Dr. Jason Heaton (Professor of Anatomy in UAB's Department of Biology) will join Sidewalk for a post-screening discussion following our screening of The Martian on the evening of Tuesday, May 20th. Throughout his career, Dr. Heaton has taught a diverse range of courses in biology and anthropology and has enjoyed engaging with students at all levels. Dr. Heaton is especially interested in how The Martian highlights the human capacity to survive through ingenuity, cooperation, and emotional resilience. This film blends real science with timeless survival strategies–storytelling, routine, problem-solving, and global teamwork–that reflect how human adapt to extreme isolation and uncertainty. Please join us for our third and final installment of our Science on Screen series!

Film Synopsis: An astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive and can survive until a potential rescue.

Electromagnetic Field Gothic is a conceptual typeface project by artist and designer Ryan Meyer. What started as a mark-making style that visualizes the pervasive electromagnetic field, became a system of letterforms and symbols displayed as type specimens on wall objects. The drawings are made with bleach, staples, and graphite on black paper or fabric. As the bleach oxidizes the black dyes, it creates a chemical burn aesthetic that references a symbolic “burning sensation” from EMF exposure. For several years Meyer has been building a visual vocabulary around the themes of EMFs and artificial light. He is interested in the way they are thoroughly woven into both technological progress and the degradation of human and environmental health.

Meyer was raised between the suburban Deep South and the road. He received his MFA from the University of California at Davis and has shown work nationally and internationally. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Digital Media & Graphic Design at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His art practice is research-based and is constructed from diverse topics and experiences. He often uses various forms of storytelling, data visualization, and graphic design to examine themes of technology, ecology, health, decay, ruderality, and the Anthropocene. Learn more about Ryan Meyer at ryanmeyerart.com or on his Instagram page @ryanmeyerart.

Electromagnetic Field Gothic is latest show in BPL’s Art for Everyone series. The exhibition is made possible by a grant awarded to the Friends Foundation of the Birmingham Public Library by the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

Portraits of Ghosts features new works by artist Thomas Rooney, who works in the languages of overpainting, printmaking, and painting in order to explore the many facets of the human experience. According to Rooney, Portraits of Ghosts “is an exploration of interconnectedness and interdependence. I am interested in how the majority of oneself and one’s personality, their history and the consequences of their decisions and actions, is unobservable. Representing these invisible qualities, my work is an illustration of and metaphor for people’s interior worlds and intangible past actions, history, and relationships. Being an impression of an individual’s consciousness imprinted on a time and place, the word ghost serves as a descriptor for the unseen effects we cause and connections we develop and maintain.”

Thomas Rooney was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, where he currently resides. He received a BFA in printmaking from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In 2023 Rooney was the recipient of the John Dillon Scholarship in Printmaking and the Virgina Rembert Liles Scholarship at UAB. Portraits of Ghosts is Rooney’s first solo show. Learn more about Thomas Rooney at tprooneyart.com and @tomporoonopolis.

Portraits of Ghosts is latest show in BPL’s Art for Everyone series. The exhibition is made possible by a grant awarded to the Friends Foundation of the Birmingham Public Library by the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

Join Create Birmingham on Wednesday, May 21, at Forge for a timely conversation about the role of artificial intelligence in today’s creative and entrepreneurial spaces. Led by Parker J. Woodroof, PhD, Associate Professor of Marketing at UAB’s Collat School of Business, this workshop will offer a space for participants to share their thoughts and concerns about the growing presence of AI. Together, we’ll explore practical ways to embrace AI as a tool for building stronger, clearer value propositions for your business or creative practice.

As part of the citywide Sun Ra Celebration, Sidewalk will be screening Sun Ra's 1974 cult classic, Space is the Place.

Before the film, the Southern Music Research Center will share exclusive archival footage from Sun Ra's memorial service, held in Birmingham in 1993.

Film Synopsis: Avant-jazz mystic Sun Ra brought his pioneering Afrofuturist vision to the screen with this film version of his concept album. It’s a wild, kaleidoscopic whirl of science fiction, sharp social commentary, goofy pseudo-blaxploitation stylistics, and thrilling concert performance, in which the pharaonic Ra and his Arkestra lead an intergalactic movement to resettle the Black race on their utopian space colony.

Having taught for many years both at the University level and in the workshop environment I've been able to put together a formula that will show you my process in full detail. My first goal is to make you comfortable. This is your time and I am there to support that. For most people painting is a private process, doing so in a more public environment can create an anxious mind. I tend to try and keep things calm and will encourage you to let go of the fear of performance and embrace the act of creation in a relaxed environment. When working from life or photography my goal in every scene is to ask myself why I chose the subject and how do I convey that idea on paper. I start by breaking a scene down into its major elements and then allow myself the freedom to reorganize and adjust for as strong a composition as possible. I build on this using thumbnail sketches where I "play" with different versions of the scene. Once I am settled on a workable idea I begin the process of building the scene. I am known for saying a couple of things. First- never let reality get in the way of a good painting. Second- do not let a pencil line tell you where to put your brush. Thinking this way takes a little pressure off of the need to perform well from the start. We are so very good at seeing the bad things in our paintings and terrible at noticing the good bits. I want to show you how to avoid that distraction and plan a painting so that you understand as much as you can before starting in with paint. I cover as many different subjects as I can in each workshop. Skies, landform, water, reflections, the urban environment, all deserve attention so that I can give you a base of knowledge you can work from well after I have left the building. I don't want to create cadre of people that can paint in my style. I want to help you find your unique voice. You are the only one that can express the world in your way. I embrace that idea. I will of course show you tips and helpful ideas I've learned in my 25 year career. I will demonstrate how I work from the first scribble of a pencil to the final piece. It's all about embracing your creative side and learning to letting go of the little voice that tells you that you can't do it. My very best, Iain lain Stewart AWS / NWS is a Scots born watercolor artist and a signature member of the American and National Watercolor Societies among other state and international entities. He has also recently been inducted into the Whiskey Painters of America. His work has received numerous awards in international competition and hangs in many corporate and private collections. lain is a sought after watercolor instructor and juror and has been published in numerous books and periodicals. He has just finished production of his 5th instructional DVD. In 2021 his first book on painting; En Plein Air- Light and Color, was published. lain maintains a studio in Opelika, Alabama, and in addition to gallery work, is an Architectural Illustrator with an international clientele and has taught watercolor and design drawing at Auburn University where he received his degree. lain is an International Brand Ambassador for Escoda Brushes, Daniel Smith Watercolors, and Stillman & Birn Sketchbooks. Materials List Please note. In regard to the materials list it is wise to try and use as much of your existing supplies as possible. The following are what I use for painting- and everyone?s taste is slightly different there. You will need the Stillman and Birn sketchbook in either alpha or beta series. Hardbound or wire bound. We cannot replicate a paper?s reaction in different sketchbooks. You will need a couple of mop brushes mid sized for larger washes, a good springy pointed round for detail #8-14, and something smaller for detailed work. I also use a couple of flats at times. In most cases I can suggest ways to use what you already have to get the same results as I do. It?s rare that the materials are in control of what is happening on the paper. I use the following colors in artist?s grade tube paint. Whether you have these exact colors is of less importance than the way we think about mixing color and its strength. With a well rounded palette you can mix anything as long as you have decent primaries. My suggestion is not to go out and buy all the colors I have listed here with the exception of Winsor and Newton?s Burnt Siena or Daniel Smith?s Quinacridone Burnt Orange, Lavender, a decent dark like Neutral Tint and some Zinc White gouache. I mix many of my greens so some Quinacridone Gold is useful too. For me the first two colors are interchangeable- you just need a primary earth orange. My palette is based on earth tones and for each painting is fairly limited. If you have a well rounded palette we can mix colors that will work for you. Mixing colors with what you already have is a good exercise and I am rarely adamant about a certain pigment; value and temperature drives most of my decisions. Below is my full list of what I actually put to use. To go out and buy everything here is a significant investment and probably not necessary. I do suggest buying artist?s grade paint and the Escoda Perla is an excellent synthetic brush but, as with many materials, this is a personal choice and not exactly a must have. ? A sketchbook. I use a Stillman & Birn Alpha Series 9" x 11" hardbound sketchbook. If you already have a sketchbook it will be suitable as long as the paper can take watercolor. ? I use Arches or Saunders Waterford 140lb Cold Press or rough paper in addition to loose sheets of Stillman & Birn Beta series papers. Bring twice as much paper as you expect to use. We will typically work at 1/4 sheet and do at least one demo a day. ? A stretching board. I use masonite, or gator board and (Scotch brand) masking tape to affix the paper to the board. ? Drafting or masking tape 1? size ? A water holder and small spray bottle. ? A watercolor palette. I use a folding metal travel palette by Craig Young or the Holbein series flat palettes but the Mijello Fusion Airtight Watercolor Palette is a fine one (especially for Plein Air work) and inexpensive as are traditional round covered palettes. ? Paper towels- I use Viva, it?s extremely absorbent and works well. Do not use dyed or patterned towels Paint and Brushes ? Brushes- you will need a small, medium, and large watercolor brush. I recommend the Escoda Perla, Versatil, Ultimo series short handled rounds No's 14 and a Versatil 3/4" flat. A squirrel or synthetic mop No 14 or close to it. A small No. 4 round for detail. I also use a small palette knife. ? a brush carrier. I use a Cheap Joe's folding carrier but anything that will protect your brushes and not bend the points will work. ? Paint- I use primarily Daniel Smith Artist's watercolors. I do not suggest using student grade paint. The only difference is the amount of pigment used and your work will look much more washed out than mine.There are many manufacturers out there and I have tried most of them. Daniel Smith, Winsor and Newton, Holbein, M. Graham, Rembrandt, are all suitable. Full Palette (only as a suggestion- we can typically make your colors work. I do use the Quinacridone Orange and Cobalt blue quite a bit) Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints New Gamboge Lemon Yellow Raw Sienna Burnt Sienna - Winsor and Newton Light Red - Winsor and Newton Permanent Alizarin Crimson Cadmium Scarlet Imperial Purple Neutral Tint Cobalt Blue French Ultramarine Undersea Green Naples Yellow Greenish Yellow - Holbein Zinc White (gouache) Naples Yellow (gouache) additional colors- cobalt turquoise phthalo turquoise raw umber burnt umber winsor orange verditer blue lavender

Young John Connor (Edward Furlong), the key to civilization's victory over a future robot uprising, is the target of the shape-shifting T-1000 (Robert Patrick), a Terminator sent from the future to kill him. Another Terminator, the revamped T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger), has been sent back to protect the boy. As John and his mother (Linda Hamilton) go on the run with the T-800, the boy forms an unexpected bond with the robot.

Selected by projectionist Nick Ferlisi as part of our Blockbusters Through the Decades Staff Picks Weekend.

Based on the remarkable true story of working-class hero, Lilly Ledbetter, a hard-working Alabama tire factory supervisor whose singular goal is to lift her family into the middle class. Having grown up in poverty, she endures a work environment plagued by pervasive harassment for the sake of the best paycheck in the county. As retirement approaches, Lilly discovers that the system has been cheating her, paying her close to half of what the men with the same jobs are earning. Outraged, Lilly fights this injustice to the Supreme Court, the corridors of Congress and eventually The White House all while powerful forces try to shut her down. LILLY follows the transformation of an ordinary citizen into the face of an issue, illuminating the impact a single, courageous person can have.