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History of Arts and Architecture

History of Arts and Architecture HARC

Curation as Collaboration

Sponsored by:
History of Arts and Architecture
Andrea Rosen, curator of the Fleming Museum of Art at UVM, argues that the best curators are also the best teammates. Drawing on recent Fleming shows on Alison Bechdel, Victorian fashion, Caribbean sacred art, and more, Rosen demonstrates that collaboration—with staff, artists, and students—yields more engaging exhibitions. Free

Mahaney Arts Center 125

Open to the Public

Building the Japanese Tea House; the Pedagogy of Apprentice Learning

Sponsored by:
History of Arts and Architecture
During Winter Term 2020, Douglas Brooks, an authority on traditional Japanese boatbuilding, led a Middlebury class in which students built a Japanese tea house, honing their carpentry skills and exploring the nature of apprentice learning. The finished tea house can be disassembled for transport and reassembly for various events.

Johnson Classroom 204

Open to the Public

Behind Wondrous Worlds: A Conservator's Perspective

Sponsored by:
History of Arts and Architecture
Objects conservator Linda Lin shares her experiences with the Islamic artworks from the Newark Museum, featured in the current exhibition Wondrous Worlds: Art and Islam through Time and Place. She explores the ethical underpinnings of conservation as an amalgam of art and science, the joys and challenges of preserving cultural heritage, and insights into the craftsmanship of works in the exhibition. Free

Mahaney Arts Center 125

Open to the Public

Katrin Bahr: East Germany in Mozambique, 1979-1990

Sponsored by:
Museum of Art and History of Arts and Architecture
Between 1979 and 1990, East German teachers, engineers, and doctors moved to Mozambique as part of the Friendship Treaty with the German Democratic Republic. German scholar Katrin Bahr of UMass Amherst discusses how they brought not only their expertise but also their cameras, providing a fascinating glimpse into life in postindependence Mozambique. An exhibition on the same topic is on view in the adjacent Mahaney Gallery. Free

Mahaney Arts Center 125

Open to the Public

Alternative Iran: Radical Interventions in Art, Design, and Performance

Sponsored by:
History of Arts and Architecture
Examining a variety of case studies across several decades, Dr. Pamela Karimi (Associate Professor of Art History at UMass Dartmouth) illuminates the economic, social, intellectual, and visceral forces that have derived Iran’s creative agents toward increasingly original forms of artmaking that are played out in pop-up venues, covert homes, temporary counter-institutions, escapist sites, underground scenes, and other defiant spaces. Free
Open to the Public