Celebrating NY Public Library's’s acquisition of its first hip-hop archive, Assistant Curator TANISHA JONES leads artist, filmmaker, and writer MICHAEL HOLMAN in discussion about his role as a cultural impresario in the downtown art scene of NYC. From his formation of the experimental band Gray with Jean-Michel Basquiat to the creation of the very first hip-hop television show Graffiti Rock, Holman’s archive fuses art, music, and street culture to inspire future generations. 

Curator DR. NANACY BERCAW shared her work on the museum’s centerpiece exhibition “Slavery and Freedom” with personal stories and artifacts exploring Rhode Island’s role in telling the story of global slavery. Exploring the economic and political legacies of slavery for America, Bercaw discussed the RI Historical Society’s role in the creation of this exhibit and its preservation of objects and stories from both slaves and slave traders. 

STUART WHITEHURST, former appraiser at Skinner of Boston & PBS’s Antiques Roadshow, lifted the curtain behind what it’s like to be an appraiser, what motivates private collectors and how they build their expertise. Stuart shared the insider’s view of appraisal and explored the business of art, antiques, the passion for collecting with lively tales from the auction houses to the flea market and everything in between.

MELISSA BARTON + NANCY KUHL, curators at The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale discussed the photographic collection of writer \photographer Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964), who immortalized the most famous and influential figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Curators expand upon its importance in American culture, in addition to a complicated figure of Van Vechten who ultimately left behind a document that challenged the conventions and American ideals of gender and race. 

TONY ESTRELLA, actor, director + nationally celebrated artistic director of the award-winning Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre lift a curtain behind how a theatrical season is created. A diverse season must have balance, reimagining the classics for contemporary audiences while highlighting , offering a behind-the-scenes look at the composition of new works that explore the social, political, and cultural climate. Estrella revealed the values underlying those decisions, including the institutional priorities, creative negotiations, and challenges to provide innovative theater that challenges and expands perceptions and understanding.

Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles.

Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles.

Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles.

Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles.