The Salem Award Foundation will present the 16th annual Salem Award for Human Rights and Social Justice to Eric Reeves, who has spent years fighting to save thousands of lives in Darfur and to bring the Darfur genocide to world attention. A professor at Smith College, Reeves has published extensively in the United States and internationally. He has testified several times before the Congress, has lectured widely in academic settings and has served as a consultant to a number of human rights and humanitarian organizations operating in Sudan. His book about Darfur, A Long Day’s Dying: Critical Moments in the Darfur Genocide, was published in May 2007. Speaking with Reeves is Susannah Sirkin, Deputy Director, international policy and advocacy, for Physicians for Human Rights. Sirkin has led the organization’s Darfur Survival Campaign and traveled to Darfur in 2006. The Salem Award for Human Rights and Social Justice is given each year to keep alive the lessons of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and to recognize individuals whose commitment to social justice and human rights have alleviated discrimination and promoted tolerance.

The Wedded Bliss exhibition galleries will be open prior to the lecture from 6-8.

Sandy Schreier owns more than 10,000 museum-quality pieces of 20th-century French couture, American fashion and Hollywood costumes. At PEM, the author of Hollywood Gets Married and other books on fashion, discusses celebrity weddings and provides an insider’s look at the behind-the-scenes details of movie and real-life weddings-descriptions of the costume designs, photography, bridesmaids’ dresses, food, exploits of off-screen in-laws and wedding guests and, of course, the bride and groom. Schreier has designed costumes for The Supremes, accessories for Yves Saint Laurent and styling for Bette Midler. Her designs have appeared in Vogue and Bazaar magazines. She has discussed film fashion on Oprah and has been a guest on CNN and AMC, where she has appeared regularly since 1995. Schreier’s lecture is the first in our Wedded Bliss lecture series

A book-signing and reception follows.

Made possible by the George Swinnerton Parker Memorial Lecture Fund.

Nationally known outdoor photographer Gary Stanley thrills viewers with a multimedia presentation that feature outstanding photographs he has taken across the United States over the past 25 years. Stanley also shares ways to hone your own photography techniques the next time you encounter a memorable moment in nature. His work has been published in Outdoor Photographer, Popular Photography and American Photographer, and he is the author of the new book Image Preparation: The Key to Success!

Event is co-sponsored by Salem Sound Coastwatch.

Traditional letterpress printing has reemerged in the world of artists’ books, chapbooks and broadsides, as well as in the personal arena of wedding invitations and stationery. Learn the history and new traditions of the craft and try your hand at a letterpress under the guidance of Shelley Barandes owner of Albertine Press in Somerville, Mass.

Join curator Paula Richter as she explores the wedding as an impetus for creating art.

Join us for a lively and informative discussion on gay marriage with some of the best minds on the topic. Politicians, authors and sociologists discuss the new marriage law in Massachusetts, its effect on our communities and what impact the law has in furthering human and civil rights in America today.

Panel Members:

Massachusetts State Representative Byron Rushing, an original sponsor of the gay rights bill and the chief sponsor of the law to end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in public schools. A Graduate of Harvard and MIT, Representative Rushing’s priorities are human and civil rights and liberties; local human, economic and housing development; environmental justice; and health care.

Dr. Chrys Ingraham, author of White Weddings: Romancing Heterosexuality in Popular Culture and chair of the Sociology Department at the State University of New York at Purchase. Ingraham also served as an adviser to PEM’s Wedded Bliss exhibition and contributor to its catalog. Ingraham focuses on the role weddings play in popular culture constructions of gender, sexuality, race, social class and globalization.

Patricia A Gozemba and Karen Kahn,authors of the new book Courting Equality: A Documentary History of America’s First Legal Same-Sex Marriages. Patricia Gozemba is a professor of English and member of the Women’s Studies Department at Salem State College. Karen Kahn is former editor of Sojourner: The Women’s Forum, an activist, community-based, feminist newspaper. She also edited Frontline Feminism: Essays from Sojourner’s First 20 Years (1996). The two were married in September 2005 and live in Salem, Mass.

Dr. Robin Abrahams, author of the popular “Miss Conduct” social advice column for the Boston Globe. A Cambridge resident with a Ph. D. in psychology from Boston University, Abrahams has worked as a theater publicist, editor, stand-up comedienne and professor of psychology and writing. She is working on a book titled Mind Over Manners: Etiquette for a Diverse Society, to be published in spring 2009. Abrahams moderates the panel.

Visit Wedded Bliss, The Marriage of Art and Ceremony from 6-8 pm. The Atrium Café remains open until 8 pm for soup and sandwiches before the film and panel discussion.

Recommended for adults and children ages 8 and up.

John Paul Caponigro, renowned fine art photographer and contributing artist to Polar Attractions, shares personal experiences and humorous anecdotes from his journeys to Antarctica in 2005 and 2007, including encounters with leopard seals, penguins and icebergs. His background in painting and in traditional and digital photography yields captivating images of the Antarctic landscape and seascape. Caponigro engages participants in his artistic process by exploring the camera as a tool for discovery.

Made possible by Canon.

Lecture 1-2:15 pm, Morse Auditorium
Recommended for adults and children ages 8 and up

Experience summer above the Arctic circle with wildlife photographer Mark Wilson and naturalist Marcia Wilson as they show stunning images of the landscape and wildlife of the tundra and introduce live snowy and great horned owls. The Wilsons share their adventure paddling down the Canning River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, their seventh trip to the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic to document the richness and intensity of life during the brief Arctic summer.

Followed by a Drop-In Activity.

Made possible by the Lowell Institute and New Trade Winds/Echo.

During this drop-in activity you will see the live snowy and great horned owls up close. Explore a touch table of fascinating natural items from the Arctic, including musk ox horn and wool, caribou antler and more.

A presentation by photographer Mark Wilson and naturalist Marcia Wilson precedes the drop-in activity. The Wilson's share their adventure paddling down the CanningRiver in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Made possible by the Lowell Institute and New Trade Winds/Echo.

Polar Attractions contributing artist Nathalie Miebach creates one of her mixed-media polar baskets that incorporates moon, sun and tidal data into a unique sculptural piece. Miebach shares her artistic process with visitors, including how she goes about translating data points into three-dimensional weavings. Visitors are invited to handle examples of Miebach’s sculptures at various stages of development and to experiment with weaving reed on partially completed basket.

Made possible by the Lowell Institute.