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Kent elementary schools celebrate Native American Heritage Month

Kent elementary schools celebrate Native American Heritage Month

For the Reporter

A drum begins to beat faintly in the Kent classroom, quieting the chatty Lake Youngs Elementary School students in their seats.

Collectively, everyone’s attention focuses on Sondra Segundo, who begins to sing softly in her Native Haida language. The room, students and staff alike, are now captivated as Segundo ends the song with a final beat of her drum.

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Lake Youngs Elementary hosted 27 Native students on a recent November day from Lake Youngs, Scenic Hill and East Hill elementary schools, treating them to a field trip meant to expose them to their culture through music and storytelling.

Richard Summers, the Kent School District’s Native American Student & Family Liaison, described the impact of Kent students building relationships and learning more about their cultures through these events.

“It’s immeasurable,” Summers said. “For the most part, Native history and culture have been non-existent in public schools for decades, besides a page or two on the Trail of Tears, Chief Sitting Bull, Geronimo, or Chief Joseph. Cultural erasure gets mentioned a lot, but I would argue it has hit Native Americans hardest. So, when we can offer in-person, three-dimensional cultural offerings for our Native students, I think these events will stick with them for a long time and positively affect their identity development as Native people.”

The field trip’s special guest was Segundo, a multi-faceted Seattle artist and Haida Language Warrior. She was invited to present her new book, “Kúndlaan,” to the students. She also incorporated songs throughout the book’s presentation, adding a dimension that made the story come alive.

Segundo is a cultural educator, published author, and illustrator of three Haida children’s books.

“I have had Sondra present to our students and families two other times at our Native Program culture night events,” Summers said. “Her family and my family come from the same Alaska Native village, Hydaburg, Alaska, so I’ve known her family for some time.”

After the book presentation, the students bonded with each other while eating pizza and participating in an art project.

Kent School District hosts many Native cultural events throughout the school year and summer.

“Many Native students might not get too involved with their Native cultures at home or in the community as part of being ‘urbanized,’ so the influence of cultural offerings in their school lives has a giant impact,” Summers said.

Lake Youngs Elementary School is at 19660 142nd Ave. SE.

Kent School District acknowledges its district rests upon the ancestral lands of the descendants of the Duwamish and Upper Puyallup people who came to be known as the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, who historically lived throughout the area between the Cascade Mountains and Puget Sound.

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Vendu-Sold: Concordia highlights

Vendu-Sold: Concordia highlights
ESSE’s 14th annual benefit auction featured works from these ten Concordia alumni. Bilingual contemporary art magazine ESSE’s 14th annual benefit auction, Vendu-Sold, was recently on view at Projet Casa from Nov. 9 through Nov. 19. The opening event was attended by ESSE’s director, Concordia alumnus Sylvette Babin, along with

Shanghai art market sees strong recovery

Shanghai art market sees strong recovery
image
This year marked the 11th session of ART021, featuring more than 160 galleries and institutions from 16 countries and regions and more than 15,000 pieces of artwork valued at more than 3 billion yuan ($414 million). [Photo/shanghai.gov.cn]

The Fifth Shanghai International Artwork Trade Week, which took place from Nov 9 to Nov 13, saw strong recovery of the city’s art market, with two flagship fairs achieving success, the latest data showed on Wednesday.

More than 100 art fair events and 30 auctions during the annual Artwork Trade Week showed the municipality is aiming at building Shanghai into a premier global trading venue for art.

This year, two flagship art fairs – West Bund Art & Design and ART021 – took place from Nov 9 to 12, with both mounted on a larger scale than in the previous years.

“We had hoped to see a steady recovery of the market for this year, but things turned out much better than we expected,” said David Chau, co-founder of ART021.

This year marked the 11th session of ART021, featuring more than 160 galleries and institutions from 16 countries and regions and more than 15,000 pieces of artwork valued at more than 3 billion yuan ($414 million). The fair received more than 40,000 visitors every day and achieved record sales worth more than 1.2 billion yuan.

ART021 went through a constructive decade nurturing the market, and many potential collectors have become avid art buyers, he said. “Shanghai is actively growing into an important art center of the world, and I hope the city’s art market would keep growing to reach 100 billion yuan in the next 10 years.”

This year, Opera Gallery participated in ART021 for the second time, and presented creations of some iconic artists such as Marc Chagall, Fernando Botero and Chu Teh-Chun.

“We know that Chinese audiences are interested in the artwork we present. We already shipped a number of paintings from our galleries in New York, Paris and Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland,” Gilles Dyan, founder and chairman of the gallery, told China Daily.

Founded in Paris and Singapore simultaneously more than 30 years ago, the international gallery has 16 locations globally, with the latest ones opening in Dubai and Madrid. “We have quite a big presence, and have become one of the leading galleries in the world,” he said.

Representing 150 contemporary living artists from all over the world, the gallery also has an extensive collection of masterpieces from the Impressionism period to American pop art.

Encouraged by the enthusiasm of the Chinese market, Dyan said he hopes to open “maybe more than one new gallery in the Chinese mainland” in the near future.

The other major fair, West Bund, celebrated its 10th birthday this year. An unprecedented high number of 185 exhibitors were featured, 54 of whom were newcomers.

In the past 10 years, the West Bund area in Shanghai’s Xuhui district has developed from a bunch of desolate industrial relic sites to one of the most dynamic art communities in Shanghai, home to a number of institutions such as Long Museum, Tank Shanghai, West Bund Museum and so on.

Swiss bank UBS shared key findings from its newly published the Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2023 at West Bund. Fueled by substantial spending, especially from Chinese mainland collectors, Asia has seen a strong resurgence in art buying post-COVID, surpassing Europe and the United States in certain sectors, said Marina Lui, head of wealth management, China, UBS Global Wealth Management.

Matter Studio – New Zealand’s first AI product photography studio announces launch

Matter Studio – New Zealand’s first AI product photography studio announces launch
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[MATTERstudio.AI], New Zealand’s first AI product photography studio has launched into the market.

Matter Studio is a new technology-driven creative studio that integrates AI technology with high-quite visual content.

Co-founded by creative producer Heath Waugh, photographer Rob Hart and post production craftsman and retoucher Ron Anand, Matter is a groundbreaking creative content studio that expertly combines product photography with AI-generated backgrounds.

Matter leverages emerging AI technology alongside decades of experience in production, photography, and post-production to provide clients with unprecedented access to diverse, world class imagery.

Says Waugh: “We recognise the need for businesses to elevate their imagery without wasting the time, money and labour, traditionally associated with highly stylised product photography.

“The process begins with client brief, and then moves to AI background concepting and creation. Once these are approved we take the clients product into studio and light and shoot it in a way that is cohesive with the approved background. From there we composite the product into the background. There’s a high level of studio craft required, but we’ve had nearly 20 years working as a team in studio, so there’s not many problems we haven’t encountered before.

“The process of creating imagery in a local studio that can showcase your product in any environment imaginable has obvious benefits. You’re not limited by geographics or weather dependence. You have access to multiple look or locations in a day, and it’s truly a way to unleash your versatility and creativity – nothing is impossible.”

To find out more about [MATTERstudio.AI] visit: https://www.matterstudio.ai/.

Rock ‘n’ roll roo crowned funniest wildlife photo of 2023

Rock ‘n’ roll roo crowned funniest wildlife photo of 2023

Are you ready to laugh?

A kangaroo rocks it out in a field of wildflowers, clearly in the zone by the look on her face — it’s the height of comedy.

Or at least that’s what the judges of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards thought, bestowing their top 2023 prize to photographer Jason Moore for his aptly named photo, “Air Guitar Roo”. 

Up against 5,300 entries from 85 countries, Moore’s prize is a safari tour in the Masai Mara, Kenya, where the potential for more animals in hilarious situations awaits. 

Here’s his winning image alongside other category winners. 

Overall winner

Air Guitar Roo

A kangaroo that looks like its playing an air guitar in a green field
A female western grey kangaroo striking a pose in the outer suburbs of Perth.()

Commenting on the day back in August 2021, Moore said he was attacked by ticks when trying to get the “perfect” image.

“When I saw this roo striking their air guitar pose, it immediately brought a smile to my face, and I knew that I had captured something really special,” he said.

According to the judging panel, the image encapsulated a “happy vibe and feel good factor” — the sole purpose of what comedy wildlife is all about.

Creatures of the Air winner

A bird falling off a branch into a lake
A striated heron has an unexpected plunge in the Zimanga Private Game Reserve, South Africa.()

Creatures Under the Water winner

An otter in a ballerina position with a green leafy background
An otter gracefully pivots like a ballerina.()

Junior and People’s Choice winner

Three birds on a tree branch with one of the birds pointing their wing
An avian family dispute in the Bialowieza Forest, Poland.()

Amazing Internet Portfolio winner

Scroll through to see the squirrel’s landing.

A squirrel jumping in the air
A ground squirrel jumped as if he could fly, to his surprise, he fell back down.()

A ground squirrel jumped as if he could fly. To his surprise, he fell back down. (Timea Ambrus: Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023)

A squirrel jumping in the air
A ground squirrel jumped as if he could fly, to his surprise, he fell back down.()
A squirrel jumping in the air
A ground squirrel jumped as if he could fly, to his surprise, he fell back down.()
A squirrel jumped and fell to the ground
A ground squirrel jumped as if he could fly, to his surprise, he fell back down.()

Highly Commended winners

Here are a few of the highly commended images to have a giggle at.

A fox laying in the leaves with a stick in its mouth
Excuse me sir, but I think you’re a little too young to be smoking.()
A monkey lying down holding its tail on a green, mossy step
The rainforest dandy in the Monkey Forest, Ubud, Bali.()
A white bird that has puffed up into a ball in the snow
A white grouse looking like a snowball with eyes.()
A grey owl slumped on a tree branch
Monday Blahs. A great gray owl slumped against a tree with a look of, “Is Monday over yet?”()
Two kangaroos with one baby kangaroo jumping behind the other with its arms up
A joey decides to get silly and try his hand at boxing.()

Try not to laugh at these 10 best Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023 winners

Try not to laugh at these 10 best Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023 winners

You know what we should see more of? Photobombing kangaroos. That’s our primary conclusion after guffawing at all the whimsical winners of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

The highly commended cheeky ‘roo (which you can see below) is joined by many other animals caught in moments they’d rather forget. These include a white-winged dove flying straight into a tree, a very moody owl, and a long-tailed macaque monkey posing like Kate Winslet on a Titanic sofa. There really is something for everyone.

But the funniest animal of the year? Another kangaroo, this one seemingly rocking out and playing a spot of air guitar. The image, taken by Jason Moore, beat off some serious competition from over 5,000 entries from photographers from around the world.

Here are some of the winners and our top picks from this year’s Comedy Wildlife Awards.

Highly commended – Monday blahs

Owl looks tired and depressed
This great grey owl (Strix nebulosa) spent most of the afternoon posing majestically and looking wise. However, during stretches they would slump and give a look of ‘Is Monday over yet?’ Photographed at Salt Lake City, Grand Teton National Park, USA. Photo by John Blumenkamp/The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023.

Highly commended – Boing

Kangroo looks shocked
Taken at Westerfolds Park, a beautiful and surprisingly wild pocket of land in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, famous for its kangaroo population. The mob was enjoying some morning sunshine when this joey decided to get silly and try his hand at boxing. Photo by Lara Mathews/The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

Highly commended – Snowball

bird looks like a snowball
A grouse looks more like a snowball in this image taken at Spitzbergen, Svalbard. Photo by Jacques Poulard/The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

Highly commended – The happy turtle

Turtle with dragon fly on nose seems like its smiling
This swamp turtle is surprised and seems to smile at the dragonfly resting on its nose. Photographed at Jezreel Valley, Israel. Photo by Tzahi Finkelstein/The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

Highly commended – That wasn’t there yesterday

Bird seems to fly into tree
A white-winged dove appears to fly head-on into a cholla cactus skeleton. Photographed at Buckeye, Arizona, USA. Photo by Wendy Kaveney/The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

Highly commended – Rainforest dandy

Monkey lies down on side and plays with tail
This picture was taken in the monkey forest in Ubud, Bali. This place is a crazy place where monkeys such as this long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) seem to be in charge. Photo by Delphine Casimir/The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

Junior category winner & People’s choice winner – Dispute

bird appears to point away from other birds stood on tree
A young greenfinch (Chloris chloris) seems to be having a heated argument with its parents. Photographed at Bialowieza forest, Poland. Photo by Jacek Stankiewicz/The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

Creatures of the air category winner – Unexpected plunge

Bird dives headfirst into water
An unusual and almost miserable end of a perfect moment, as a striated heron (Butorides striata) tries to catch a fish at the Zimanga Private Game Reserve, South Africa. Photo by Vittorio Ricci/The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

Creatures under the water category winner – Otter ballerina

Otter appears to trip while looking like ballerina
A smooth-coated otter is either doing a spot of ballet or tripping over, in this image taken in Singapore. Photo by Otter Kwek/The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

Overall winner – Air guitar roo

kangaroo plays air guitar
This western grey kangaroo is having fun playing some air guitar. Photographed in Perth, Australia. Photo by Jason Moore/The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

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