Bard College Awarded $1 Million Grant from The Brant Foundation, Inc., to Support Curatorial Studies and Art History

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.––Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS Bard) and the Art History Program are pleased to announce a major grant from The Brant Foundation in Greenwich, Connecticut. The College has been awarded a $1 million grant from The Brant Foundation, Inc., to support curatorial studies and art history. Alex Kitnick, noted art historian and writer, has been appointed the new Brant Foundation Fellow in Contemporary Arts. This fellowship enables Kitnick to join the College as a full-time faculty member teaching jointly in CCS Bard’s graduate and Bard’s art history undergraduate programs. This joint appointment is the first of its kind in the visual arts at Bard.

“I am pleased to support an innovative position that brings both the undergraduate and graduate programs into greater contact and helping to nurture future collaborations that strengthen the visual arts at Bard,” says Peter Brant.

The grant also provides support for library and archive acquisitions within the newly expanded library of CCS Bard.  The expansion, designed by artist Liam Gillick and architects Hollwich Kushner, will be completed in December 2015.  The expansion more than doubles the capacity of the research facilities, which are open to all students of Bard College and visiting scholars, and includes the permanent installation of a major work by Sol LeWitt.

Executive Director of the Center for Curatorial Studies Tom Eccles says, “We are delighted to receive this visionary grant from The Brant Foundation and Peter Brant, who share our commitment to education and research. His support for a faculty position that helps to unify departments and resources creates a momentum for the future and shows a commitment to the students of the College. Alex Kitnick is a distinguished historian who adds a new and distinct voice to our programs.”

Alex Kitnick received his Ph.D. in art history in 2010 from Princeton University, where he worked with Hal Foster. His critical and historical writings cover a wide range of 20th century art practices, from art and technology to Minimalism and Pop. He has also written extensively on contemporary artists such as Rachel Harrison, Pamela Rosenkranz, and Mark Leckey.

About The Brant Foundation

The Brant Foundation, Inc.’s mission is to promote education and appreciation of contemporary art and design by making works available to institutions and individuals for scholarly study, examination, and loan. Currently, The Brant Foundation, established in 1996, lends works to more than a dozen exhibitions per year. The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, designed by Richard Gluckman and located in Greenwich, CT, opened its doors in 2009 and presents long-term exhibitions curated primarily from the collection. The collection is remarkable in that scores of artists are represented in depth, including works from the earliest period of their practice through their most recent works. Additional information may be found on the Foundation’s website, www.brantfoundation.org.

About the Center for Curatorial Studies

The Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College (CCS Bard) was founded in 1990 as an exhibition and research center for the study of late 20th-century and contemporary art and culture and to explore experimental approaches to the presentation of these topics and their impact on our world. Since 1994, the Center for Curatorial Studies and its graduate program have provided one of the world’s most forward-thinking teaching and learning environments for the research and practice of contemporary art and curatorship. Broadly interdisciplinary, CCS Bard encourages students, faculty, and researchers to question the critical and political dimension of art, its mediation, and its social significance. CCS Bard cultivates innovative thinking, radical research, and new ways to challenge our understanding of the social and civic values of the visual arts. CCS Bard provides an intensive educational program alongside its public events, exhibitions, and publications, which collectively explore the critical potential of the institutions and practices of exhibition-making. It is uniquely positioned within the larger Center’s tripartite resources, which include the internationally renowned CCS Bard Library and Archives and the Hessel Museum of Art, with its rich permanent collection.

About Bard College

Founded in 1860, Bard is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences. The campus, a fusion of two historic riverfront estates, is located in the Hudson Valley. The College offers the bachelor of arts degree with concentrations in more than 40 academic programs in four divisions: Arts; Languages and Literature; Science, Mathematics, and Computing; and Social Studies; and a five-year B.A./B.S. degree in economics and finance. Through a five-year program with The Bard College Conservatory of Music, students earn a B.Music degree and a B.A. in a field other than music.

Bard offers the following graduate degrees: master of fine arts; master of arts in curatorial studies; master of arts, master of philosophy, and doctor of philosophy in decorative arts, design history, and material culture; master of science in economic theory and policy; master of science in environmental policy and in climate science and policy; master of business administration in sustainability; master of arts in teaching; and master of music in vocal arts and in conducting. Several graduate dual degrees also are offered.

Bard’s campus is a center from which students can explore the rich natural and cultural life of the Hudson Valley. Within a half-hour’s drive of the campus are many of the great Hudson Valley mansions and historic sites.

With its deep commitment to civic engagement, Bard is a private institution that acts in the public interest. Bard undertakes and fosters initiatives that reflect its principles—innovation, ambition, risk taking, and a fundamental belief in the link between liberal education and democracy. What distinguishes Bard is its willingness and ability to promote and sustain long-term projects that engage its students, faculty, and administrators with some of the most important issues facing society. Whether in social service organizations in the Hudson Valley; in prisons; in high schools in New York, Newark, Cleveland, and New Orleans; or in universities in Russia, Berlin, the West Bank, and Kyrgyzstan, Bard is always innovating and engaging. 

###

This event was last updated on 09-09-2015

Back to Top