Track Town Swing’s ‘Online Jazz Dance Party’; Emerald Art Center’s ‘Women of Uganda’

Floating into February on a misty cloud, Eugene-Springfield’s arts and culture scene brings a number of streaming and live exhibitions and performances to soak up that creative urge.

For a full listing of goings-ons, visit registerguard.com/events.

‘Online Jazz Dance Party,’ Track Town Swing

Track Town Swing brings the grooves back to Eugene this Thursday with a virtual dance party. With six hours of DJ’d boogie tunes, folks can Lindy Hop, Jitterbug and do the Charleston on a flexible schedule.

Instructors will step in to show jazz fiends some moves for a portion of the show. Otherwise, participants can watch and wiggle on Twitch and/or Zoom. Remember, it don’t mean nothin’ if you ain’t jumpin’. 

Track Town Swing’s “Online Jazz Dance Party” will run from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4. Free to join at facebook.com/events and at twitch.tv/tracktownswing. Visit the nonprofit at tracktownswing.com for more info and to donate/pitch in to the show. 

Erik Sandgren at the Karin Clarke Gallery and more with First Friday ArtWeek

As part of Lane Art Council’s “First Friday ArtWeek,” the Karin Clarke Gallery will continue showing Oregon artist Erik Sandgren’s paintings and woodprints in “Observed, Imagined and Remembered: the Northwest Landscape.” Consumers can talk with Sandgren live online Friday before or after checking out the show.

Originally from Corvallis, Sandgren grew up plein-air painting with his father, Nelson Sandgren, a noted painter and Oregon State University art professor. After almost 30 years serving as a one-person art department at Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen, Washington, Sandgren’s been based in Portland since 2017. In that time, the artist’s interest has evolved beyond replicating an observed scene to creating a unique landscape style animated by imagination and invention. Sandgren’s expressive and dynamic paintings and prints celebrate the Northwest’s diverse landscape.

This exhibit will remain up through Saturday, Feb. 27 at the Karin Clarke Gallery, 760 Willamette St. Sandgren will join the gallery for a Facebook Live artist talk at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 5. Free; 541-684-7963 or karinclarkegallery.com for details. 

Photography at Oregon’s ‘Women of Uganda,’ Emerald Art Center

Photography at Oregon at Emerald Art Center in Springfield will host New York photographer Dan Nelken to show in February. 

Nelken’s “HeadStrong: The Women of Rural Uganda” are portraits of Ugandan women in the midst of their working lives. Their shared Ugandan reality opens into each woman’s personal story of exploitation, survival and hope. Beside these portraits are the individual life stories that exist behind those portraits. Beatrice Lamwaka, an award-winning journalist and writer, collaborated with Nelken on this project to translate these short vignettes.