Happy New Year, I hope 2023 is going well so far. I hope you had good holidays, I was home throughout making dioramas (my favorite thing to do), moving the furniture around my house (my other favorite thing to do), and wishing I was better at throwing things away - which is a goal in 2023. 

Things were quiet in Annandale for a hot second but now everything is going full steam. The Class of 2026 is back on campus for Citizen Science  - the Way of Water, well that's not actually the name but it might as well be - this year's focus is the science of water. They will study drinking water safety (they were all asked to bring a sample of water from home), looking at water quality, equity, and access. This topic was chosen because it offers 'rich ways of teaching and learning the skills of science literacy as well as the place of science within a greater social and political context.' 

Then there is all the Cit Sci fun that comes with being in upstate New York in January - late-night waffles, the drag show, the activist dance party, the Lunar New Year party, indoor camping, casino, and Karaoke and the ever-popular therapy puppies. Plus curling if the weather cooperates.

Also in this month is BardWorks - back IN-PERSON. Now in its tenth year; sophomores, juniors and seniors will return to participate in the three-day program that has helped hundreds of students make resumes, make connections, and make a plan for life after Bard. We will be in NYC on January 27th, if you are interested in helping current students widen their professional networks please sign up here for the New York City Networking Reception at the New York Law School in Tribeca. 

It seems like many moons until we will be watching fireworks on the lawn at Blithewood but it is really just around the corner. We are planning and plotting lots of special events plus all the usual ones. It's your reunion if your class ends in a THREE or an EIGHT - 3s and 8s - it's your turn. Please email [email protected] for information or to get involved, registration opens in March. We want to see YOU!

That's all for now. Please make sure to follow us on social and send us things to post and ideas for things you would like to see more of. 

Be seeing you,

Jane

Bard College Awarded $399,000 Grant from Mellon Foundation for Project on Voting Rights

Bard College is proud to announce that it has received a $399,000 award from the Mellon Foundation to support a three-year applied learning research curricular project on voting rights. The project, done in collaboration with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Tuskegee University, Prairie View A&M University, and The Andrew Goodman Foundation, will use the 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 and outlawed age-based voter discrimination, as a prism through which to understand the history of voting and disenfranchisement in the United States and the role of college communities in the fight for voting rights. 

Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser Cuts Ribbon on New Building for Bard High School Early College

On Thursday, January 5, Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee, and Department of General Services Director Keith Anderson cut the ribbon on the new, permanent home for Bard High School Early College DC. “When we first launched this innovative partnership with Bard in 2019, we knew we were embarking on something important. Now, with this beautiful, modernized building, Bard has a permanent home to provide innovative and tuition-free pathways to college,” said Mayor Bowser. “Students who choose Bard have bet on themselves – they have bet on their futures and their ability to make the most of a reimagined high school experience.”

Bard Professor Maria Sonevytsky Awarded National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for Her Book Project on Children’s Musical Practices in Soviet Ukraine

Bard Associate Professor of Anthropology and Music Maria Sonevytsky has received a fellowship award from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in support of her book project, Singing for Lenin in Soviet Ukraine: Children, Music, and the Communist Future. NEH Fellowships support advanced research in the humanities by college and university teachers and independent scholars. Sonevytsky’s award supports her research and writing leading to a book about Soviet education and children’s musical practices in Soviet Ukraine, from 1934 to 1991.

Previously Unpublished Photos of Andy Warhol and Friends by Steve Schapiro ’55 Published Posthumously in New Book

In 1965, Life hired photojournalist and Bard alumnus Steven Schaprio ’55 to photograph the then-ascendant Andy Warhol for the magazine. Life never published the photo series, and only now are they being published posthumously after Schapiro’s death in 2022. Rolling Stone featured a series of photos from Andy Warhol and Friends: 1965–1966, which “includes many never-before-seen documents of a pivotal time in Warhol’s life as he helped shape popular culture for decades to come.”

Interview: Professor Ephraim Asili MFA ’11 on the Future of Filmmaking

Filmmaker and Bard professor Ephraim Asili spoke with Metal magazine about navigating his various roles as artist and teacher. “I can't see a situation in the future, no matter how well things go commercially, where I would not want to teach. I get too much out of it in terms of being able to relate to people of a certain age, with a fresh mindset around the medium and the world in general. It's something that I get endless inspiration from. I've also been able to hire former students to work with me on my projects, and that has gone well for me, and for students that I've worked with. Is that something that I anticipated? I think so.” Ephraim Asili is associate professor of film and electronic arts and director of the Film and Electronic Arts Program.

ARTnews Highlights Bard among People and Places that Made a Stage for Indigenous Art in 2022

ARTnews highlighted individuals and institutions that had a significant impact on public engagement with Indigenous art in 2022, including Bard College on the short list. In September, the College announced a transformational $25 million endowment gift from the Gochman Family Foundation to support a renamed American and Indigenous Studies Program. A matching commitment by the Open Society Foundations will create a $50 million endowment for Native American and Indigenous Studies in undergraduate and graduate academics and the arts in Annandale, to include a center for Indigenous Studies and the appointment of an Indigenous Curatorial Fellow at the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS Bard).

For Vogue, Visiting Artist in Residence Jasmine Clarke ’18 Photographed Jon Batiste at White House State Dinner

“Jon Batiste is not afraid of a jazzy suit,” writes André-Naquian Wheeler for Vogue. Photography by Visiting Artist in Residence Jasmine Clarke ’18 accompanies Wheeler’s article, showing Batiste preparing for his first performance at the White House. Clarke’s photography captures Batiste and guests preparing for the event, the musician’s excitement clear from Clarke’s vulnerable candids and striking portraits.

Five Bard College Students Win Prestigious Gilman International Scholarships to Study Abroad

Five Bard College students have been awarded highly competitive Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships by the U.S. Department of State to study abroad for spring 2023. Written Arts major Havvah Keller ’24 has been awarded a $4,000 Gilman scholarship to study in Valparaíso, Chile, on CEA’s Spanish Language and Latin American Studies program at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Philosophy and German Studies joint major Bella Bergen ’24 has been awarded a $5,000 Gilman-DAAD scholarship to study at Bard College Berlin. Art History and Visual Culture major Elsa Joiner ’24 has been awarded a $5,000 Gilman-DAAD scholarship to study at Bard College Berlin. Art History and Visual Culture and Film Studies joint major Sasha Alcocer ’24 has been awarded a $5,000 Gilman-DAAD scholarship to study at Bard College Berlin. Asian Studies and GIS joint major Kelany De La Cruz ’24 has been awarded a $5,000 Gilman scholarship, in addition to a $5,000 Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) scholarship and a $5,000 Freeman ASIA scholarship, to study in Taipei, Taiwan, on the CET Taiwan program.