Sponsored by the college’s Multicultural Center, the Multicultural Alumni: Diversity in the Arts events are open to the public at no cost, but two events require RSVPs. For more information, please call 207-786-8376.

Open all weekend and beyond is the exhibit Two Sistahs Explore Double Consciousness in Their Postmodern Worlds, showcasing the artwork of NaKeisha Gumbs, a member of the class of 2007, and Tonya Taylor, of the class of 2002. The exhibit opens with a reception at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, in Bates’ Chase Hall Gallery, 56 Campus Ave, and runs through Oct. 3.

Gumbs received her bachelor’s degree in African American studies and in art and visual culture. She completed a graduate research program at the Ralph E. Bunche Center, University of California Los Angeles, where she researched the pedagogy of African American art as a form of social-justice education.

An award-winning film with a screenplay by Angela Perkins Palmer of the class of 2000, Spent! will make its debut at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Chase Lounge, 56 Campus Ave. A discussion follows the screening.

Spent! is the story of Cheryl Johnson, a woman who seems to have it all. But she also has a secret: a shopping addiction that soon gets out of hand.

At Bates, Palmer was active in radio and theater, and attended a French language program at McGill University, in Montreal. She worked as a production assistant in New York City for more than three years, gradually taking on positions such as production coordinator and assistant director. As a screenwriting fellow at the AFI Conservatory, she has had three of her short screenplays produced.

At 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, alumni discuss their cultural backgrounds and work in Pan Creolité: Alumni from Creole Cultures in Skelton Lounge, Chase Hall, 50 Campus Ave. Seating is limited to 40; RSVP required.

Presenters include Neeraj Mahadoo of the class of 2001, discussing Mauritius; Theresa Mendoza-Barbare ’00, discussing the Philippines; and Leanne Cunningham, ’08, discussing Jamaica.

The series culminates in the brunch and panel discussion Using My Head: Choosing the Scholarly Life at 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, in Room 221 of the New Commons Building, 136 Central Ave. Panelists include Stephen Gresham of the class of 2003, Tasha Hawthorne ’97, Sze-Wei Ang ’01 and Arda Gucler ’07.

Seating is limited and an RSVP is required.

Ang, an English and Chinese major at Bates, plans to study how urbanization, mandatory non-indigenous education and the desire of the Malaysian government to assimilate the Orang Asli into Malay culture threaten the cultural integrity and heritage of the Orang Asli. Ang will collect oral histories among the Semai tribe in the northern state of Perak, under the auspices of the Center for Orang Asli Concerns.

Phillips Student Fellows each receive grants of up to $10,000 for summer projects in service-learning, career exploration, research or some combination of the three in international and other culturally distinct settings. The Phillips Student Fellowships, along with the Phillips Faculty Fellowships and Phillips Professorships at Bates, are part of the Phillips Endowment Program, an ambitious initiative of awards, honors and opportunities for faculty and students funded by a $9-million endowment bequest to the college from former Bates President Charles F. Phillips, and his wife, Evelyn Minard Phillips, in 1999.

The Phillips bequest is believed to be the largest gift ever from a U.S. college president and spouse to his or her institution. The Phillipses, longtime Auburn residents, officially served Bates from 1944 through 1966; Charles F. died in March 1999 just months after the death of Evelyn M., his wife of 65 years.

Also named 2000 Phillips Student Fellows are Kathryn Dutille ’01 of Lebanon, N.H.; Margot Fine ’03 of Scarsdale, N.Y.; Kristin Hines ’02 of East Granby, Conn.; John Daniel Lichtman ’02 of Woodbridge, Conn.; Christian McTighe ’02 of Delmar, N.Y.; John Minor ’02 of Wilmington, N.C.; and Mindy Newman ’01 of Atlanta, Ga.

A dean’s list student student at Bates, Ang is a member of the varsity squash team, Sangai Asia and the college’s International Club. A graduate of SM Bukit Bandaraya, Ang is the daughter of Julie Tan and Ang Tian Phin of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.