1708 Gallery is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition, Imprints for a Fleeting Memorial, on view from February 18 through March 31.

You are invited to join the celebration on Friday, March 2 from 5 until 9 pm for the First Fridays reception for Columbian artist Oscar Muñoz  from   See 17o8gallery.org for more details.

Community Conversations is a series of monthly public meetings as part of the 'Future of Richmond s Past' initiative, a local effort to engage audiences in a dialogue about the region s past and how that past can positively shape our future. This month's conversation will be about Chesterfield county, and will feature George Fickett, who will dicuss how the county's civil war history affects it's future.
It will be held on Thursday, March 1 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Magnolia Grange located at 10020 Iron Bridge Road.

History Ink: The Tattoo Archive Project
Famous for cataloging all things River City, the History Center is venturing into a different kind of historical archiving – tattoos. Given that Richmond is the No. 3 most tattooed city in the nation, the History Center is expanding our horizons and archives to include Richmond tattoos. Local photographers will be accepting appointments for photographs to be taken through the rest of winter and into spring.  If you have a tattoo inked by a Richmond artist and would like to be considered for an initial appointment, call (804) 649-0711 ext. 322, or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
or complete an online submission form at bit.ly/rvatattoo

Do you like science, technology, robots and legos? Then you might enjoy VirginiaFIRST, FIRST Tech Challenge Championship

on March 3rd, from 10 am until 6 pm at the Arthur Ashe Center.

For more information, visitwww.virginiafirst.org.

Gambian master musician Alhaji Pappa Susso presents an evening of kora (African harp-lute) music and oral history. Free.
Friday March 16th. 7:30 PM. International Commons. Weinstein International Center. 52 Richmond Way, University of Richmond. More info: 860-989-4707,[email protected]

The annual Peace Essay contest sponsored by the Richmond Peace Education has begun.  The theme for this year’s contest focuses on the importance of justice for all, as addressed in both the Pledge of Allegiance and Pope Paul’s famous statement, “If you want peace, work for justice.”   The contest is open to any elementary, middle, or high school student in Virginia.  This year’s prompt asks students to consider why “justice for all” so important, and how treating everyone fairly would help create a more peaceful world.   Students are asked to find examples from history or current events to support their ideas, and to think about how they might work towards greater justice in their own life and in their community and world

The deadline for entries is April 23, 2012.  Entry forms, along with contest rules and a conplete description of the writing prompt are available at www.rpec.org, or by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)