Hello Alumni,

I caught a fantastic tap program by Music from the Sole a couple weeks ago that is still rat-a-tat-tatting through my mind. It was an exuberant performance that had me bopping in my seat. I hope you too are finding some rhythm this fall amidst scuttling leaves and the chatter of migrating birds. And in the meantime, I wish you a very Happy Halloween!

As we enter the final months (and newsletters!) of the year, please don’t hesitate to continue to share your news, either by email or through the online form. I love hearing from you.

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

A Note from the Director of Admissions and Student Affairs

Hello from West 86th Street, where we are–astonishingly–just past the midterm mark of the fall semester. As you may know, we welcomed 17 MA students and 3 PhD students in August, and they have just endured the traditional hurdle of the Survey midterm! This weekend we held our first open house for prospective students here at BGC, and I wanted to take this opportunity to give you our remaining open house dates. Please do share with anyone who might be interested in the BGC. Of course we’re happy to offer student tours of the building at any time, too. 

BGC Open Houses:

Sunday, November 13 @ 11 am (at BGC)
Sunday, December 4 @ 11 am (on Zoom)

I’ll looking forward to seeing some of you in my fall travels this year, and of course hope to see you at a Wednesday night event at 38!

All good wishes,
Keith Condon
keith.condon@bgc.bard.edu

Alumni Spotlight

Michelle Tolini Finamore (PhD ‘10) has curated Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Open through January 30, 2023, this is the Crystal Bridges’ first exhibition dedicated to fashion and the first to present American fashion as a powerful emblem of global visual culture, amplified by movies, television, red carpets, and social media. Congratulations, Michelle!

Sarah Lichtman (MA ‘03, PhD ‘14) has been appointed Associate Professor of Design History and Dean of the School of Art and Design History and Theory at Parsons, The New School. Congratulations, Sarah!

Select Career Opportunities

Select BGC Events

Ulaṭbānsi / Zigzagging
Wednesday, November 2
6 pm
Ulaṭbānsi / Zigzagging is a short film that explores weaving and musical practices in India, commissioned by the PENELOPE project and produced by the Indian collective Handloom Futures Trust. Following the screening, two members of the PENELOPE team—Ellen Harlizius-Klück and Annapurna Mamidipudi—will reflect on the film and their larger project: to integrate ancient weaving into the history of science and technology, especially digital technology.

Lace Speaks!
Friday, November 4
5 pm 
Explore the objects in Threads of Power: Lace from the Textilmuseum St. Gallen through verbal description and discussion. An experienced guide, Deborah Lutz, will describe objects in the exhibition, sharing details of their form, materiality, and aesthetic nature, for the enjoyment of visitors with low vision and blindness. Group discussion takes place throughout the program. Registration is required.

Drag Story Hour
Saturday, November 5
10 am
Imagination rules! Enjoy children’s books read aloud by glamorous drag artists who reflect the joy, fun, and positivity of a world in which everyone can be their authentic selves. You are invited to Drag Story Hour the first Saturday of each month (October 1, November 5, December 3). Free. Reservations are strongly recommended as space is very limited.

Therapeutic Play: Caring, Giving, and Being with Dolls
Wednesday, November 9
6 pm
From sex dolls to dementia care therapy, dolls are increasingly used for companionship and comfort, and they have been shown to produce positive affective states that can be healing and enjoyable. In this lecture, multidisciplinary artist and scholar Emilie St-Hilaire explores a number of interactions between human-like dolls and human beings to reframe such synthetic relationships as a contemporary form of Pygmalionism.

Select Virtual and In-Person Events in the World

An Introduction to Cyanotypes with Misa Chhan
Friday, October 28
6:30 pm ET (In Person)
Poster House is pleased to welcome artist and printmaking expert Misa Chhan for an introduction to Cyanotype printing. Known for their brilliant blue hues, cyanotypes are a photosensitive printing process that utilizes UV light to transfer images. Learn the basics of this historic form of printmaking as well as techniques for shifting tones from blue to brown. Participants will leave with materials to continue experimenting in the medium at home.

Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead Celebration
Saturday, October 29
1 pm and 3 pm ET (In Person)
Día de los Muertos is a time for celebrating our ancestors and remembering those we have lost. This day for the entire family will feature traditional dances by the Aztec dance troupe Cetiliztli Nauhcampa around the community ofrenda (altar) to honor the ancestors.

Spirits of the Dead
Monday, October 31
5:30 pm ET
Join the New School for Spirits of the Dead, an evening of poetry and song which will frame the misrepresentations of Edgar Allan Poe – revealing how he tapped into what it means to be human in a modern and sometimes frightening world.

Cooking with LACMA: Hygge, the Cozy Meal
Tuesday, November 1
6 pm PT
Inspired by LACMA’s exhibition Scandinavian Design and the United States, 1890–1980, Maite Gomez-Rejon of Artbites will delve into the concept of hygge as it relates to design and everyday living and prepare a cozy Nordic feast. 

Hahn Moo-Sook Colloquium in the Korean Humanities: Korean Fashion: From Royal Court to Runway
Saturday, November 5
9 am–4 pm ET
Scholars and other leading voices in Korean fashion will examine Korean clothing since the late 19th century as an evolving expression of national identity, socio-economic transformation and aesthetic sensibilities. Held in conjunction with Korean Fashion: From Royal Court to Runway, the colloquium will roughly follow the exhibition’s chronology, which begins with textiles sent by the Joseon government to the World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago World’s Fair) in 1893—Korea’s first formal presentation of its material culture on the world stage—and concludes with present-day runway and street fashions.

Beasts and Angels: American “Japanned” Furniture
Saturday, November 5
Various Times CT
This presentation investigates Boston furniture from 1700 to 1765 that features japanned finishes—an ornamental phenomenon distantly inspired by the lustrous plasticity and narrative imagery of Asian lacquer. The flashy, gilt figural scenes over faux-tortoiseshell grounds of japanned furniture reflected the impact of global networks, the brilliant fusion of artistic traditions, and inventive technical methods employed by local craftspeople.

Preservation in Practice: The HCC Fashion Archive
Tuesday, November 8
6:30 pm CT
Houston Community College’s Fashion Archive is a hidden gem: a collection of clothing and accessories that dates back to 1728, offering a look at nearly three centuries of trends in apparel and design. Join Preservation Houston and Erica Hubbard, director of library services at HCC’s Central College, for a behind-the-scenes look at this fascinating collection.

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

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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.