Category: Events

2021 Raglan Shire Artwalk: call to artists

Posted on by Inara Pey
Raglan Shire Artwalk 2020

The Raglan Shire Artwalk is one of the staples of the SL art calendar, and for 2021 the 16th Artwalk will take place between Sunday, May 16th and Sunday, June 20th, inclusive.

A popular event among artists and residents, the Artwalk can see over 150 artists displaying their work – 2D and 3D – across the regions of Raglan Shire. All the displays are open-air, with 2D art is displayed on hedgerows in and around the regions, while sculptures and 3D art is displayed in a number of designated areas, all of which allows visitors to both appreciate the art and explore the Shire regions.

A Call For Artists for the 2021 event has been issued for those wishing to participate, and key points about the exhibition are as follows:

  • It is a non-juried show.
  • Artists can display more than one piece if they wish.
    • 2D (“flat” art pieces will be awarded a maximum of 15 LI, and individual pictures should be 1 prim, including the frame.
    • 3D art (sculptures, etc.), will be awarded a maximum of 500 LI for up to three pieces of work. Artists are requested to state the LI per piece in their application.
    • Sales of art are allowed.
  • Types of art supported by the show are: representations of RL photography, painting, drawing, printmaking, collage, and digital fine art that can be displayed on a prim;  and SL photography, manipulated SL photography and SL sculpture.
  • Pictures of RL crafts, such as beadwork, leatherwork, etc., are not part of the show’s  definition
  • All the above art forms are welcome, but should be rated PG / G – so no nudity, please!
  • Group membership will be required in order to display work.
  • Tip jars are not allowed.
  • Questions and enquiries should be forwarded via note card to Artwalk Director Karmagirl Avro, or Artwalk Assistants Kayak Kuu, Linn Darkwatch, or RaglanShireArtwalk Resident.

Those wishing to display their art should complete and submit the Raglan Shire Artwalk 2021 Registration Form by no later than 21:00 SLT on Sunday, May 9th, 2021.

Raglan Shire Artwalk 2020

Event Dates

  • Sunday, May 9th: applications close at 21:00 SLT.
  • Tuesday, May 11th: Notification of exhibit space location issued to artists – note that hedgerow space for 2D artists is on a “first come, first serve” basis.
  • Friday, May 14th (after 09:00 SLT) and Saturday May 15th: Artist set-up days.
  • Sunday, May 16th: Artwalk Opens.
  • Sunday, June 20th: Artwalk closes.
  • Sunday, June 20th (after 21:00 SLT) through Tuesday, June 22nd: takedown of works.

Related Links

First contacts, strange homes, tigers and poems

Posted on by Inara Pey
Seanchai Library

It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home in Nowhereville, unless otherwise indicated. Note that the schedule below may be subject to change during the week, please refer to the Seanchai Library website for the latest information through the week.

Monday, April 19th: 19:00 The Mote in God’s Eye

In the year AD 3017, humanity is recovering from an interstellar civil war that tore apart the first Empire of Man. The Second Empire is busy establishing control over the remnants of its predecessor although some worlds don’t appreciate bring brought to heel. Following the quashing of a rebellion on New Chicago, Commander Roderick Blaine is given temporary command of the battlecruiser INSS MacArthur, and charged with transporting the suspected leader on the New Chicago uprising Empire’s centre, the planet Sparta.

The route takes the MacArthur to the New Caledonia system, where she is ordered to intercept a sub-light vessel that appears to come from a yellow star referred to as the Mote, as from New Celedonia, it sits in front of a massive red star, like a mote in an eye.

Unfortunately, the encounter with the alien vessel does not go well. But has a result, the MacArthur is dispatched to the Mote alongside of the battlecruiser Lenin, charged with trying to establish first contact with the race the built the sublight ship – whom humans have nicknamed “Moties”. 

Arriving at the star, the human ships find a race far more technically developed than had been thought, and old enough to have developed into a series of highly-specialised sub-species. Thus begin an fascinating tale of first contact between races, one that encompass a range of dances – political, strategic, and more – in which motives are varied and secrets hidden. 

Gyro Muggins reads the classic sci-fi novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.

Tuesday, April 20th

12:00 Noon: Russell Eponym, Live in the Glen

Music, poetry, and stories.

19:00: Neil Gaiman’s Coraline

When the Jones family move into a Victorian house that has been converted into a set of flats, and her parents always busy and wrapped in their work, young Coraline sets out to discover all she can about her new home.

Along the way, she meets a pair of retired actress sisters, an old man trying to train a mouse orchestra, and a door that, unlike all the others that lead somewhere, oddly opens onto a brick wall.

Until the day it doesn’t, and instead opens onto a hallway leading to another world.

It’s a world just like her own, but also very different. The flat she enters looks just like her own, the neighbours are just like those she has met – but oddly younger – and the mother and father she finds within the “other “home dote on her: marvellous toys, magical books and wonderful food.

This other home and the parents within it are all that Coraline has ever wanted – until her other mother tells her she can stay and live forever – if she will have buttons sewn into her eyes. Scared by the request, Coraline returns to her real home, only to find her parents now gone. Realising they have been taken by her “other mother”, she realises she must return along the hallway and risk her future in order to rescue them.

With Willow Moonfire.

Wednesday, April 21st, 19:00: When You Trap a Tiger

When Lily and her family move in with her sick Halmoni (grandmother), a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni’s Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history.

Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers and now the tigers want it back. So the tiger visiting has arrvied with an offer for Lily: return what Halmoni stole in exchange for the return of her health Halmoni’s health.

It is a tempting offer; but deals with magical tigers are not always what they appear to be. So Lily must, with the help of her sister and her friend Ricky, find her voice and her courage, and face whatever trickery the tiger may conjure.

Caledonia Skytower reads the 2021 2021 Newbery Medal winning story by Tae Keller.

Thursday, April 22nd

19:00: Revisiting the Poetry of the Planets

Caledonia shares Holst’s music and the poetry written and submitted as part of her 2017 LEA project, in the Glen.

21:00 Seanchai Late Night

Late night contemporary sci-fi and fantasy with Finn Zeddmore.

CVL celebrates 15 years in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Community Virtual Library, Second Life

Sunday, April 18th will see the Community Virtual Library celebrate its fifteenth anniversary with the opening of their new in-world library building and resource centre.

Founded in 2007, the Community Virtual Library (CVL) carries the tag line of “a real library in a virtual world”, and is affiliated with the American Library Association. As a library, it includes all of the facilities you might expect: the ability to select and read books on a wide range of subjects (courtesy of the Gutenberg project) and categorised as one would find in a physical world library; a reading room, resources to help with research, links to world literature presented by country / language that reflects the international nature of Second Life, and so on.

However, CVL is far more than just a virtual reproduction of a physical world library – it is a community hub offering opportunities and resources for learning, resource-sharing, and exploration. It offers facilities and presents opportunities for CVL members and affiliated groups to mount exhibitions and presentations and hold events and meetings. It also connects with library communities throughout Second Life, bringing together digital citizens with the information and resources they seek, and provides support to educators and educational organisations.

Community Virtual Library

CVL’s Full region provides a range of facilities operated directly by CVL and also by affiliated groups, offering a rich mix of literature and arts, and is a core member of the IRC 501(c)3 non-profit New Media Arts Inc. In addition to a presence in Second Life, CVL has also extended into various virtual worlds utilising OpenSimulator, including 3DWebWorldz, Avacon, CybaLOUNGE, and Kitely, either by establishing a dedicated facility within these worlds or by partnering with libraries already operating within them.

To mark CVL’s 15 years of operation and the opening of the new library building, there will be a special 2-hour event visitors and CVL members alike are invited to attend. Commencing at 12:00 noon SLT, on Sunday, April 18th, 2021, it will include opportunities to tour the new building and hear from staff and volunteers about CVL’s history and future plans.

SLurl Details

Community Virtual Library (Cookie, rated Moderate)

Virtual Ability: mental health awareness in Second Life 2021

Posted on by Inara Pey
Virtual Ability Island

The Virtual Ability community in Second Life is hosting its tenth annual Mental Health Symposium on Friday, April 16th, 2021. The theme for this years even is Mental Health in Trying Times, focusing on mental health in the age of the pandemic.

The symposium will once again feature an international group of presenters offering a wide interpretation of the theme, based on their interests and academic backgrounds.

Virtual Ability Inc  (VAI) and the Virtual Ability community hosts this annual Symposium to share information about mental health and mental disabilities with the general population. Within this cross-disability community are people who deal with a variety of mental health issues. So, not only is this an opportunity for community members to learn more about topics related to mental health from experts they probably would not have an opportunity to otherwise meet, it also  allows the general public to attend a professional conference for free.

Sojourner Auditorium

The schedule is as follows (all times SLT):

  • 07:00-08:00: Clara González Sanguino, Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) – the impact of Covid-19 on our mental health. A longitudinal study from the beginning of the pandemic to the return to the new normality in Spain.
  • 08:30-09:30: Laura Ritchie, University of Chichester Conservatoire, UK, and Daniel P Cervone, University of Illinois, will share their research Projects pursued and abandoned: Pandemic reactions of care & coping.
  • 10:00-11:00: Catherine Ettman, Boston University School of Medicine – the prevalence of depression symptoms in US adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 11:30-12:30:  Tom Boellstorff, University of California, Irvine, and students Evan Conaway and Sandy Wenger discuss their research on the impact of Second Life and Animal Crossing during the COVID pandemic.
  • 13:00-14:00: Ryan Schultz, Sciences and Technology Library, University of Manitoba, Canada – Acedia During the Coronavirus Pandemic: A 5th-Century Term for a 21st-Century Problem.
  • 14:30-14:30: Mark Czeisler, Monash University, Australia, Mental health, substance use, and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic—disproportionately affected populations.

Sessions will also be available on the Virtual Ability You Tube channel.

The Symposium takes place in Virtual Ability’s Sojourner Auditorium, on Virtual Ability island and full information can be found here.

About Virtual Ability

Virtual Ability, Inc. is a non-profit corporation, chartered in the state of Colorado, USA.  We are a non-profit tax exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. This means that for US citizens, contributions made are deductible as a charitable donation for federal income tax purposes.

For further information on the board of directors, please visit the Virtual Ability About Us page. If you wish to keep up with Virtual Ability news and updates when on the move, you can follow them on Twitter.

With thanks to Gentle Heron for the information.

Related links

Aliens, doppelgängers, magical tigers and poetry

Posted on by Inara Pey
Seanchai Library

It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home in Nowhereville, unless otherwise indicated. Note that the schedule below may be subject to change during the week, please refer to the Seanchai Library website for the latest information through the week.

Monday, April 12th: 19:00 The Mote in God’s Eye

In the year AD 3017, humanity is recovering from an interstellar civil war that tore apart the first Empire of Man. The Second Empire is busy establishing control over the remnants of its predecessor although some worlds don’t appreciate bring brought to heel. Following the quashing of a rebellion on New Chicago, Commander Roderick Blaine is given temporary command of the battlecruiser INSS MacArthur, and charged with transporting the suspected leader on the New Chicago uprising Empire’s centre, the planet Sparta.

The route takes the MacArthur to the New Caledonia system, where she is ordered to intercept a sub-light vessel that appears to come from a yellow star referred to as the Mote, as from New Celedonia, it sits in front of a massive red star, like a mote in an eye.

Unfortunately, the encounter with the alien vessel does not go well. But has a result, the MacArthur is dispatched to the Mote alongside of the battlecruiser Lenin, charged with trying to establish first contact with the race the built the sublight ship – whom humans have nicknamed “Moties”. 

Arriving at the star, the human ships find a race far more technically developed than had been thought, and old enough to have developed into a series of highly-specialised sub-species. Thus begin an fascinating tale of first contact between races, one that encompass a range of dances – political, strategic, and more – in which motives are varied and secrets hidden. 

Gyro Muggins reads the classic sci-fi novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.

Tuesday, April 13th

12:00 Noon: Russell Eponym, Live in the Glen

Music, poetry, and stories.

19:00: Neil Gaiman’s Coraline

When the Jones family move into a Victorian house that has been converted into a set of flats, and her parents always busy and wrapped in their work, young Coraline sets out to discover all she can about her new home.

Along the way, she meets a pair of retired actress sisters, an old man trying to train a mouse orchestra, and a door that, unlike all the others that lead somewhere, oddly opens onto a brick wall.

Until the day it doesn’t, and instead opens onto a hallway leading to another world.

It’s a world just like her own, but also very different. The flat she enters looks just like her own, the neighbours are just like those she has met – but oddly younger – and the mother and father she finds within the “other “home dote on her: marvellous toys, magical books and wonderful food.

This other home and the parents within it are all that Coraline has ever wanted – until her other mother tells her she can stay and live forever – if she will have buttons sewn into her eyes. Scared by the request, Coraline returns to her real home, only to find her parents now gone. Realising they have been taken by her “other mother”, she realises she must return along the hallway and risk her future in order to rescue them.

With Willow Moonfire.

Wednesday, April 14th, 19:00: When You Trap a Tiger

When Lily and her family move in with her sick Halmoni (grandmother), a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni’s Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history.

Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers and now the tigers want it back. So the tiger visiting has arrvied with an offer for Lily: return what Halmoni stole in exchange for the return of her health Halmoni’s health.

It is a tempting offer; but deals with magical tigers are not always what they appear to be. So Lily must, with the help of her sister and her friend Ricky, find her voice and her courage, and face whatever trickery the tiger may conjure.

Caledonia Skytower reads the 2021 2021 Newbery Medal winning story by Tae Keller.

Thursday, April 15th 19:00: Poetry This Year

Caledonia Skytower shares this year’s student chosen poems from the program that she coordinates for her State as part of her physical world job.

SL18B registrations reminder: volunteers, exhibitors and performers

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

June is fast approaching, and with it, the 18th anniversary of Second Life being open to the public – an event market by the Second Life Birthday celebrations.

The Birthday will this year run from Thursday, June 17th through until Thursday, July 1st. As I’ve previously reported, exhibitor applications opened on Friday, March 19th.

More recently, applications for volunteers to fill the roles of greeters, hosts, or stage crew for the entertainment were opened, and on Friday, April  9th, applications for those wishing to perform at the event also opened.

Are you a DJ who can spin up a great party set? You might be one of the grid’s amazing Dance companies, or perhaps you’re a Particle Performer! Whatever your medium, we would love to hear from you. 
Fill out the official performer application form by May 28th and tell us a little about how you roll, and one of our Event Staff Leaders will contact you soon.

– from the official Second Life blog post call for performers.

The theme for this year’s celebrations is simply given as “Hidden Worlds”, with the Lab noting:

Your exhibit does not need to stay in theme. If you are inspired by the thought of the hidden worlds around you, show us! Or, share your Second Life passions with us. Your interests. Your communities. Your worlds! Every year we celebrate because of you, the amazing and creative Residents, who have chosen to call Second Life home. What has drawn you into this world and what keeps you here? This year at the eighteenth annual Second Life Birthday, show us what fuels your Second Life and inspires you. Let’s go exploring!

Those wishing to participate as performers, volunteers or exhibitors can find the relevant application forms and requirements / policies / guidelines at the end of the following links:

Note that all of these applications will close on Friday, May 28th, 2021.