July 10, 2025

Dear Alumni,

I hope you’re enjoying the summer months so far—at least as much as possible given the recent heatwave! My summer task is to write my dissertation prospectus, and luckily I can complete that work in air-conditioned libraries. I’ve also made time for some museum visits, including a trip to the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, which has a neat café that serves food and drink on ceramics from their collection. Please stay cool this July, and as always, feel free to share your latest news through the online form!

All best,

Julia Carabatsos (MA ’22)
alumni@bgc.bard.edu

Alumni Spotlight

Bridget Bartal (MA ’22), the MillerKnoll Curatorial Fellow at Cranbrook Art Museum, conducted research over the past three years for the exhibition Eventually Everything Connects: Mid-Century Modern Design in the US. The show is on view at Cranbrook until September 21, 2025. Cocurated with director Andrew Satake Blauvelt, the exhibition is accompanied by an expansive 464-page publication that features entries on more than 100 architects and designers. The catalogue also features essays by BGC alumni Andrew Gardner (MA ’15) and Monica Obniski (MA ’06). Congratulations, all!

Alison Stielau (MA ’08) will be a NOMIS Fellow at eikones, Center for the Theory and History of the Image, at the University of Basel from 2025 to 2026. She will spend the fellowship completing a manuscript on the fate of silver objects in the Thirty Years’ War. Well done, Alison, and happy writing!

A recent article in Fashionista profiling fashion historians highlights the work of Sonya Abrego (PhD ’16), who credits her time at BGC as a crucial and inspiring step in her career trajectory. Congratulations, Sonya!

Current director of rights, sales, production, and promotion in BGC’s Publications Department Alexis Mucha (MA ’06) led a study trip for twenty-one members of the American Friends of Attingham to Buffalo, New York, from June 5–8. Two BGC alumni joined the trip—Jennifer Klos (MA ’07) and Brandy Culp (MA ’04)—as did BGC photographer Bruce White. The tour featured stops at a garden restored by former BGC director of public programs Rebecca Allan, as well as Graycliff, where Anna Kaplan (MA ’11) serves as executive director. Sounds like a fabulous trip!

Select Career Opportunities

Submissions are open for an edited volume titled Craft Education: Teaching, Learning, Knowing, and Making Craft in the United States and Territories. This forthcoming publication will bring together essays, interviews, and primary source analyses that take craft education in the United States as their subjects. To be considered, submit a working title, 250-word proposal, 150-word bio telling us about yourself, and 50 words on your proposal via this Google Form by August 15, 2025.

The Department of Art History and Art at Case Western Reserve University invites current and recent graduate students to submit paper abstracts for the 51st Annual Cleveland Symposium, Love and Desire in the Visual Arts, by July 21, 2025. Held in partnership with the Cleveland Museum of Art as part of the joint program between CWRU and CMA, the symposium welcomes innovative research papers that explore themes of love and desire as manifested in any medium as well as in any historical period and geographic location.

The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University seeks a director of exhibitions and gallery curator. The Bernard and Lisa Selz Director of Exhibitions and Gallery Curator is responsible for curating exhibitions and organizing an outward facing program of events associated with each. Integral to this is building relationships with lending institutions and academic and curatorial colleagues in the US and overseas. The exhibitions director manages a small but highly skilled staff and works closely with other members of ISAW, including those responsible for finance, the building, digital projects, development, and events. A key part of the role is working with and training graduate students. They will be supported by an exhibitions committee on which faculty, staff, and students will be represented.

Gurr Johns seeks a research associate to provide administrative support to specialist appraisers and assist with all aspects of workflow including assistance with research, cataloguing, and organization. Find more information at the attached posting.

For more opportunities please visit the BGC job board.

username: career.services@bgc.bard.edu
password: CareersBGC2024-5*=*

Select Internal Events

Public programming at BGC has concluded for the academic year. Please check back for updated event listings in the fall!

Select External Events

BGC alum and member of the education team at the Frick Collection Samuel Snodgrass (MA ’22) will host a drop-in drawing session in the galleries on Friday, July 25, from 6 pm to 8:30 pm. The event will draw inspiration from the Frick’s current exhibition Vermeer’s Love Letters.

Shop the BGC Store!

Visit our online store at store.bgc.bard.edu for 40% off all items. Enter code ALUMNI at checkout to receive the discount.

Sign up for Gaggle!

Gaggle.mail is an opt-in list-serv that serves as a place to share job openings, conference attendance, published books/articles, and exhibition openings directly with fellow alums. It’s a communication forum for alumni, by alumni. To circulate your news in the Gaggle group, send an email to bgcalumni@gaggle.email.