In 1991, I didn’t anticipate the reactions of my art school peers when I told them I had been working as an “exotic dancer” for the past year and a half. Of course I knew that it was a somewhat transgressive job and might bring me some notoriety, but I hadn’t expected to be pitied, seen as exploited, or accused of false consciousness. And their image of what dancers were like didn’t match the women with whom I had worked.

Last year, the Weisman Art Museum became home to a few more friendly, fuzzy creatures. These critters reside high up in a sky-rise on East River Road, they have a wonderful view of the Mississippi River, and in their spare time, they enjoy buzzing around campus.

They’re native bees!

What does it meant to really, truly know water?  Not to know about it—but know it, learn with it, teach in it? These are some of the questions guiding the Ways of Knowing Water research collaborative, which began convening in December to explore new models for knowing and teaching water at the University of Minnesota and beyond.

When she joined WAM in 2011, shop manager and buyer Marissa Onheiber noticed a gap in student engagement. As WAM began to turn its focus to enhancing student membership and the collective, Onheiber decided that the shop window provided a perfect solution.

Jack Zipes, University of Minnesota professor emeritus of German and comparative literature, returned to campus Wednesday night to deliver a lecture in conjunction with WAM’s exhibition, The Wonderful World Before Disney. An acclaimed scholar of myth, folk, and fairy-tales, Zipes discussed the past and contemporary social and political roles of these stories, turning to his unique collection of international fairy-tale picture postcards for visual examination and evidence.