Mid America First Call

Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in Seattle. The Saudi press posted photos of Bezos in an open-necked shirt and the prince, having shed his Saudi robes, in a Western suit and dark-red tie. Both men beamed as they talked business and investment opportunities. Bezos was among the prosperous and powerful Americans who met the crown prince during a three-week road show, which took him from Harvard to Hollywood and Houston. Along the way, the crown prince also schmoozed with Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, both former Presidents Bush, former President Bill Clinton, Kobe Bryant, Michael Bloomberg, Morgan Freeman, Henry Kissinger, Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson, and Richard Branson, among others. He wooed Google, Apple, Disney, Lockheed, Snapchat, and AMC.During Prince Mohammed’s stop in Washington, where he brokered billions of dollars in arms deals, President Trump said that Washington’s relationship with the House of Saud was “probably as good as it’s really ever been, and I think will probably only get better.” At each stop, M.B.S., as he’s widely known at home, was heralded as a reformer in one of the world’s most authoritarian states—and possibly even the face of the future Middle East.The bizarre disappearance of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has abruptly transformed the image of the desert kingdom and its crown prince, who has become its de-facto leader since his appointment, in June, 2017. On Sunday, the Washington Post, which Bezos owns, ran a full-page ad with a picture of the consulate’s front door. “On Tuesday, October 2 at 1:14 p.m. Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi entered the Consulate of Saudi Arabia,” it read, at the top. “He has not been seen since. DEMAND ANSWERS,” it said at the bottom.Khashoggi may have accomplished in his disappearance—and possible death—what he had tried to do for the past year from exile, in Washington: hold the kingdom, and ...

Work, Fight, Give: American Relief Posters of WWII offers a wide-ranging collection of original relief posters and memorabilia that provides an exciting new window on understanding a watershed event in our nation’s history. Work, Fight, Give is the first exhibition to challenge our traditional memory of World War II, putting relief efforts at the forefront through an array of visually exciting poster art, poster stamps (known as “Cinderellas”), photographs, banners, and programs issued by the various relief agencies and by the National War Fund—an agency created by Franklin Roosevelt in early 1942 to consolidate the hundreds of relief agencies that sprang up to aid those countries and peoples devastated by war. Work, Fight, Give: American Relief Posters of WWII opens Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018 at the Silent Wings Museum.This exhibition was curated by Hal Wert, professor of history at Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, MO, and organized by ExhibitsUSA, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. Work, Fight, Give: American Relief Posters of WWII will be on display Oct. 23, 2018 through January 13, 2019 at the Silent Wings Museum located at 6202 N. I-27 (exit 9). Regular business hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and Sunday, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Visit www.silentwingsmuseum.com or call 806-775-3049 for admission prices or to schedule a tour.Funding for this exhibition was generously provided by the CH Foundation.About ExhibitsUSAThis exhibition is toured by ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. ExhibitsUSA sends more than twenty-five exhibitions on tour to over 100 small- and mid-sized communities every year. These exhibitions create access to an array of arts and humanities experiences, nurture the understanding of diverse cultures and art forms, and encourage the expanding depth and breadth of cultural life in local communities. For more about ExhibitsUSA, email MoreArt@maaa...