This week, check out the whimsical and haunting photo collages of Palo Alto artist Kathryn Dunlevie, catch the sixth annual Silicon Valley African Film Festival and hear bluegrass legend Alice Gerrard perform in Mountain View.
Art
‘Women of Mystery’
Original photographs meet, mix and mingle with historical and contemporary images in the work of Palo Alto artist Kathryn Dunlevie. In her new series of whimsical and sometimes haunting mashups, “Women of Mystery,” stylish women appear in a variety of settings: traipsing through giant banana fronds, lounging in chic boudoirs or floating high above distant cities. In almost every case, their faces are obscured, replaced by various objects: an orchid, a gyroscope, a tangle of ropes. A work from the series is currently on view at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. For more about the artist and to view her work, go to kathryndunlevie.com.
Books
‘A Month in the Country’
Its founder Tobias Wolff may have retired, but Another Look Book Club lives on at Stanford University. This Monday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m., the club will meet at the Bechtel Conference Center, Encina Hall, 616 Serra St. to discuss British novelist J.L. Carr’s “A Month in the Country.” The discussion is free to the public. Go to goo.gl/nRyJRC.
Film
African Film Festival
Mountain View’s Community School of Music and Arts, 230 San Antonio Circle, hosts the sixth annual Silicon Valley African Film Festival Oct. 16-18. Between Friday night’s opening ceremonies and Sunday evening’s awards, there’s a chance to catch the African marketplace, discussion forums, live performances and more than 25 film screenings. An all-access pass is $50; single day tickets are $20-$30. Go to svaff.org or call 415-774-6787.
Music
Piedmont Melody Makers
A legend in the bluegrass world, Alice Gerrard comes to Mountain View this Saturday, Oct. 17, with her Piedmont Melody Makers. The Masonic Lodge at 890 Church St. opens at 5 p.m. for a bluegrass jam; the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $12.50-$25. Go to rba.org.
Festival
LAST Festival
Life, Art, Science and Technology: those are the themes of the interdisciplinary LAST Festival, held at Stanford Oct. 16-18. The festival features multimedia art installations, talks from leaders in science and technology, live performances and more. Admission is free. Go to lastfestival.org.
Talk
Then Comes Marriage
Someone had to take down the Defense of Marriage Act. That someone was attorney Roberta Kaplan. On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Kaplan will appear at Palo Alto’s Oshman JCC to discuss her book, “Then Comes Marriage: United States v. Windsor and the Defeat of Doma.” Tickets are $10-$35. Go to goo.gl/9kF7Dy or call 650-223-8649.