Calendar of Events

A musical instrument made of glass? Explore the contemporary glass art on view in Fired Up: Glass Today as Vera Meyer performs an informal concert on the glass harmonica, a musical instrument developed by Benjamin Franklin. Free with museum admission. 

In MATRIX 190, Stephanie Syjuco turns to incorporates imagery of nineteenth–century works from the Wadsworth’s American art collection as a lens to explore how art and museums shape our view of history. Join curators Erin Monroe and Jared Quinton as they discuss the shifting narratives around these grand portraits, idealized landscapes, and dramatic history paintings, including John Vanderlyn’s The Murder of Jane McCrea (1804). Free with museum admission. Meet in front of the Museum Shop. 

Ease into the new year with a slow art afternoon. Take a stroll through the museum and practice close looking with your favorite artwork. Learn about Mohegan culture and history through storytelling and tribal artifacts in a presentation by specialists from The Tantaquidgeon Museum. Use a variety of mixed materials to design a happiness scrapbook and document the moments that bring you joy. Admission is free from noon-2pm.

Celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through art making, performances, and tours for all ages. Explore The Amistad Center for Art & Culture’s exhibition Art and Activism at Tougaloo College during its final day in Hartford and learn how art can catalyze social justice. Free admission all day.   

ART MAKING
Work alongside the Public Art for Racial Justice Education team in a portable mural highlighting national leaders of the civil rights movement.
Join muralists from RiseUp for Arts and add your mark to their “Piecing It Back Together” artwork.
Conversation Starters: Demonstrate the power of your voice and create a sign that showcases your unique opinion.
Soar Together: Did you know that the dove symbolizes peace? Use a variety of colors, shapes, and textures to decorate a dove ornament that carries your hopeful vision for the future.

PERFORMANCES
Enjoy a performance by singer Elizabeth Lyra Ross in The Amistad Center for Art & Culture. 1pm
A special recital by Dejavé Dance Company reveals collaborative choreography at work and inspires everyone to move. 2:30pm
Listen to an uplifting presentation by the Voices of Hartford vocal ensemble. 3:15pm

FAMILY TOUR Eyes on Art | 12:15 pm, meet in the Main Street lobby

Presented in partnership with The Amistad Center for Art & Culture. Generously supported by Talcott Resolution. 

Stigmatized by its associations with cannabis, flameworked glass has been almost completely left out of the broader discussion surrounding the contemporary glass art movement. Recent public policy shifts and greater inclusivity within the glass art community are turning the tide, bringing long-overdue recognition to the contributions of flameworkers. Brandy Culp, curator of Fired Up: Glass Today, moderates a discussion between artists David Colton, Kim Thomas, Carmen Lozar, and Curator of Postwar and Contemporary Glass at the Corning Museum of Glass Susie Silbert about the history, artistry, and ever–advancing technology of flameworking to shed light on this historically under-appreciated technique. Listen as some of the major voices in contemporary flameworking reflect on the art form’s journey from scientific laboratories and underground studios to the mainstream art world. Free with required registration. 

5pm gallery viewing, 6pm conversation

Artist Matt Paweski and curator Jared Quinton discuss the new suite of tabletop and wall-mounted works made for the artist’s MATRIX exhibition. Join us in the galleries before the program for a first look at the exhibition. Free with required registration.   

A docent guided tour of collection highlights. Availability is limited to 15 participants and advance registration is recommended. A face mask/covering is encouraged. Same-day admission is included in the price of your tour ticket. 

Balthus (1908–2001) is one of the most controversial European painters of the twentieth century. Little known during the 1930s, his status as a leading modern artist advanced with the Wadsworth’s crucial help. Join curator Oliver Tostmann as he explores the fascinating story behind the artist’s career and his reception on both sides of the Atlantic. Free with museum admission. Meet in front of the Museum Shop. 

A docent guided tour of collection highlights. Availability is limited to 15 participants and advance registration is recommended. A face mask/covering is encouraged. Same-day admission is included in the price of your tour ticket. 

In-person tickets have SOLD OUT. Register for the live stream to attend the lecture via Zoom.

5pm reception, 6pm lecture—In museum & virtual 
Jelani Cobb, PhD, is an expert on how race, politics, history, and popular culture intersect in America. Author of the highly acclaimed book The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress, Cobb also writes about police brutality, voter access, racial discord, and partisan polarization and eloquently explores how the past looms in our contemporary societal landscape and how we can collectively push toward a more equitable America. Jelani Cobb discusses the complex dynamics of race and racism in America, to clarify them and inspire his audience to collective activism with the goal of achieving equity in the form of genuine democracy. He shows us that not only are the levers of justice in our hands, but we can move them in the direction we see fit. 

The Pennington Lecture is presented in honor of the Rev. Dr. James W. C. Pennington and is part of Capital Community College’s Black Heritage Project. The project aims to surface the remarkable history of the first Black church and school for Black children in Hartford through an exhibition on Hartford’s Black community formation (now on view at the college), curriculum in a variety of courses, and programs such as this.  

This lecture is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Capital Community College Foundation and presented as a collaboration between Capital Community College, The Amistad Center for Art & Culture, and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.