The UC Davis Dining Services Marketing Department will be launching a series of short informational videos for the UC Davis student body, to be hosted by an energetic student.

The video series will encompass everything from dining to campus events and news. The primary focus will be to provide the information in a new and enthusiastic way, to engage audience members and promote campus awareness.

Auditions will be held in late November, with shooting to begin in early to mid December. For more information, contact Edris Bemanian at eabemanian@ucdavis.edu.

— Elizabeth Orpina

If Black Friday and Cyber Monday left you feeling unsatisfied, step outside for a sky-blue Sunday through Saturday to check out some of the holiday arts sales popping up around Davis this month.

The John Natsoulas Gallery and the UC Davis Craft Center are hosting silent auctions, while the Davis Art Center, the UC Davis Fashion and Design Society and the Pence Gallery are holding holiday sales.

The Natsoulas Gallery is holding their Holiday Gala on Dec. 8 from 7 to 10 p.m., which involves dance performances by the Linda Bair Dance Company, live music and a silent auction.

Expect to see works of all mediums made by popular artists favored by the Natsoulas Gallery, with prices starting at $10. And as long as you’re already there, the gift shop also has the Gallery’s selection of fine arts books, posters, prints and other artistic odds and ends.

The Davis Art Center is hosting their 22nd annual Holiday Sale from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, featuring hundreds of handmade items, 70 vendors vending, three rooms for crafting and one silent auction. The sale not only benefits the local artists, but also gives 15 percent of every item sold (priced from $2 to $200) to the Center itself, making it the largest fundraiser of the year.

Convenient for those wishing to get their shopping done between classes, 120 Cruess Hall 120 is opening its doors from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 7 for the UC Davis Fashion and Design Society’s Holiday Sale.

FADS has adopted the oft-repeated “Green is the new Black” slogan to create bags, scarves and other small products completely out of recycled material. The bags are up-cycled from university textile waste, and the scarves are colored with dyes that would have otherwise been poured down the drain.

Bags and scarves are $30 to $50, while the smaller products are $8 to $20. All proceeds go to FADS’ Picnic Day and San Francisco fashion shows. For more information, contact FADS at fadsociety@gmail.com.

Also on Dec. 7 is the 6 p.m. live auction at the UC Davis Craft Center, the grand finale to their 11th Annual Gallery Staff Show and Silent Auction. Bids can be placed at the ongoing silent auction at any time during the Center’s open hours. Up for auction are a wide range of artisanry, including mugs, hand-knitted sweaters and various decorative pieces. The average bid hovers around $7 to $10 and can be higher or lower depending on your competition. The pieces exhibited are all made by Craft Center staff, with all proceeds benefitting the Center.

The Pence Gallery is putting on its very own Holiday Market from Nov. 9 to Dec. 23 during open hours. They’ll be selling unique handcrafted gifts, such as woven scarves and steampunk mugs. In order to expose the Davis community to new items and artistic styles, contributing artists are not only from the surrounding Sacramento area, but from all across America. Proceeds from the $5 to $390 items go towards the Gallery’s exhibit costs and educational programs.

The Natsoulas Gallery is located at 521 First St. For more information, see the Facebook page for “John Natsoulas Gallery.” Hours of the Davis Art Center are noon to 7 p.m. on the Dec. 30, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 1st, and 10 a.m. to 5p.m. on the 2nd. The Davis Art Center can be found at 1919 F St. For more information, go to davisartcenter.org/sale. The Pence Gallery, located at 212 D St., also has a gift store en suite, featuring locally and regionally made pieces sold year-round. For more information, visit the Pence Gallery online at pencegallery.org.

TANYA AZARI can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

The ASUCD Aggie Public Arts Committee is currently looking for students to complete a mural in the ASUCD Coffee House. The mural will be of the chosen artist’s design, and it will be displayed on the walls behind the cash registers. All art equipment will be supplied.

The theme of the design should be based on the CoHo values of sustainability, student life and food. Submit designs electronically to aggiepublicartscommittee@gmail.com by Jan. 7. The winning design will be selected by the committee as well as the CoHo administration.

— Elizabeth Orpina

The new year is fast approaching, and it brings with it a slew of fresh ideas among the arts. Here in Davis, one of the staples of the film scene is the Davis Feminist Film Festival, which will hold its next iteration April 11 to 12.

The Festival first began in 2005 and is now entering its seventh year. According to the Festival’s official website, it began as a fundraiser for international internships with organizations run through the Gender and Global Issues Program (GGI), many of which were of the grassroots feminist, nonprofit variety.

When the Festival’s funding with the GGI ended in 2007, the Consortium for Women and Research at UC Davis, in which the GGI had been housed, sought out other partners on campus. The Festival has continued to grow ever since.

Andrew Ventimiglia, co-director of four years, explained the relationship between the festival and campus.

“The primary organizing goes on at the Consortium,” Ventimiglia said. “We have primary sponsorship with Film Studies, and we also have informal relationships with organizations such as the Women’s Resources and Research Center. We also do a little bit of work with Davis Media Access.”

The website describes the Festival as “a grassroots event that uses alternative media as a springboard for linking art to social issues.”

The Feminist Film Festival aims to showcase various independent films that span many genres, including documentary, narrative and experimental. According to the website, it also attempts to “explore perspectives often missing from mainstream media and culture,” especially the viewpoints of women and people of color. Organizers of the festival also hope to raise consciousness about gender, race and class.

Far from being restrictive in scope, previous festivals have included submissions from Sweden, Spain and Australia, from both men and women alike. Ranging anywhere from two minutes to over an hour, films such as You Shall Not Leave the Way from the Czech Republic tackle the tough issues and encourage viewers to think.

“We’re just getting submissions in now. Hopefully we get 100 submissions or more,” Ventimiglia said. “We also have a class that helps us curate the Festival. We also try to have a spotlight on local Davis and Sacramento area filmmakers.”

Ventimiglia also commented on the spirit of the event.

“The films determine the direction of each Festival. We’re trying to really establish the festival as a Davis city event. We continue to work toward strengthening the bond between campus and the city.”

The Festival is now accepting applications for 2013. The deadline to apply is Dec. 15. To submit an application and read more about the Festival, visit the Festival website, femfilmfest.ucdavis.edu.

BRETT BUNGE can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas is nearly a month away, but Downtown Davis has plenty of activities planned tonight for those of you still in the holiday spirit. Here are some of the highlights:

Davis Holiday Parade — Davis residents can head downtown to see the city’s holiday parade in addition to a festive tree lighting. These events will take place in the E Street Plaza starting at 6 p.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there to receive guests from 6:40 p.m. until 8:15 p.m. Other lively holiday characters are slated to show up as well.

Film Screening — Varsity Theatre, located at 616 Second St., will be holding free screenings of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The film is scheduled to play at 6 p.m., 6:40 p.m., 7:20 p.m., and 8 p.m. Those in the mood for some music can listen to the Grace Valley Choir, which will be performing outside the theater all evening.

Carriage Rides — John Brinley Properties is sponsoring free horse-drawn carriage rides throughout the evening. The carriages will depart every 10 minutes from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in front of the curb of Avid Reader at 605 Second St.

Downtown Window Decorating Contest — This contest, which features 16 Davis businesses competing for the best-decorated window of the holiday season, begins tonight. In the following two weeks patrons can cast their votes for their personal favorites online. Further information can be found on Davis Downtown’s official website.

ANTHONY LABELLA can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

AggieTV is looking for musicians to appear in a series that will showcase local musical talent through performances recorded live in a studio.

The auditions will be held from Friday to Sunday.

The series, which hasn’t been done before by AggieTV, plans to record artists in an intimate, acoustic context. They plan to release one performance a week online.

It can potentially feature bands, solo and a cappella performers.

The idea came into fruition when fourth-year clinical nutrition major Timothy Tran, the entertainment director for AggieTV, was browsing YouTube.

“I was thinking about how YouTube serves as an outlet for artists to show off their talent and how this is what people tend to watch,” Tran said. “I stumbled upon this series called AOL Live Music Sessions and it gave me this huge idea. We could have these intimate performances where we record Davis performers with high quality video and sound. We could show it to the world.”

Anna Oh, a third-year film studies major and the executive producer at AggieTV, is working with Tran on this project.

“There’s a lot of talent in Davis that is not easily seen or heard. There are a lot of students here who can show this talent off,” said Oh. “I feel passionately about music, and so we decided it was a good opportunity to start a series, reach out to people and to collaborate.”

Despite the fact that this hasn’t been done before by AggieTV, the staff feels prepared for the task.

“There’s always a challenge with a new series, but it doesn’t mean that we’re not up for it. There may be some difficulties, they’re nothing we can’t handle,” Tran said.

In addition to feeling prepared to take on this project, the staff is also excited to be challenged.

“It’s a new series and a new field of interest. Our staff is excited to do this. It will require a lot of commitment on their part but it should be more exciting than challenging,” Oh said.

The audition process will allow Tran to determine what the performers can offer as well as if they’ll have audience appeal. Despite this, Tran and Oh encourage anyone interested to apply.

“I would love to see more musicians sign up, even if they weren’t confident about their ability. The auditions will be super casual. It won’t be like ‘American Idol,’” Oh said.

Tran also offered encouraging remarks.

“If they can perform live at a reasonable talent rate, we will film them,” Tran said.

Jason Phillips, a second-year psychology major, plans to audition for the series.

“I heard about AggieTV Live Sessions from a friend and instantly gained an interest based on the idea of being able to share my style of music and passion for it with other students,” Phillips said. “This is a great opportunity to showcase myself and also see the other talent out there. There are not many opportunities to do so, so it’s exciting that one has come up.”

Stephen McKone, a third-year technocultural studies major and the creative director for AggieTV, designed a promotional flier which was posted on Facebook and on bulletin boards all over campus.

“I am really excited to see how the series will turn out,” McKone said. “I had to put a face to the concept, so I chose to have a faceless person performing on the flier. This emphasizes that it could be anyone on the show. It could be you.”

People who are interested in auditioning can sign up at bit.ly/aggietvmusic. For more information on this series and AggieTV, find them on Facebook at facebook.com/aggietvfan.

JOHN KESLER can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.XXX

Tonight, the Mondavi Center will host the Jogja Hip-Hop Foundation, a collective of Indonesian artists whose work successfully blends old Javanese culture with modern concerns, all within the frame of a global hip-hop language.

According to event coordinator Amanda Caraway, Jogja Hip-Hop Foundation is the first hip-hop group ever to perform at the Mondavi, and visitors can expect a more up-close experience than the main Jackson Hall auditorium would allow.

“They will perform in the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, which will be set up like a nightclub complete with [a] bar and tables,” Caraway said.

For students, the low-key atmosphere and reduced pricing provide an ideal setting in which to see the international act.

“Student tickets for this show are only $15,” Caraway said. “That’s the same price they would pay as a cover to see any band in a nightclub.”

The group, sometimes abbreviated as “JHF” for short, was formed in 2003 and hails from their namesake city of Yogyakarta, in the heart of Indonesia’s most populous island, Java.

It is more than 10,000 miles from the birthplace of hip-hop in The Bronx; yet through today’s social media, and through their singular talent, the JHF has bridged this wide geographic and cultural gap. Last year, they performed in front of American audiences for the first time in the famed New York Borough.

On Friday, the collective’s second visit to the U.S. will bring them to Davis, giving students and other visitors the chance to witness the stars at the forefront of Indonesia’s burgeoning rap scene.

Group leader Muh Marzuki (a.k.a. Kill the DJ), communicating from a tour stop in Arizona, was able to lend some insight into the group’s history and the scene from which it arose. He described how Indo-rap pioneers such as Iwa K and G-Tribe cultivated the music during the early ’90s, using Sundanese and Javanese language to put their own distinct claim on the genre.

“Nowadays, there are more than 50 hip-hop groups in Yogyakarta itself. The group [JHF] is composed of members from many other different groups,” Marzuki said.

Audiences can expect to see an accurate representation of the regional scene and the individual talents involved.

Explaining the group’s unique sound, Marzuki added details about incorporating tradition.

“We chose to combine our traditional culture with hip hop: We incorporate ancient poetry and literature in our lyrics, we use Javanese as the language and we also add gamelan and other traditional sounds in our music,” Marzuki said.

One of their more popular songs, entitled “Jogja Istimewa,” gets to the heart of what makes JHF unlike any other group. Marzuki explained that “Istimewa” means “special,” and it aptly describes the group and the area they come from.

Jogja, as Yogyakarta is also known, is the vibrant center of culture for Indonesia, home to gamelan music and a long-standing tradition of classical poetry. It is a fitting home for a hip-hop group that deftly weaves such traditions into a new style that’s instantly recognizable, but fully their own.

Suzanne La, the tour manager for JHF’s latest series of performances, talked about their charismatic performances and efforts to reach out to new audiences.
“It’s evident that they like to have fun, but they’re also passionate about their work,” La said. “They are genuinely curious and have a thirst for knowledge and community engagement that is a breath of fresh air.”

Those unable to attend the performance tonight will have the chance to see them again on Friday and Saturday, both at 8 p.m. For more information, visit mondaviarts.org or call the Mondavi ticket office at (530) 754-2787.

ANDREW RUSSELL can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.