News

Charles Esche, director of the Van Abbemuseum, codirector of Afterall Publishing, and curator of the 2014 Sao Paulo Bienal, is the recipient of the 2014 Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College. The award, which includes a prize of $25,000, will be presented at a gala celebration and dinner on April 2 in New York City. Esche is the seventeenth recipient of the award.

La Loge in Brussels presents an exhibition of seven films by Peter Hutton, including early works and the debut of Hutton’s latest films, Three Landscapes (2013) and At Sea ( 2004-2007) in the form of an installation.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a $500,000 grant to support residencies for six choreographers over four years as part of Live Arts Bard (LAB). LAB, a program of the Fisher Center, provides residencies for American artists and ensembles making work that spans and transcends the fields of theater, performance, dance, music, film, and live art. The Mellon Foundation grant significantly expands the program’s capacity to integrate choreographers into the life of the College, with opportunities for choreographers to work with students in a variety of arts and non-arts disciplines.

The Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard is offering $200,000 in scholarships and fellowships to be awarded in the 2014–2015 academic year. The application deadline for the program is February 1.

Susan Weber is "a director of uncommon expansiveness who has elevated the study of material culture, design, and curatorial practice to that of a fine art," writes Soohang Lee.

The Bard Graduate Center's new exhibition, William Kent: Designing Georgian Britain, is an "engrossing show" that "should thrill Anglophiles," writes Karen Rosenberg.

Third-generation filmmaker Gia Coppola is making a name for herself with her forthcoming film Palo Alto. She both directed the film and adapted the script from James Franco's short story collection.

Julia Klein's Chicago-based Soberscove Press (named for Bard's Obreshkove dormitory) "fills a much needed gap in art publishing, shaping how we think about recent art history."

Artist, alumna, and Bard MFA faculty Amy Sillman launched her first museum survey this year. Now the exhibition catalogue is one of the best art books of 2013.

Bard MFA graduate and visual artist Sadie Laska discusses her "deliriously frenetic abstract paintings."

Lucy Flamm '15 is taking full advantage of her college experience. She has obtained funding for internships, started an arts club at Bard, and is studying abroad in London this year. Of Bard students she says, "People learn from each other because everyone is so open about what they’re interested in, and brave enough to challenge each other’s opinions and assertions."

The Library and Archives at the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College (CCS Bard) has acquired the archives of John G. Hanhardt, noted film and media arts curator. The donation builds on CCS Bard’s initiative to build a unique research collection comprising the personal papers and archives of innovative and influential contemporary art curators, art dealers, critics, galleries and alternative art spaces.

The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College presents a full spring season of performing arts events, including jazz, opera, and orchestral concerts, and innovative dance and theater productions, from February through May. Highlights Include Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS Band, Giuseppe Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, American Symphony Orchestra concerts, An Opera Double Bill, An Evening with Anna Deavere Smith, Nature Theater of Oklahoma’s Romeo & Juliet, and dance productions including Joanna Kotze’s it happened it had happened it is happening it will happen and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in residence.

Stacey Allan '04, graduate of the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard, has cofounded the cutting edge arts publication and book imprint East of Borneo.

Hudson Valley Balinese Gamelan Orchestras will host their annual winter concert on Friday, December 6, at Bard College's Olin Hall. The program, featuring Balinese music and dance begins at 8 p.m. under the leadership of artistic director and Balinese master musician, I Nyoman Suadin.

"'Elephant Room' appears to be that unique vehicle, like 'Book of Mormon,' that appeals to both high-brow and low-brow spectators," writes Jay Blotcher.

Ten graduate students from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard will curate Marginalia, a new exhibition drawing from the Marieluise Hessel Collection. Marginalia is the first of two exhibitions in an extended exercise in reading and re-reading the permanent collection. The exhibition will open on Thursday, December 12, with a reception from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.

The Sprueth Magers gallery in London presents an exhibition of photographer Stephen Shore's work. The show contains 65 photographs spanning four decades, including new work that has never before been exhibited.

The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College presents the sublime comedy, Elephant Room. Three magicians. One show. Zero boring stuff. Sub-zero intelligence. It’s time to make it all add up in the Elephant Room. Elephant Room will be performed at the Fisher Center’s LUMA Theater, December 13–15.

Matana Roberts discusses her well-reviewed new album, the importance of listening to the sounds of the city, and why she still busks.