Classical guitarist to return for another show
Classical guitarist Dimitris Kotronakis will return to Haines from Greece for an encore performance this month.
Kotronakis wowed a Haines crowd in 2014 after Haines Arts Council president Tom Heywood discovered him on YouTube.
Kotronakis has appeared as a soloist throughout Greece, Europe, China and North and South America. Born in Greece in 1973, Kotronakis began studying classical guitar at the age of 7. He has a doctoral degree from the musicology department of the University of Athens and has performed on more than seven albums.
Classical guitars differ from basic acoustic guitars. They have nylon strings and are played with finger-picking, instead of with a pick. They also have a wider neck than steel-string guitars.
Heywood described Kotronakis’ work before his last performance as “extremely quick” and “incredible.”
The Haines Arts Council will host the performance at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Chilkat Center. Tickets are $15 general admission, $12 for arts council members and $6 for students. He will also play a concert the following day in Skagway.
First Friday to include heart art and pet paintings
Haines residents can see art photography, “heart art” and pet paintings at February’s First Friday celebration.
The Alaska Arts Confluence will feature artistic hearts as a preview to the “Have a Heart for SAIL” fundraiser next month. The hearts, created by Chilkat Valley artists, will be up for auction at the event on Saturday, Feb 10.
Haines program director Sierra Jimenez said some of the “eclectic” hearts include a pair of “love birds” by Jim and Shori Heaton, a mosaic heart by Mardell Gunn, Valentine’s gift books by Debi Knight Kennedy and handmade pillows. Jimenez said they gave about 40 plywood hearts to artists to make into unique art pieces.
Arts confluence creative director Carol Tuynman said people can buy tickets for the event and start bidding on their favorite hearts at the First Friday celebration.
The Haines Sheldon Museum will host the opening of the 46th “Alaska Positive” art photography show, which features pictures from local photographer John Hagen.
Benjamin Cherry will play the piano for the exhibit opening.
Museum director Helen Alten said the Alaska State Museum has facilitated the Alaska Positive show biennially since 1971 to encourage photography as an art form.
Thirty-four unique pictures from photographers across the state will be on display, including photos of the Mendenhall ice caves, clocks, books, and a key, and what looks like the interior of a body.
Larry McNeil, originally from Klukwan, was the juror that chose the photos. Haines is one of the last stops on the tour of the 2016 photos.
Alten said she would like to make this a “call and response” show, soliciting artists to be inspired by the photography to make more art.
“We want artists to choose images that they bond with and create something that we can then have in an exhibit to open on March 2,” Alten said.
Kelly Mitchell will be the featured artist at Haines Brewing Co., showing acrylic paintings of pets.
“For Valentine’s Day I wanted to do acrylic paintings of loved ones, but it’s not people. It’s pets,” Mitchell said.
Four local dogs are featured in their own portraits, including Mitchell’s lab Rottweiler mix named Birdi. Mitchell said the pet paintings started when she was asked to paint portraits of two local pets. She said there are also a few portraits of cats.
Alaska Rod’s spotlight artist will be Rob Martin, who makes hand-carved silver and copper Tlingit jewelry. The store will also have a contest with a prize drawing for those who stop by.
Also open for First Friday festivities will be Skipping Stone Studio, featuring art by Hannah Bochart, The Babbling Book and Caroline’s Closet. First Friday starts at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 2.
Film looks at lost prints
The Haines Art Council will show the film “Dawson City: Frozen Time” next month, which pieces together the history of a long-lost collection of 533 nitrate film prints from the early 1900s.
President Tom Heywood said the film is part of a series of art and historical films that the arts council has shown in recent years.
According to the website, Dawson City was settled in 1896 and became the center of the Canadian Gold Rush that brought 100,000 prospectors to the area. It was also the final stop for a distribution chain that sent prints and newsreels to the Yukon.
“The now-famous Dawson City Collection was uncovered in 1978 when a bulldozer working its way through a parking lot dug up a horde of film cans… ‘Dawson City: Frozen Time’ depicts the unique history of this Canadian Gold Rush town by chronicling the life cycle of a singular film collection through its exile, burial, rediscovery, and salvation.”
Catch the film at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8 in the Chilkat Center lobby. Heywood said the arts council is also planning to show Oscar-nominated short films in the coming month.
Volunteer for River Talk
River Talk will return to the Chilkat Center lobby next month.
Organizers are looking for seven speakers to tell tales of “Guardian Angels” at the Chit Chat Café at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15. Cost of admission is $7 for the seven-minute-long stories. Contact Carol Tuynman at 314-0282 if interested.