October 9, 2025

Dear Alumni,

I can’t believe we’re already a week and a half into October! September flew by for me while I prepared to defend my dissertation proposal—with that behind me, I can finally settle into a rhythm for the semester. I’m now faced with more unstructured time than I’ve had in recent memory and an exciting if daunting task ahead. If anyone has dissertation research and writing advice, please let me know! Thanks to my newfound free time, I’ve added several of BGC’s Wednesday evening lectures to my calendar and I hope to see some of you on 86th Street this fall.

You should have already received your email invitation to BGC’s Autumn Alumni Event at MAD on Thursday, November 13. If not, please send an email to Alfi Joseph at BGC. Don’t forget to RSVP!

Please share your latest news through this online form. I look forward to hearing your updates!

All best,

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

Alumni Spotlight

The Royal Ontario Museum has named Antonia Anagnostopoulos (MA ’23) the 2025 Veronika Dervers Research Fellow in Textiles and Fashion History. According to ROM, Anagnostopoulos will study historic garments held in its collections in order to make a fustanella garment—a metal-embroidered jacket—using the techniques of weaving, felting, and embroidery. It’s a fascinating project; read all about it here. Brava Antonia!

Emily Hayflick (MA ’20) is being recognized by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) for her work as a Conservation and Justice Fellow. According to ABC, “During her fellowship, Emily examined how conservation narratives around ‘lost’ birds have been shaped by histories of discovery, documentation, and preservation. Drawing on her research into how US communities relate to protected bird species—including legislation that governs feathers and other avian materials—she illuminated the complex ways people assign meaning and value to birds, even after death. By weaving together insights from anthropology, conservation history, and natural history collections, Emily shed new light on how rediscovery stories inspire public imagination while also revealing their cultural and ethical dimensions. Her fellowship work enriched our understanding of the role that storytelling and expertise play in shaping conservation outcomes.” Emily is a PhD candidate at Cornell University. Well done Emily!

Last month, Samuel Snodgrass (MA ’22) began a new full-time role as the administrative assistant for education at the Frick Collection, where he has worked since August 2022 on a range of education projects, including creating and leading tours and public programs. Congratulations, Samuel!

Select Career Opportunities

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens has announced its opportunities for volunteers, interns, and advanced graduate students to participate in 2026 excavations and conservation lab work. Learn more about their programs here.

The Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) has launched its 2026 Summer Research Fellowship Program, which offers scholars, researchers and public folklorists a unique opportunity to engage with the museums’ extensive collections and archives. This program invites applicants to spend four to six weeks in Santa Fe, New Mexico, working on a research project related to MOIFA’s renowned folk art collection and MOIFA’s Bartlett Library and Archives collections.

The Department of Applied Arts of Europe at the Art Institute of Chicago seeks a Research Assistant to aid in researching of the collection of Arms and Armor for publication of a collection catalogue. This is a full-time two-year position reporting to the Amy and Paul Carbone Curator of Arms and Armor, in close consultation with the Collection Manager. The Research Assistant is responsible for the organization, preservation, documentation, and research of archival materials. They will facilitate access to the department archives through scanning and digitization of object files, deaccession records, acquisition documentation, installation images, and publication and exhibition histories. The assistant will work collaboratively with the curator of Arms and Armor to explore issues of connoisseurship, provenance, and material history. Additionally, the assistant will contribute to research related to the development of programs, permanent and temporary exhibitions, and online publication projects that feature the museum’s Arms and Armor holdings and European decorative arts before 1700.

For more job listings please visit the BGC job board.
username: career.services@bgc.bard.edu
**Note updated password: CareersBGC2025-26*=*

Select BGC Events

Wealth and Colour: Alfred Morrison and Owen Jones
A lecture duet by Caroline Dakers (University of the Arts London) and Neil Burton (Architectural History Practice)
Wednesday, October 15, 6 pm

Partners in life and in research Caroline Dakers and Neil Burton explore another partnership—between architect, decorator, and color theorist Owen Jones and the wealthy Victorian collector Alfred Morrison. Morrison (1821–1897) was one of the most important yet least-known Victorian collectors. From the early 1860s he was the most significant private patron of the architect, designer, and color theorist Owen Jones and employed him to decorate the interior of his London and country houses. Jones (1809–1874) is now known only as the author of the Grammar of Ornament, published in 1856, but in his lifetime he was known as “Alhambra Jones” for his detailed and highly colored studies of the Moorish Alhambra Palace in Spain, published in the 1840s, and as the man responsible for the painted decoration of the 1851 Great Exhibition building. He trained as an architect and embraced the modern technology of the mid-nineteenth century in his use of iron, glass, and fibrous plaster, but his real skill was as an interior designer, and he produced several spectacular interiors, now all lost apart from the London mansion of Alfred Morrison in Carlton House Terrace.

Open Houses for Prospective Students
October 19, November 9 (on Zoom), and November 16
11 am

If you know any prospective students, I encourage you to share information about BGC’s Open Houses. These events give prospective students the opportunity to learn about BGC’s MA and PhD programs. Participants hear from faculty about their research and teaching and meet current students. In-person open houses also include a tour of the academic building and gallery.

Autumn Alumni Event
Museum of Arts & Design
November 13

Connect with fellow alumni at the Museum of Arts & Design (MAD) to celebrate the exhibition Designing Motherhood, curated by Amber Winick (MA ’13) and co-organized for MAD by Elizabeth Koehn (MA ’20 and current BGC candidate), venue curator. Elizabeth will give us a tour of the exhibition and then we will enjoy a champagne reception. RSVP here.

Select External Events

Archaeology of the Maritime City: Stories from the Depths
South Street Seaport Museum
Saturday, October 18, 4:30 pm

The South Street Seaport is rich with archaeological heritage and the location of New York City’s first large-scale excavations. Today, the Seaport Museum preserves many objects and artifacts in the collections and archives that were uncovered during archaeology excavations in the area, a selection of which are on view in Maritime City. Naturally, the Seaport Museum is the perfect fit for this year’s Professional Archaeologists of New York annual public program—celebrating the decades-long legacy of downtown archaeological discovery. Sign up today to hear from the archaeologists involved in these excavations, as they highlight the artifacts and discoveries that have helped recover the lost stories of New York’s maritime history from the depths.

The Royal Pavilion at Brighton: A Regency Palace of Color and Sensation
Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum (Zoom)
Wednesday, October 22, 12 pm

Join Cooper Hewitt for this illustrated talk on the Royal Pavilion at Brighton by curator and scholar Alexandra Loske. First constructed as a royal residence for King George IV while he was Prince of Wales, the Royal Pavilion was remodeled by John Nash with interiors by Frederick Crace and Robert Jones between 1815–1822. Cooper Hewitt is home to many of Crace’s original drawings for the Pavilion, which feature fanciful representations of Chinese culture, design, and people. Loske will discuss the Pavilion’s interiors as a late example of British neoclassical chinoiserie while investigating how the idea of China and chinoiserie designs evolved from the 18th to the early 19th century. Jamie Kwan, Cooper Hewitt’s Assistant Curator of Drawings, Prints and Graphic Design, will moderate this talk.

Fashion Culture: The Art of Parisian Chic
The Museum at FIT
Thursday, October 23, 5:30 pm

The new book by FIT Associate Professor Justine De Young, The Art of Parisian Chic: Modern Women and Modern Artists in Impressionist Paris, shows how modern women used fashion and stereotypes such as the Parisienne (chic Parisian woman) or the demoiselle de magasin (shopgirl) to construct and reinvent their identities. De Young will be in conversation with Hilary Davidson, chair of FIT’s MA program for Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice, about how women were seen, how they aspired to be seen, and how they navigated public life in Second Empire and Belle Époque Paris. A book signing follows the event.

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.