Au naturel, au contraire: While the UO preemptively canceled the long-running Saturday Figure Drawing Group (nude models are catnip for pervs!), Lane Community College’s nude drawing studios are going strong. The Sunday Figure Sessions, hosted by LCC studio arts faculty Satoko Motouji, are now the LCC Figure Drawing Sessions running from 10 am to 1 pm Saturdays (except for holidays) in Building 10, room 220, at $3 a pop. LCC media arts faculty Jan Halvorsen hosts The Buckner Group, formed by the late UO art professor Paul Buckner, at the same time on Saturdays in Building 10, room 125; $2-$7 a session. Halvorsen says the two studios are complementary: Motouji’s Figure Sessions feature a different model every week with poses of varying durations while The Buckner Group employs one model in one pose over the duration of several weeks, catering to 3D as well as 2D artists. “We just felt that we had an opportunity here to make both sessions available and easy to get to,” Halvorsen says. “It was a good time to get the word out again, since it seems to be out in the media about what happened at the UO. It’s a direction in art we support.”  And could a cancellation like the UO’s ever be possible at LCC? “I can’t imagine it ever happening at LCC unless something happened to the art department,” Halverson says with a laugh, adding, “We’re just so happy that LCC has been so supportive of our sessions.”

Can you smell the burning amber copal and hear the joyful sounds of Springfield High School’s Mariachi del Sol? With the holy holiday Día de los Muertos on the horizon (Nov. 1 and 2), Maude Kerns Art Center hosts its 21st annual Day of the Dead exhibit Oct. 17 through Nov. 7, with an opening reception 6 to 9 pm Friday, Oct. 17. The long-beloved celebration features the work of 33 artists, seven commemorative ofrendas (altars) and performances by Ballet Folklórico Alma de México and Mariachi del Sol. 

Oregon State University is hosting its first-ever Hip-Hop Festival and Symposium with panels, workshops and concerts Friday, Oct. 17, at Reser Stadium. The fest is the fruit of a collaboration between OSU’s College of Liberal Arts and the L.A.-based GRAMMY Museum; the museum’s executive director Bob Santelli will conduct an on-stage interview with rapper MC Lyte — the first woman to release a solo rap album (1988’s Lyte as a Rock); performances by Portland’s Illmaculate and headliner Lil’ Flip to follow. For more information, visit wkly.ws/1tt. Need more hip hop? Luckey’s hosts its weekly show Private Stock with BlackK, The Architex and Enve 9 pm Wednesday, Oct. 22; $2.