Dear Alumni,

If anyone is looking to lose themselves to an engrossing historic document from the 1990s, look no further than Beckham–the new Netflix documentary series about David (and sometimes, Victoria) Beckham. The first two episodes are everything you’d want, even if the narrative is highly controlled by the Beckhams themselves. Take, for example, the Spice Girls protecting David like a “wool blanket” in New York City in the immediate fallout of the 1998 World Cup. Victoria is an obvious comedic and heartfelt highlight, which is why I was disappointed that her numerous endeavors leading up to her fashion line did not get more air time. Perhaps there will be a Part II to Beckham that creates more balance? A girl can dream!

Speaking of dreams, please feel free to share your news, either by using the online form, or by emailing the alumni gmail account. 

With gratitude,
Rachael Schwabe (MA ‘20)
alumni@bgc.bard.edu

Select Career Opportunities

Vernon Press invites scholars to submit book chapter proposals for an upcoming scholarly volume on the representation of marginalized populations in collections and exhibitions of dress, edited by Kenna Libes (BGC PhD Candidate).

The Department of Art History and Archaeology at Washington University in St. Louis is seeking papers for its 2024 Graduate Student Art History Symposium, “Making Contact: Haptic, Temporal, Spatial, and Conceptual Connections” taking place in St. Louis February 23–24, 2024. 

Alfred University has opened a search for a tenure track faculty position in Art History specializing in modern art with attention given to material culture, design, and/or craft in a global context from 1800–1945 at the rank of Assistant Professor.

Indiana University’s Institute for Advanced Study is accepting applications for the 2024 Repository Research Fellowship. Application materials are due by November 12. 

The Society of Architectural Historians has issued a call for paper proposals for “Minding Her Business: Women, Architecture, and Design” taking place in Dublin, Ireland June 13–15, 2024. Proposals are due by December 4.

The Graduate Visual Culture Association at Queen’s University is seeking submissions for a graduate research conference emphasizing time and the intersections of the past with the present. This hybrid conference will take place February 9–10, 2024. Proposals are due November 20. 

The Center for Craft invites applications to their annual Craft Archive Fellowship. Application materials are due by December 6.

Rutgers University’s 14th Annual Art History Graduate Student Organization Symposium is accepting abstracts for “Uncovering the Senses: Immersion, Performance, and Sensoriality in Art” taking place April 19, 2024. Abstracts are due by January 16. 

The School of Design within the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University is looking to hire a Professor of Practice to join their professionally-oriented program in Museum Studies.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum seeks a Studio Programs Assistant Manager.

For more job listings please visit the BGC job board.

Username: career.services@bgc.bard.edu
Password: CareersBGC2023*=*

Select BGC Events

The Hidden Treasure
Thursday, November 2
6 pm (In Person)
Portable Tombs of Memory: The Ringelblum Archive as a Collection of Objects is a three-part lecture series by Bożena Shallcross. It explores the Ringelblum Archive as a collection of material objects that informs our perception of the “bare everyday” during the Jewish genocide, the question of the material durability and fragility of objects, and the methods of preserving their materiality. In the first lecture, “The Hidden Treasure,” Shallcross discusses the discovery of the archives in the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto and briefly narrates the concept of the Oneg Shabbat as an archival project according to which every object taken “from within” the extreme conditions of the Ghetto under siege has a historical significance. She analyzes how these material paper objects, hidden inside rusty and ugly containers, revealed an enormous testimonial value and she compares this paradox to the ancient Greek habit of keeping precious objects (agalmata) in unassuming containers.

Rust and Mold
Thursday, November 9
6 pm (In Person)
Portable Tombs of Memory: The Ringelblum Archive as a Collection of Objects is a three-part lecture series by Bożena Shallcross that explores the Ringelblum Archive as a collection of material objects that informs our perception of the bare everyday during the Jewish genocide, the question of the material durability and fragility of objects, and the methods of preserving their materiality. In the second lecture, “Rust and Mold,” Shallcross analyzes the (mal)function of the containers she discussed in the first lecture in the series, their material state and the enormous conservation challenges that followed the Ringelblum Archive’s discovery. The restoration of its contents is presented as an ongoing project that defies prevailing narratives of wartime material precarity and total loss.

Sightline: JJJJJerone Ellis
Wednesday, November 15
6 pm ET (In Person)
In the spirit of the exhibition title—SIGHTLINES on Peace, Power, and Prestige: Metal Arts in Africa—Bard Graduate Center (BGC) has invited writer and critic Jessica Lynne, novelist Maaza Mengiste, composer JJJJJerome Ellis, and choreographer Okwui Okpokwasili to create their own sightlines—ways of seeing the exhibited artworks through time, form, and space.

Select Virtual and In-Person Events in the World

Snug as a Bug: American Embroidered Bed Rugs
Bayou Bend Collections and Gardens 
Saturday, November 4
2 pm CT (In Person and Virtual)
In colonial America, bed rugs were the most common type of bed covering. Although the majority of bed rugs were professionally woven and were imported from England, some women chose to make their own. In New England, women embroidered their bed rugs. This lecture explores the designs, makers, domestic economy, and politics expressed in these beautiful woolen bed covers. New London County, Connecticut, which produced more than half of all American embroidered bed rugs, is the origin of two bed rugs recently acquired by Bayou Bend.

NMAA x CFCH Artisan in Residence: Kolam Demonstration with Shanthi Chandrasekar
National Museum of Asian Art
Sunday, November 5
3–5 pm ET (In Person)
During NMAA’s Diwali Festival, watch Chandrasekar and her daughter Aishwariya demonstrate Kolam, the art of creating beautiful patterns from rice flour and illuminating them with light. A traditional Indian art form, Kolam is formed by dots and lines and embodies the duality of simplicity and complexity in both the art form and the daily practice by women around the world. During her residency, Shanthi will lead a captivating demonstration that offers a window into the world of Kolam. Enjoy other programs as part of this residency, including a workshop, a talk, and more! 

New Netherland’s Slave Trade Origins, Evolution, Impact, Significance
New Amsterdam History Center
Wednesday, November 15
6:30 pm ET (Virtual)
Historians of New Netherland have recently shed new light on the colony’s enslaved people: the conditions of their enslavement, the Africans’ relationship with their enslavers, and the inner workings of the trade in slaves. This program will introduce the findings of three leading historians whose research challenges various myths and misunderstandings about New Netherland slavery. Jaap Jacobs revises the date that Blacks first arrived in the colony; Andrea Mosterman reveals conditions aboard the slave ship Gideon; Dennis Maika probes Dutch merchants’ involvement with the slave trade. And much more. The speakers will discuss the implications of their findings for New York history, and for our contemporary debates over slavery’s legacy, guided by moderator Lavada Nahon, a prominent museum educator.

Chloe Bensahel: Weaving Material Stories
Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum
Thursday, November 9
4 pm ET (In Person)
In celebration of the experimental weavings of Dorothy Liebes, currently on view in A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes, Cooper Hewitt will host contemporary textile designer and weaver Chloe Bensahel, who is also renowned for her innovative use of materials and technology. Artist and weaver Bensahel will be in conversation with Elissa Auther, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs and William and Mildred Lasdon Chief Curator at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD). Bensahel and Auther will discuss her multidimensional and pathbreaking artistic practice; her integration of advanced technologies into her weaving; and how she has positioned textile as a form of narrative across her career. 

The Larger Conversation: The Art of Self-Fashioning
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Thursday, November 16
7 pm ET (In Person) 
Join an expansive conversation on the role of fashion in the art of crafting public and private identities. Exhibiting artists Fabiola Jean-Louis and Carla Fernández will come together with curators and art historians Horace Ballard and theo tyson to discuss how clothing along with historic portraits, contemporary art and social media can serve as vehicles for communicating who we are, who we wish to be or how we want to be perceived.Together speakers will explore how individuals and communities across time have used fashion and photography as mediums for documentation and self expression, and how women, people of color, and queer individuals, in particular, have long used these mediums to intervene, to challenge, and to shift dominant narratives and representation.

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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.