Love is in the air: Local artist Mija Andrade, development director for the OSLP Arts & Culture Program, will show “My Heart is Everywhere” prints through Feb. 26 at the OLSP Community Room Gallery (309 W. 4th Ave.). The linocut prints are stylized hearts on old maps Andrade found at MECCA (Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts). “I wanted to express that my love extended to every corner of the world,” Andrade writes.
Contemporary American painter Squeak Carnwath will give a free lecture 6 pm Thursday, Feb. 11, at 115 Lawrence Hall on the UO campus. The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art has a corresponding exhibit — Everyday is Not the Same: Squeak Carnwath’s Prints and Papers — through April 10.
The Wayward Lamb has three days of programming in a row that covers the Valentine’s spectrum, from steamy to irreverent. UNVEILED — “Eugene’s Queer Burlesque” — kicks it off with a show 7 to 9:30 pm Friday, Feb. 12. Next up is the “Love is Love” queer youth dance 5:30 to 8:30 pm Saturday, Feb. 13; open to all teens ages 12-18. The pub rounds it out with “The F#ck Love Carnival” complete with cotton candy, Jon Waters’ “dirtiest films,” a drag queen psychic, a pie-eating contest and more starting at 9 pm Saturday, Feb. 13; $5 cover, $2 if you come in your skivvies.
Meanwhile, Old Nick’s Pub (211 Washington St.) is also riding the love train with Baphomet Cabaret’s “A David Bowie Love Show” 9 pm Friday, Feb. 12; $6.66. The cabaret will pay homage to Bowie’s “trailblazing, taboo-shifting influence on the world of ‘gender’, glam, and true artistry.”
The local comedy vets of WYMPROV! — Sally Sheklow (author of EW column “Living Out”), Enid Lefton, Vicki Silvers and Debby Martin — bring their improvisation shtick back to the Oregon Contemporary Theatre for one night only 8 pm Saturday, Feb. 13; $14, tickets at octheatre.org. “Our audience is our inspiration and they haven’t let us down yet!” says member Enid Lefton via press release. Grab tickets fast — the event sold out last year.
Heart and soul: Local band Eleinvaders is hosting “The Heart of Eugene” festival at Kesey Square with food carts, poets, speakers, live local music and art-making from noon to 10 pm Monday, Feb. 15; FREE. Activist and artist Gwendolyn Iris will speak at 7:45 pm and City Councilor George Brown of Ward 1 will speak at 9 pm. Eleinvaders band member Jeremiah Barnes explains why they decided to organize the event:
“We went to the Save Kesey Square protest and public forum and were inspired by the passion of the community, but for me, it’s about compassion, and acceptance of all walks of life,” writes Barnes to EW. “Kesey Square represents not just the heart, as the center of Eugene, but it represents our communities love for its people.”
Barnes continues: “The art community has a large role in this demonstration, because not only do they know how to express their voice, but they too (usually) come from the same income bracket as the individuals we tend to demonize.”