A&E Digest

Elizabeth Schwyzer

Stanford produces a literary journal on mental health, Pacific Art League announces a new interim director and Google doodler Dennis Hwang receives the first Art Visionary Award.

THE ART OF WELL-BEING ... The Emotional Well-being Team of the Associated Students of Stanford University has announced the launch of a new literary arts magazine, "Release.Restart.Review." The magazine aims to focus attention on student mental health, and copies will soon be distributed on campus. The publication is the first part of a three-part initiative, which will include student-led workshops on using art for emotional catharsis and a live event featuring readings and art displays. To learn more about the journal, go to stanforddaily.com.

NEW LEADER FOR PACIFIC ART LEAGUE ... The Pacific Art League of Palo Alto has announced the sleectoin of a new interim executive director. Andrea S. Temkin comes to the 92-year-old nonprofit arts organization with an extensive background in nonprofit management, including leadership positions with the Peninsula Symphony Orchestra in Los Altos and the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View. Theo Keet, president of the board of pirectors at the Pacific Art League, praised Temkin's work as an arts advocate and her "strong connections to the community," noting that the board looks forward to "utilizing her extensive background in arts management, education and fundraising." Last month, the League announced the departure of Executive Director Seth Schalet, who accepted a position as CEO of the San Francisco-based national nonprofit, Prevent Blindness. To learn more, go to pacificartleague.org.

GOOGLE DOODLER GETS PROPS ... Ever wonder who's behind the whimsical cartoons that sometimes appear on the Google homepage? That would be Dennis Hwang, who was just an intern at the internet giant when he was asked to create his first "doodle." Soon, Hwang was appointed Google's chief doodler. On March 27, Hwang will be honored by Menlo Park-based arts nonprofit Art in Action as the first recipient of the Art Visionary Award for his contributions to art in society. The ceremony will take place at Art in Action's benefit event, OBJECT:ART, to be held at Mountain View's Computer History Museum from 6-9 p.m. Tickets are $100 on or before March 1 and $115 thereafter. For more information about Art in Action, go to artinaction.com

POETRY OF THE DISPLACED ... The director of Stanford's Creative Writing Program, Irish poet Eavan Boland, has published a new volume of poetry. Titled "A Woman Without a Country," Boland's collection examines questions of nationhood, identity and the experience of those who feel they do not entirely belong in the place where they live. According to the author, "This sequence is dedicated to those who lost a country, not by history or inheritance, but through a series of questions to which they could find no answer." The book is published by W. W. Norton & Company and is available online at books.wwnorton.com or amazon.com.

GOOD TIDINGS FOR ARTISTS ... A storage room at Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto has been transformed. Thanks to a $100,000 gift from the Good Tidings Foundation, a Bay Area nonprofit that supports art, education and athletics for youth from communities in need, the space was unveiled on Wednesday, Feb 25, as a brand new art studio. Following a 1 p.m. ribbon-cutting, the studio was immediately put to use by art students. To date, the Good Tidings Foundation has built 130 sports facilities and art studios, and has given out more than $1 million in scholarships to high school seniors who have shown a commitment to community service. To learn more about the organization, go to goodtidings.org.