Division of the Arts

Recent News

• Bard College Celebrates Student Achievements at Undergraduate Awards Ceremony
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  Bard College Celebrates Student Achievements at Undergraduate Awards Ceremony

  

  Sierra Ford ’26 receives the inaugural Betsaida Alcantara ’05 Pioneers for Progress Award. Photo by Joseph Nartey ’26
  

  Faculty, staff, and students gathered at Blithewood Manor for this year’s Undergraduate Awards Ceremony, which was held on Monday, April 28. The annual ceremony is a celebration of the incredible talent and dedication showcased by Bard students, as well as the unwavering support and guidance from esteemed faculty and staff at the College. The evening's awardees, who were nominated by faculty from across the four divisions of the College, represent excellence in the arts; social studies; languages and literature; and science, mathematics, and computing. Among the awardees were students in the Bard Baccalaureate, a program for older students returning to college to finish their undergraduate degrees. 
  
  The event featured remarks and award presentations from key figures, including President of the College Leon Botstein, Dean of the College Deirdre d'Albertis, Dean of Studies and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs David Shein, and Bard Alumna Cara Parks ’05. A special highlight of the evening was the announcement of a newly established award in memory of a beloved Bardian, Betsaida Alcantara ’05, by the Class of 2005, family, friends, and loved ones who knew her. The inaugural Betsaida Alcantara ’05 Pioneers for Progress Award, in memory of Betsaida Alcantara '05 (1983–2022), who exemplified the best of Bard's hope to inspire people to be passionate agents of change, pioneers for progress, and advocates for justice for those most in need was given to Sierra Ford ’26 who has demonstrated strong leadership skills, a commitment to public service, and support for open societies.
   
  The presentation of awards was a moment to acknowledge and celebrate the exceptional academic achievement, leadership, and commitment demonstrated by Bard students. It was a testament to their hard work and perseverance, which defines the spirit of Bard College and serves as an inspiration to us all.
  
  Many of the undergraduate awards are made possible by generous contributions from Bard donors. Thank you to all our supporters for believing in the value of a college education, and for investing in the future of Bard students.
  

  Learn more about the Dean of Studies Office
  

  Learn more about Bard’s Scholarship, Awards, and Prizes
  

  
  Post Date: 04-30-2025
  
• Two Bard College Faculty Members Named 2025 Guggenheim Fellows
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  Two Bard College Faculty Members Named 2025 Guggenheim Fellows

  

  L–R: Gwen Laster; Lucas Blalock ’02 (photo by Gertraud Presenhuber, courtesy of the artist and Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich/New York)
  

  The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has awarded 2025 Guggenheim Fellowships to Bard College Assistant Professor of Photography Lucas Blalock ’02 and Bard College Visiting Artist in Residence Gwen Laster. Chosen through a rigorous application and peer review process from a pool of nearly 3,500 applicants, Blalock, who teaches in the Photography Program, and Laster, who teaches in the Music Program, were tapped based on both prior career achievement and exceptional promise. Bard MFA alum Jordan Strafer ’20 was also named Guggenheim Fellow for 2025. As established in 1925 by founder Senator Simon Guggenheim, each fellow receives a monetary stipend to pursue independent work at the highest level under “the freest possible conditions.” Blalock, Laster, and Strafer are among 198 distinguished individuals working across 53 disciplines appointed to the 100th class of Guggenheim Fellows.
  
  “At a time when intellectual life is under attack, the Guggenheim Fellowship celebrates a century of support for the lives and work of visionary scientists, scholars, writers, and artists,” said Edward Hirsch, award-winning poet and president of the Guggenheim Foundation. “We believe that these creative thinkers can take on the challenges we all face today and guide our society towards a better and more hopeful future.”
  
  In all, 53 scholarly disciplines and artistic fields, 83 academic institutions, 32 US states and the District of Columbia, and two Canadian provinces are represented in the 2025 class, who range in age from 32 to 79. More than a third of the 100th class of fellows do not hold a full-time affiliation with a college or university. Many fellows’ projects directly respond to timely themes and issues such as climate change, Indigenous studies, identity, democracy and politics, incarceration, and the evolving purpose of community. Since its founding in 1925, the Guggenheim Foundation has awarded over $400 million in fellowships to more than 19,000 fellows. The 100th class of Fellows is part of the Guggenheim Foundation’s yearlong celebration marking a century of transformative impact on American intellectual and cultural life.
  
  Lucas Blalock is a Brooklyn-based photographer whose work is in the collections of the Dallas Museum of Art, Guggenheim Museum, Hammer Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Portland Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among many others. Recent solo exhibitions include Florida, 1989, at Galerie Eva Presenhuber, New York; Insoluble Pancakes, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels; and An Enormous Oar, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; recent group exhibitions include venues in Oslo, Miami, Moscow, Berlin, Beirut, Minneapolis, and New York, where his work was selected for the Whitney Biennial 2019. He and his art have been profiled in publications including Arforum, the New York Times, New Yorker, Art in America, Brooklyn Rail, BOMB Magazine, W Magazine, British Journal of Photography, and Time. He has published essays and interviews as author in the journal Objectiv, IMA Magazine, BOMB, Foam, and Mousse, among others. He previously taught at the School of Visual Arts; Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University; Sarah Lawrence College; and the MFA Program at Ithaca College. He also served as visiting lecturer on visual and environmental studies at Harvard University. He received his BA from Bard College and MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles.
  
  Gwen Laster is a nationally acclaimed musician who has been the recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Jubilation Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Arts Mid Hudson, Lila Wallace, and the Cognac Hennessey 1st place Jazz Search. A native Detroiter, her creative influences come from the Motor City’s exciting urban and classical music culture. Laster started improvising and composing because of her parents’ love of jazz, blues, soul, and classical music, and her inspiring music teachers from Detroit’s public schools. Laster relocated to New York City after earning two music degrees from the University of Michigan. Laster is many things: A virtuoso violinist with exquisite taste. An adventurous composer, arranger and orchestrator. A classically-trained artist with a deep appreciation for America's musical history, and a scholar of African-American musical heritage. A socially conscious activist and educator who understands the power of music to reach and touch everyday people.
  
  Post Date: 04-15-2025
  
• Textile Artist Mae Colburn ’10 Talks with Vogue About Archiving her Grandmother's Vintage Skirt Collection
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  Textile Artist Mae Colburn ’10 Talks with Vogue About Archiving her Grandmother's Vintage Skirt Collection

  

  Detail from Coburn's online archive of wool skirts.
  

  When her grandmother died at the age of 99, artist Mae Colburn ’10 and her parents were left with the question of what to do with the matriarch’s massive collection of vintage wool skirts. Sorting through the collection—spanning decades and ranging in colors, plaids, and styles—they were inspired to archive it. “Because I studied art history,” says Colburn, who majored in art history and visual culture at Bard, “research, writing, and archiving [have] always been a really big part of what I do, with a focus on textiles in both art and fashion.” Colburn’s mother is a clothing historian and her dad is a photographer so the project spoke to their collective skills. Together the family has catalogued and photographed 632 vintage wool skirts. The physical archive is in Colburn’s Brooklyn studio—which is occasionally open to the public for viewing—and the digital archive is online.
  

  Read Colburn’s interview in Vogue
  

  
  Post Date: 04-01-2025
  
• Poetry Collection by Juliana Spahr ’88 Featured in the Washington Post
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  Poetry Collection by Juliana Spahr ’88 Featured in the Washington Post

  

  The cover of Ars Poeticas by Juliana Spahr ’88.
  

  A new book of poetry by alumna Juliana Spahr ’88 was featured in the Washington Post. Christopher Kondrich included Spahr’s most recent collection, Ars Poeticas, in a list of four books of poetry that “help restore nuance to our chaotic world.” Kondrich describes Ars Poeticas as a collection about poetry’s ability to respond to social and environmental crises. “We can’t help but wonder what poetry could ever add to the efforts to address [issues like] climate change and right-wing populism. With Ars Poeticas, the answer, despite Spahr’s reservations, is a tremendous amount.” Spahr has published nine books of poetry, the first in 1994. She was the recipient of the OB Hardison Poetry Prize from the Folger Shakespeare Library in 2009.
  

  Read the Feature
  

  
  Post Date: 04-01-2025
  
• Bard Baroque Ensemble Presents Concert in Memory of Frederick Fisher Hammond on April 19
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  Bard Baroque Ensemble Presents Concert in Memory of Frederick Fisher Hammond on April 19

  

  Bard Baroque Ensemble. Photo by Christopher Kayden
  

  The Bard Baroque Ensemble, under the direction of Renée Anne Louprette, presents a concert dedicated to the memory of Frederick Fisher Hammond (1937–2023), Professor Emeritus, Irma Brandeis Chair of Romance Cultures and Music History at Bard College. Presented with the Bard Chamber Singers, Bard Preparatory Division Chorus, and the Graduate Vocal Arts Program, the program includes works by Bach, Handel, and Mozart and features the rededication of Frederick Hammond’s two restored William Dowd harpsichords. The performance will be held on Saturday, April 19 at 7 pm in the Fisher Center’s Sosnoff Theater. This is the Bard Baroque Ensemble’s debut concert in the Sosnoff Theater. The concert is free and open to the public. For information visit fishercenter.bard.edu/whats-on/ or call 845-758-7900 (Mon–Fri 10 am–5 pm).
  
  The evening’s program celebrates the restoration of Professor Hammond's French double-manual and Italian single-manual harpsichords—now a part of Bard College’s collection of early keyboard instruments—featuring them in the Concerto for Two Harpsichords, Strings, and Continuo in C Minor, BWV 1060 by Johann Sebastian Bach, with Sophia Cornicello and Raymond Erickson as harpsichord soloists. One of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's most popular and enduring works, Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550, opens the program, interpreted by the Ensemble with a Baroque sensibility. Bard faculty member and distinguished tenor Rufus Müller presents the ravishing opening aria from Handel’s Serse: Ombra mai fu (Never was a shade). The program concludes with Bach's Cantata No. 1: Wie schön leuchtet Der Morgenstern (How brightly shines the Morningstar), featuring the Bard Chamber Singers, Preparatory Division Children's Chorus, and soloists from the Graduate Vocal Arts Program. This luminous chorale-cantata—originally conceived for the Feast of the Annunciation—is presented here in the context of transition from darkness to light, on the date of Holy Saturday within the Christian Church. Valentina Grasso, assistant professor of history at Bard, will present a reading from Dante’s Divine Comedy—in lieu of the traditional Lutheran sermon—at the center of Bach’s 1724 masterpiece. 
  
  Post Date: 03-27-2025
  
• Artist Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio ’12 Creates Protest Painting in Wake of LA Fires
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  Artist Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio ’12 Creates Protest Painting in Wake of LA Fires

  When the recent Los Angeles wildfires burned down the Altadena home of artist Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio ’12, his brick fireplace and chimney were the only structures left standing. “I began thinking about the resilience of these chimneys,” Aparicio told Hyperallergic. “I’m always looking at symbols that can hold both sides of an emotion: resilience and trauma.” In his first painting since the fires, Aparicio collaborated with Bay Area artist and activist David Solnit and a group of about two dozen volunteers to create a protest painting made with paint that was mixed by Solnit using pigments made from ash and charcoal collected at Altadena burn sites. Aparicio’s black-and-white painting depicts his chimney and fireplace standing among charred ruins and belching dark black smoke. The words “Invest in Communities, Not Fossil Fuels” are printed in both English and Spanish. Environmental activists assert that oil and gas companies have directly contributed to climate change–fueled disasters, like wildfires, that are devastating communities. Aparicio’s painting was unveiled at a Pasadena rally calling for CalPERS, the nation’s largest public pension fund, to fully divest from fossil fuels. An identical painting was unveiled the same day at another rally in front of the Chevron oil refinery in Richmond in northern California.
  

  Read about Aparicio’s protest painting in Hyperallergic
  

  
  Post Date: 03-25-2025