Dear Carly,

Greetings from the fall in the HV on the last day of September!

First and foremost, I hope this message finds you safe and well, in particular those affected by hurricanes Ian and Fiona. We are thinking of you here in Annandale.

I am just back from a trip to California where we had a lovely meet-up of Bardians in the Bay Area at Tacolicious. Thank you to everyone who came out, and thank you to my co-host, Bill Stavru '87.

I never ceased to be amazed at what Bardians are doing. In California I met alumni/ae working for NASA, building drones that sail in the sea, working for Paramount and Disney, going to medical school, training to be a doula, working in tech (lots, no surprise in San Francisco), supplying the raw ingredients for vitamins and supplements, playing in classical ensembles while working in tech, working in disaster risk management and XXXXXX. So many Bardians in California now—keep an eye out for news of regional affinity groups Bard in LA and Bardians in the Bay Area. I look forward to coming back in the spring.

And just after I came back at dawn from CA I headed off to attend a preview, at the new Stissing Center in Pine Plains, of the upcoming documentary, The Uncommon Woman, about the pioneering writer, director, and choreographer Rhoda Levine '53. The event included excerpts from the film, including one with Rhoda and classmate Sherman Yellen '53, and musical performances by Bard Conservatory students and students in Bard's graduate music programs. Joan Tower (Rhoda's best friend) was a co-host and curated the music selections which ranged from her own compositions to Bizet to songs from the X:The Life and Times of Malcolm X, which was first directed by Rhoda in 1986. It was a fantastic evening, and Rhoda Levine is certainly someone of whom we are Bardian and Proud. 

Family and Alumni/ae Weekend is coming up fast, October 21st-23rd. There are classes, nature tours, alumni/ae tours, concerts, discussions, exhibits, apple tastings and the launch of Eden Revisited by László Bitó '60. The Studio Arts Department Fund for Visual Learning will run an auction of faculty, student, and alumni/ae works. (Stay tuned, some high-profile Bard artists are donating their work. Just saying…)

And…as the sun goes down, I will be leading "Spirits of Annandale", an interactive tour of the Bard Cemetery led by me and my friend, Bard Archivist Helene Tieger '85. I hope you can come. 

WXBC is turning 75! Seventy-five years of Bard radio. If you haven't been listening, it's online and easy. I love joining the chat, finding out about new music, and hearing what's new on campus. Sign up HERE.

And… Tamar Faggen '23, the General Director of WXBC, is doing her Senior Project on WXBC and would love to hear from alumni/ae who were involved with the station. Please email her and look out for anniversary celebrations on November 22nd. 

The upcoming Hannah Arendt Conference, Rage and Reason: Democracy Under the Tyranny of Social Media, on October 13th and 14th, will be in person and live-streamed. Act fast, the deadline to register is tomorrow! 

Did you get the most recent Bardian? Please let me know if you didn't. It is online here. We are asking for Class Notes for the next one—the deadline is October 7th. You can submit them online here.
 
OK, that's it from me. Please stay in touch. Join an affinity group, follow us on social @bardalumni and sign up to the Bard Alumni/ae LinkedIn page for job postings, or just email me with any thoughts or ideas you have.
 
Be seeing you,
Jane Brien '89

P.S. Reunion 2023 will be here before you know it. May 26th-28th. All 3s and 8s—it's your turn. We want you to come back, to join your class committee, and to support your class gift to the Alumni/ae Reunion Scholarship, which helps the next generation of Bardians. Thank you!

Bard College Receives $25 Million Endowment Gift from Gochman Family Foundation Supporting Renamed American and Indigenous Studies Program

Match by Open Society Foundations as Part of Bard’s Endowment Drive Will Create $50 Million Endowment Supporting Native American and Indigenous Studies in Undergraduate and Graduate Academics and the Arts

Bard College is excited to announce a transformational $25 million endowment gift from the Gochman Family Foundation, which will substantially advance its work deepening diversity and equity in American Studies with a Center for Indigenous Studies, faculty appointments and student scholarships, and the appointment of an Indigenous Curatorial Fellow at Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS Bard). An additional $25 million matching commitment by Open Society Foundations as part of Bard’s endowment drive will create a $50 million endowment supporting Native American and Indigenous Studies in undergraduate and graduate academics and the arts. The College’s American Studies Program will be renamed American and Indigenous Studies to more fully reflect continental history and to place Native American and Indigenous Studies at the heart of curricular innovation and development.

Distinguished Writer in Residence Dawn Lundy Martin Joins Bard Faculty as Full Professor

The Division of Languages and Literature is pleased to announce the tenured appointment of Dawn Lundy Martin to the faculty of Bard College as Distinguished Writer in Residence in the Written Arts Program at the rank of full professor. Her appointment begins in the spring 2023 semester. Dawn Lundy Martin is an American poet, essayist, and memoirist.

Bard Senior Sonita Alizada Calls for Global Action Supporting Women and Girls in Conflict Zones, Joins European Council Event in Conjunction with UN General Assembly

Sonita Alizada ’23, Bard College student, international rapper, and human rights activist, participated in the European Council event “Women in Conflicts: Young Voices for Change” on Wednesday, September 21, performing original songs and speaking on a panel of youth advocates. The event featured young women survivors, activists, policymakers, and leaders working in conflict and post-conflict regions. Cohosted by UN Women, Nadia’s Initiative, and the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation, the third annual “Women in Conflicts” event took place in conjunction with the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Art Collective Codirected by Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford ’07 to Curate and Direct Fifth Edition of Chicago Architecture Biennial

The Chicago-based Floating Museum, an art collective codirected by Bard alumnus Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford ’07, will serve as the artistic team leading the fifth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, or CAB 5. Titled This is a Rehearsal, CAB 5 “will build on and expand the collective’s ongoing work,” writes Matt Hickman for the Architect’s Newspaper. “Floating Museum is organized to work at the intersection of disciplines, where civic participation inspires and shapes our process. It’s both a thrill and challenge to collaborate with the CAB as the artistic team of the 2023 edition,” said the members of Floating Museum.

$3.2 Million Given to Bard College Endowing Keith Haring Fellowship in Art and Activism in Perpetuity

Endowment Coincides with CCS Bard’s Permanent Reinstallation of Keith Haring Wall Drawing Created During 1981 Visit to Bard College

Egyptian Author Haytham el-Wardany Appointed 2022-23 Fellow

Bard College has received $3.2 million to endow in perpetuity the Keith Haring Fellowship in Art and Activism, an annual faculty position that brings a prominent scholar, activist, or practicing artist to teach and conduct research within the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS Bard) graduate program and the undergraduate Human Rights Program. The endowment is made possible by a grant of $800,000 from the Keith Haring Foundation and matching funds from the Marieluise Hessel Foundation and benefactor George Soros. The endowment coincides with CCS Bard’s permanent reinstallation of a Keith Haring wall drawing created during the artist's 1981 visit to the College. Bard simultaneously announced that writer Haytham el-Wardany has been named the 2022–23 recipient of the Keith Haring Fellowship and will be in residence on campus during the spring semester to teach and conduct research.

“Snakes, Scrolls, Swinging from Chandeliers”: Artist Carolee Shneemann ’59 Profiled in the Guardian

Novelist Stephanie LaCava profiles her friend, multidisciplinary artist, and Bard studio arts alumna Carolee Shneemann ’59 for the Guardian. Shneemann (1939–2019) was among the founding artists of the Judson Dance Theater, alongside the late Trisha Brown and Aileen Passloff (Professor Emerita of Dance at Bard). “Postmortem, the accolades come fast for Carolee. They were never so forthcoming when she was still pushing the limits of earthbound energy, inhabiting her body,” writes LaCava.

Got an Art Problem? Nayland Blake ’82 Can Help, Writes the New Yorker

As part of the 2022 Whitney Biennial, Nayland Blake ’82, “bearish, Merlin-bearded, soft-spoken in the manner of a blacksmith teaching kindergartners,” offers advice to artists as part of their performance series “Got an Art Problem?” Writing for the New Yorker, Hannah Seidlitz outlines Blake’s contributions to this year’s Biennial, including “Rear Entry” and “Gender Discard Party,” in which “guests were invited to ‘bring your own baggage’ and dance away the woes of classification.” With “Got an Art Problem?,” Blake schedules meetings with guests who are asked to “illustrate their art problems,” which Blake then talks through with the guest until their time is up. 

“The Many Lives of Martine Syms,” Bard MFA Alumna Profiled in the New York Times

Profiled in the New York Times, the artist Martine Syms MFA ’17 “is the sort of ‘new media’ artist who antiquates the term. Since her days as a film programmer at clubs like the Echo Park Film Center in Los Angeles, she has turned the various lenses of media around to interrogate what society expects of Black women, and Black artists in particular,” writes Travis Diehl. This fall, Syms has an independent feature film showing in theaters with worldwide distribution, as well as exihibtions on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and CCS Bard.