This letter was sent out to those top Gallatin students who earned the grades necessary to land them on the Dean’s Honors List (3.85 GPA, among other things). We hope the deep irony of this is not lost on the good people in the Gallatin administrative offices.

You still have two more days to check out Chaos & Order: Art as Survival the 2010 Gallatin Arts Festival that “explore[s] art as a tool for reaction, interaction, dismantling, and healing within the aftermath of disaster.” Whether that refers to the crazy shit that’s going on with this stray Icelandic volcano ash, the disaster that was your 2009-2010 school year, or perhaps your recent breakup, is up to you, as festival uses the term to represent everything from “inner turmoil” to “global strife.”

The first room is full of a circle of blanket-covered chairs, next to Gallatin student Tali Weinburg’s giant loom, where you can sit and contemplate art, and what it means to be cuddly and soft in contrast to the urban hardness that is all around us. (My interpretation). Snuggling opportunities continue in the installation in the far end of the gallery, which houses a path lined in jars with white feathers in them, and 3 televisions playing videos that represent sexual abuse.

Besides this piece and the other paintings and photographs on view (Shraddha Borawake did some really cool things with rear-view mirrors and photos of India), there are still a few performances taking place before the fest is up, presented by the Jerry H. Labowitz Theater for the Performing Arts.

Tonight – Thursday 4/22/10
7 PM
Chaos & Order Live:
Performances featuring the work of Karen Zasloff, Jessica Lewis, Jade Hawk, Darrian O’Reilly, Rachel Sharp, Ryan P. Casey and Carley Reiff. Read more…

All you stylistically-vegan kids better not miss tonight’s Gallatin Conversations in Context panel discussion on, I kid you not, “Hipster Culture and Its Legacies.” Meditate on the important questions that have always plagued you about your existence like, “What is a hipster (or bohemian or outsider or the avant-garde)? How do different historical contexts give rise to this kind of character? What are changing standards of cool? What is the impact of the ‘hip’ on broader literary and visual culture?”

The fun goes on from 6.30pm till 8pm at the Jerry H. Labowitz Theatre for the Performing Arts, 1 Washington Place. The panel (in flannel? please, please!) will include professors Stephen Duncombe, Nina Cornyetz and Hallie Franks, and will be moderated by Becky Amato.

(Image via)

Today at 4 PM, check out the Gallatin Club Fair in the lobby of the Gallatin building Full monty the download. You can find lots of fun activities to fill your currently empty schedule. Particularly intriguing are Gallatone (a record label), the Gallatin Cinema Society, and the Gallatin Coloring Club. I wonder if that’s paint-by-numbers or coloring books oriented. Sounds fun either way.

The festivities last until 6 PM and there will be free pizza. At least for a while.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user tinatinatina, used under CC license.

In an apparent bid to keep students from turning to adderall and razor blades as finals approach, Gallatin is offering free pre-finals yoga this Thursday from 6 Barbie as the princess and the pauper download.30-8.00pm. Taught by Abby Rosenbaum, a former Gallatin students of “integrated studies of the mind and brain,” this adorable little activity will further aid Gallatin in turning its students into full-fledged tree huggers.

More info about how to sign up after the jump… Read more…