Current and upcoming exhibitions, events
and professional opportunities
A selection of decorative arts activities not covered in the DAS Newsletter
Events
Ben Franklin Birthday Celebration
American Philosophical Society
Philadelphia, PA
January 19, 2024
https://www.franklincelebration.org
DAS contributors are invited to this year’s Ben Franklin Birthday Celebration, which will focus on “Craftsmanship” and honor architect Frank Gehry. This year’s theme of “Craftsmanship” explores how American creators and makers throughout history have shaped our lives.
Daniela Holt Voith, founding partner and director of design, Voith & Mactavish, will be moderator and host. Presenters and topics are:
Jay Robert Stiefel, author and historian of American decorative arts, “Franklin and the Pursuit of Craftsmanship”;
Michael Rounds, president, Williamson College of the Trades, “Building the Well-Rounded Tradesman: A Legacy Since 1888”; and
Emily Edelstein, executive director of CraftNOW Philadelphia, “The Future of Craft Education Is Community-Based.”
Refreshments provided by the Franklin Fountain. Related books available from Head House Books.
The presentation will be followed by a procession through Old City Philadelphia and a ceremonial wreathlaying at Franklin’s grave at Christ Church Burial Ground.
The free annual event serves as a public “junto” about the issues that trace a line from Franklin’s day to current times.
For more information, go to https://www.franklincelebration.org/. The event is free but tickets are required; go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ben-franklin-birthday-celebration-craftsmanship-honoring-frank-gehry-tickets-727404415187.
Opportunities
• The Salisbury Museum seeks a Community Curator for the Wessex Museums Partnership. The role is based in Salisbury and will lead community engagement in the city and south Wiltshire. The curator will build on the work of the previous Community Curator by developing and managing strong community partnerships, particularly with under-served audience groups. The curator will use co-production approaches to enable and empower local communities using the museum’s collections to celebrate and share the stories of its region through a vibrant and innovative engagement program.
Wessex Museums is an Arts Council England-funded National Portfolio Organization (NPO) and much of the work of its partnership program centers on engaging with undeserved communities in its localities. Its mission is to support museums to connect, inspire and add value to peoples’ lives.
For more information, go to https://salisburymuseum.org.uk/community-curator-job-opportunity/.
• The summer school programs of the Victorian Society in America (VSA) might be of interest to DAS contributors.
The VSA is the only national nonprofit organization dedicated to the historic preservation, protection, understanding, education and enjoyment of the 19th-century heritage of the USA. For more than 40 years, the VSA has offered summer school programs based in Newport, RI, and London, England, addressing 19th- and early 20th-century architecture, design and the arts. The VSA also holds a third summer program, based in Chicago, that focuses on the American roots of Modernism. The summer programs are open to graduate students, academics, architects and enthusiasts. Full and partial scholarships are offered for all three programs.
More information about the summer programs and online applications can be found at https://victoriansociety.org/summer-schools/. All application materials are due by March 1, 2024.
• The position of Ruth Rippon Curator of Ceramics is open at the Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento, CA). This is a full-time, exempt position with a salary of $78,00–$100,000/year commensurate with experience and other qualifications.
Specialized knowledge, skills and qualifications include three or more years of professional experience in the curatorial department of a museum, including working with ceramics collections and collectors; equivalent experience in teaching college-level curatorial or art history courses and working with ceramics collections might be considered. MA from accredited college or university with major in art, art history, design or museum studies desired (PhD preferred). Evidence of original research and publications in ceramics, preferably contemporary, and/or craft; proven record of attracting development support and funding; proven knowledge of professional museum practices required.
For the full description and requirements, go to https://www.crockerart.org/employment.
Exhibitions
These events fall between issues of the DAS newsletter and are listed by closing dates.
Many museums and galleries are reopening or moving their scheduled programming to their websites as virtual experiences. To confirm whether exhibitions will still be held as scheduled or for access to virtual versions, check the websites of museums and galleries before planning to visit in person.
Recent special invitations for DAS contributors
• In May 2023, DAS contributors were invited to an online presentation about Multiple Affinities: Art Botany in British Design Reform: 1835–1870 by Sarah Alford, assistant professor in craft history and theory at the Alberta University of the Arts (Canada). The program was presented by the Canadian Society of Decorative Arts/Cercle canadien des arts décoratifs (CSDA).
The program was part of the CSDA Sundays: The Expert Series — Multiple Affinities: Art Botany.
• In January 2023, DAS contributors received a special invitation to join The Antique in Print: The Classical Past and the Visual Arts in the Long 18th Century, a free online lecture hosted by the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (New York, NY). Dr. Adriano Aymonino explored how the print culture of the “long 18th century” shaped the visual and allegorical language of Neoclassicism and placed Michel Angelo Pergolesi’s drawings and prints (Designs for Various Ornaments, 1777–1801) in context. Dr. Julia Siemon, curator of the Cooper Hewitt’s Mr. Pergolesi’s Curious Things: Ornament in 18th Century Britain, provided a brief overview of the exhibition.
• Contributors to the DAS were invited to explore the history and legacy of the Gorham Manufacturing Company by viewing the premiere of Chasing Silver: The Story of Gorham, a three-part documentary series from Rhode Island PBS Original (WSBE). The series aired in May 2021.
For more about the series, go to:
https://www.ripbs.org/blogs/bird-wire/chasing-silver-the-story-of-gorham/
Use this link for a live stream after each broadcast:
watch.ripbs.org/livestream or http://bit.ly/ChasingSilverVOD
• The DAS appreciates recent invitations from the UK Decorative Arts Society for our contributors to benefit from several online presentations:
√ Sarah Nichols presented “Glass: Venice, Venini and America.” She organized an exhibition about the relationship between Murano and America when she was chief curator and curator of decorative arts at the Carnegie Museum of Art (Pittsburgh, PA).
√ Matthew Winterbottom, curator of decorative arts and sculpture at the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, UK), presented “The Colour Revolution: Art, Design, and Fashion in Victorian Britain.”
• Caitlin Condell, associate curator and head of the Department of Drawings, Prints and Graphic Design at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (New York, NY), and DAS former Program chair Emily M. Orr, assistant curator of modern and contemporary American design at Cooper Hewitt, presented “Underground Modernist: E. McKnight Kauffer.”
Known as the “poster king,” Kauffer was a pioneer of commercial art who integrated avant-garde style into modern life. While living in England between the two World Wars, Kauffer produced radical posters; a wide range of book covers, rugs, theatrical productions; and more. He continued his work in New York from 1940 until his death in 1954. The lecture provided a behind-the-scenes look at a newly released monograph and forthcoming exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum surveying Kauffer’s work.
