will host Kathy Casey, Dianne Kornberg, and Sharron Antholt, painter and professor in the Department of Art.
WWU Box Office hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and one hour prior to the performance. For individual tickets or disability accommodations, contact the WWU Box Office, (360) 650-6146 or visit http://www.tickets.wwu.edu/.
Western Gallery hours will be modified for this collaboration and are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 2-18, noon to 4 p.m. on April 19, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 2-3 and 9-10. The Gallery will resume normal hours of operations on April 21 and will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.
For more event details please visit the Western Gallery and Dance Program online at http://westerngallery.wwu.edu/ and http://www.wwu.edu/depts/dance.
The Montréal Danse residency is made possible with support from WWU's Cold Beverage Fund, Research and Sponsored Programs, the Office of the Dean of the College of Fine and Performing Arts and the Dance Program.
An exhibition of Kornberg's photographs was organized by Terry M. Hopkins, director and curator, the Art Gym, Marylhurst University, and supported in part by the Regional Arts and Culture Council, the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. Special thanks to the generosity of Marian Boylan for providing the Leese Collection, and to the Cold Beverage Contract Committee for its part in funding the residency.
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