Monday, May 11, 2009

RICH: FREE Skill Share Workshops Start Tomorrow

Dear Friends,
A reminder - and a request to spread word to your networks - about RICH's FREE Skill Share Workshops. These are all lunchtime workshops from 12 - 1:30 p.m. Participants are asked to bring their own brown bag lunches. RICH will provide beverages and cookies. Thanks for your help getting the word out!

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WORKSHOP # 1

Tuesday, May 12: Slater Mill HIstoric Site, 67 Roosevelt Ave, Pawtucket, RI 02860
Planning Your Exhibition on a Shoestring: Tricks for making your budget exhibition look like a million bucks! Learn what you should spend money on and where you can cut costs.

Presenters:
Marjory O'Toole, Managing Director of the Little Compton Historical Society. Marjory has been involved in four special exhibition projects for the Society in recent years.  Each has had a modest budget but produced professional results and generated very positive reactions from the local community. Marjory is a graduate of Brown University and has worked for over 20 years in the non-profit sector raising funds and developing public programs.

Andrian Paquette, Curator at Slater Mill. Andrian has curated and managed several exhibitions for Slater Mill, including the recent Pawtucket Falls exhibition.

Meg Rotzel and Rosie Branson Gill, Co-curators of Art+History, an exhibit currently up at the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage at Brown University. Art+History is an exhibition and community programming series about the processes of interpreting history. Art+History is a catalyst for conversation about how historical narrative is crafted and a different model for engaging audiences in historical sites and museums through contemporary artwork. Visit the project's website at http://artplushistory.wordpress.com/. Meg and Rosie are recent graduates of the master's in public humanities program at Brown.

Ted Peffer, president, iolabs inc, a Pawtucket-based photographic, fine art and display imaging studio. iolabs has worked with many major museums, organizations and institutions, providing exhibit display and interior photographic panels, event display graphics and interior decor services. Additionally, iolabs provides large and small format archival, printed reproductions and editions of historic or contemporary works of fine art, photographs and illustration.

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WORKSHOP # 2

Wednesday, May 13: AS220, 115 Empire St. Providence, RI 02903
Surviving as a Freelancer: Three project directors under the age of 30 share some tips for making ends meet.

Presenters:
Reza Clifton, Online Publisher, Freelance Writer, Independent Radio Producer; Project Director for Rhode 2 Africa - A Concert Series and an Interview/Podcast Series and Video on RezaRitesRi.com.

Matthew Lawrence, Project Director for NotAbouttheBuildings.com, The Library Show, Adult Spelling Bee, Dead-In and many other literary and arts based community happenings.

Paul McCarthy, Independent Radio Producer for Not Your Classroom and What's What Radio.

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WORKSHOP # 3

Monday, May 18: RI EDC, 315 Iron Horse Way, Providence, RI 02908 (directions/map at http://www.riedc.com/contact)
The Biggest Little: Easy and free ways to promote your organization and project in  Lil' Rhody and beyond! Come learn how to enhance your web presence...for free!

Presenters:
Mark Brodeur, Director of Tourism at the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. Mark is responsible for implementing and managing the activities of the Tourism Division, which includes managing the division's staff, communications, publications, trade events, marketing programs and tourism research. Mark is a 25-year veteran of the tourism and hospitality industry.

Leah Nahmias, is a 2009 graduate of Brown's Masters of Public Humanities program where she researched and co-developed a public humanities toolbox for non-profits to assist in creating great websites using freeware. Leah graduated from Indiana University in 2004 with a B.A. in History, a certificate in Jewish Studies, and a minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures.  With all of these incredibly practical degrees in hand and a spirit of idealism in her heart, she joined Teach For America and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina.  For three years she taught different versions of U.S. history—standard, ESL, inclusion, AP, IB History of the Americas—and AVID at West Charlotte High School.  These various experiences, professional and personal, got her thinking about how individuals and communities think about the past, where they encounter “history,” and the challenges of making these processes accessible and meaningful.



RI Historical Society -- Upcoming Events


Wednesday, May 13, 12:00 noon
Free, Contact: Barbara Barnes
(401) 273-7507 x62 or bbarnes@rihs.org
 
Downcity Alive! Spring Has Sprung Downcity!
Join us on 45-minute
noon time walks sponsored by the Providence Foundation and Rhode Island Historical Society that are free and open to all! They are discovery tours for those who work, shop and walk downtown at lunch time. Today, come find out what the summer has in store and what's new on Westminster and Weybosset Streets.

**************************************
 
Thursday, May 21,
7:00 p.m.
Gallery Night
John Brown House Museum
52 Power Street, Providence
Free Admission, To R.S.V.P.: Dalila Goulart
(401) 331-8575 x45 or programs@rihs.org

If These Walls Could Talk …
Man with a Horn: Cornetist Bobby Hackett
Come celebrate the life and music of Rhode Island’s own jazzman Bobby Hackett with a retrospective on his decades-long career. Dr. Steven Kane will lead this tribute presentation, which includes some examples of Hackett’s recorded works. Dr. Kane is a practicing psychotherapist in Providence, and is also a professional swing pianist, jazz educator, and keyboard teacher.

************************************
 
Saturday, May 23,
1:00 p.m.
Tickets: $10
To R.S.V.P.:
Barbara Barnes
(401) 273-7507 x62 or bbarnes@rihs.org
 
Gallery Night in the Light of Saturday:
East Side
Join us on these walking tours offered by Gallery Night Providence and the Rhode Island Historical Society. Let the fun you had on Gallery Night continue during the weekend. On the Saturday after Gallery Night in May, June and July, walk with a tour guide who knows the neighborhood and an artist who knows the galleries and the art. Learn more about the Providence art scene. After the tour, linger awhile. Explore the neighborhood; find a great cafe for coffee and conversation; stay for dinner. Maps and local information provided. All tours begin at 1 p.m. at a specific neighborhood location to be announced. Tickets are $10/person. Reservations are requested.

*************************************
 
Saturday, May 30,
10:00 a.m.
Tour departs from the
John
Brown House Museum
52 Power Street, Providence
To R.S.V.P.: Dalila Goulart
(401) 331-8575 x45 or programs@rihs.org
 
African-American History Walking
Tours
These walking tours celebrate the history of African Americans who lived on College Hill from 1701 to the present. Ray Rickman, a well known community leader, will lead a lively discussion and offer his perspective on the people and historic buildings of Providence's oldest neighborhood. Tickets are $10 per person; tour lasts about ninety minutes. Reservations are required.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

OPEN SOURCE: A Scheme for art production and curating?

OPEN SOURCE: A Scheme for art production and curating?

Friday May 8, 2009
10am-Noon
AS220 Performance Space/115 Empire St.
FREE.

LIVE STREAM from Positions in Flux Symposium ,at The Netherlands Media Art Institute in Amsterdam,
on the changing role of the artist and art institutes in the networked society.

Open Source – A scheme for art production and curating?

This session deals with the concept of open source for art production and its presentation. The open source movement is driven by the idea of collective, process-based, sustainable production and improvement. In software development this strategy has already proven to be valid; however can this model be applied to other products such as artworks or even exhibitions? In how far does the open source model differ from other forms of artistic collaboration? Is there a new role model for both the artist and the curator in the future? Which (economic) value and impact has expertise in open source production? How could institutions and organisations respond to this trend? How could institutions and organisations respond to this trend and create public domains?

Jaromil, dyne.org and researcher at NIMk
Denis 'Jaromil' Roio is the main author of the GNU/Linux Live CD Dyne:bolic as well as of a number of audiovisual tools. He is also an artist who has been part of international exhibitions such as CODeDOC II by the Whitney Museum Artport and speaker on conferences such as Ars Electronica. Inspired by Richard Stallman's 'free as in free speech' approach as well as liberatory politics, Jaromil seeks to transgress borders between art and code, social activism and research and development.
jaromil.dyne.org/journal/

Femke Snelting (NL) and Renée Turner (US)
De Geuzen is a foundation for multi-visual research and the collaborative identity of Riek Sijbring, Femke Snelting and Renée Turner. Since 1996 they have employed a variety of tactics to explore female identity, narratives of the archive and media image ecologies. Their work has been featured in events, publications and spaces such as Manifesta 2, Mute, NIMK, Peacock Visual Arts and Furtherfield.org. Exhibitions, workshops and online projects operate as thematic framing devices where the group investigates and tests ideas collectively with different publics. Characterising what they do as research, their work is open-ended, values processes of exchange and promotes critical interrogation.
www.geuzen.org <http://www.geuzen.org>

Marcos Garcia, director of Interactivos, Medialab Prado (ES)
Medialab-Prado is aimed at the production, research, and dissemination of digital culture and operates at the intersection of art, science, technology, and society. Its primary objective is to create a structure where both research and production are processes permeable to user participation. It has developed a unique workshop model for collaborative art production and knowledge transfer.
www.medialab-prado.es <http://www.medialab-prado.es>  

Joasia Krysa, curator, founder of KURATOR (PL/UK)
KURATOR is a cultural organisation operating as a curatorial agency and research platform at the intersection of art and technology. It has a particular interest in an emerging discourse and practice that links curating with software and networks. Krysa’s recent curatorial projects include openKURATOR, an open submission and presentation platform developed by KURATOR. She is the editor of ‘Curating Immateriality’ (Autonomedia, New York 2006) and lecturer/researcher at the AZTEC (Art Science Technology Consortium at the University of Plymouth.)
www.kurator.org <http://www.kurator.org>  

Moderated by Josephine Bosma, theoretician and critic (nl)
For more than 15 years Bosma’s focus has been on media art and media theory. She has published numerous interviews and essays in book collections and in magazines including Mute (UK), Telepolis (D), UHK (NO), and Switch (USA). She played a key part in organizing the radio part of the Next 5 Minutes 2 and Next 5 Minutes 3 festivals, and has edited the streaming media sections of the nettime book, ReadMe and the N5M3 workbook.
http://laudanum.net/bosma

21.30h. Drinks at Netherlands Media Art Institute
Keizersgracht 264
Amsterdam
www.nimk.nl <http://www.nimk.nl>

Monday, May 4, 2009

RI Historical Society -- May Programs and Events


Through the Spring until July 2nd
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Aldrich House
110 Benevolent Street,
Providence
For more information: Dalila Goulart
(401) 331-8575 x45 or programs@rihs.org
 
Exhibit:
Rhode Island in the Time of Lincoln
The Rhode Island Historical Society continues to celebrate the bicentennial of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth with an exhibit that takes a look at life in Rhode Island during the 1860s. Though Lincoln made only two stops in RI, they were widely attended and remembered. But what did the Rhode Island that Lincoln visited look like? Rhode Island in the Time of Lincoln will remain on exhibit Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. through the spring. Admission is free. Thank you to the exhibit’s sponsors: The Rhode Island Foundation and the Rhode Island Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

************************************

Thursday, May 7,
6:30 p.m.
Rhode Island Historical Society Library
121 Hope Street, Providence
Free Admission, To R.S.V.P.: Lee Teverow
(401) 273-8107 x10 or lteverow@rihs.org
 
Lecture: Flesh and Stone: Ruins and the Civil War
Megan Kate Nelson, a New England Regional Fellowship Consortium Research Award recipient, will discuss her book project, Ruin Nation: The Destruction of the South and the Making of America during the Civil War Era. Nelson will explain how and why Americans destroyed southern cities, plantations, forests, and men, and how both soldiers and civilians responded to these different kinds of ruins. She will also talk about the challenges of investigating the environmental history of the Civil War, and the importance that letters and diaries of New Englanders play in her research. Nelson received her Ph.D. in American Studies from the
University of Iowa and is Assistant Professor of History at California State University, Fullerton.

*************************************
 
Wednesday, May 13,
12:00 noon
Free, Contact: Barbara Barnes
(401) 273-7507 x62 or bbarnes@rihs.org
 
Downcity Alive! Spring Has Sprung Downcity!
Join us on 45-minute
noon time walks sponsored by the Providence Foundation and Rhode Island Historical Society that are free and open to all! They are discovery tours for those who work, shop and walk downtown at lunch time. Today, come find out what the summer has in store and what's new on Westminster and Weybosset Streets.

**************************************
 
Thursday, May 21,
7:00 p.m.
Gallery Night
John Brown House Museum
52 Power Street, Providence
Free Admission, To R.S.V.P.: Dalila Goulart
(401) 331-8575 x45 or programs@rihs.org

If These Walls Could Talk …
Man with a Horn: Cornetist Bobby Hackett
Come celebrate the life and music of Rhode Island’s own jazzman Bobby Hackett with a retrospective on his decades-long career. Dr. Steven Kane will lead this tribute presentation, which includes some examples of Hackett’s recorded works. Dr. Kane is a practicing psychotherapist in Providence, and is also a professional swing pianist, jazz educator, and keyboard teacher.

************************************
 
Saturday, May 23,
1:00 p.m.
Tickets: $10
To R.S.V.P.:
Barbara Barnes
(401) 273-7507 x62 or bbarnes@rihs.org
 
Gallery Night in the Light of Saturday:
East Side
Join us on these walking tours offered by Gallery Night Providence and the Rhode Island Historical Society. Let the fun you had on Gallery Night continue during the weekend. On the Saturday after Gallery Night in May, June and July, walk with a tour guide who knows the neighborhood and an artist who knows the galleries and the art. Learn more about the Providence art scene. After the tour, linger awhile. Explore the neighborhood; find a great cafe for coffee and conversation; stay for dinner. Maps and local information provided. All tours begin at 1 p.m. at a specific neighborhood location to be announced. Tickets are $10/person. Reservations are requested.

*************************************
 
Saturday, May 30,
10:00 a.m.
Tour departs from the
John
Brown House Museum
52 Power Street, Providence
To R.S.V.P.: Dalila Goulart
(401) 331-8575 x45 or programs@rihs.org
 
African-American History Walking
Tours
These walking tours celebrate the history of African Americans who lived on College Hill from 1701 to the present. Ray Rickman, a well known community leader, will lead a lively discussion and offer his perspective on the people and historic buildings of Providence's oldest neighborhood. Tickets are $10 per person; tour lasts about ninety minutes. Reservations are required.

Friday, May 1, 2009

FW: PPS May E-Newsletter

Providence Preservation Society
In This Issue
Preservation
Education
Events
Volunteer/Donation Opportunities
Community Notes
Quick Links
Upcoming
PPS Events
Through June 12
Children's Heritage Tours

May 6
Most Endangered Properties List Press Conference

May 29
Tiffany
Garden Party
 
June 6
2009 Festival of
Historic Houses Saturday House Tour

June 7
2009 Festival of Historic Houses
Sunday House Tour
 
Join Our Mailing List
May 2009 News
Preservation
May is National Preservation Month!


Join Us As We Announce the 2009 Most Endangered Properties List

MEP2 On Wednesday, May 6 at 4:00 p.m., PPS will hold a press conference to announce its highly anticipated 2009 Most Endangered Properties List. The event will take place at 24 Meeting Street in Providence. It is open to the public and all are welcome. Responses are requested; R.S.V.P. to Sara Emmenecker at (401) 831-7440 or semmenecker@ppsri.org. Click here to read more.

PPS Championed in Providence Journal Op-Ed
 
Read Arnold B. Chace, Jr.'s April 22, 2009 op-ed, "PPS's Long History of Success."


Federal Hill, Reservoir & West End Charette
 
The next installment of the City's neighborhood planning process brings planners to the Federal Hill House at 9 Courtland Street May 4-7. Federal Hill, Reservoir, and West End residents are encouraged to come to provide input on a number of critical neighborhood issues. Click here for more information.

Traveling Photography Exhibit's Final Stop
 
TravelExhibitAs we roll out the new 2009 Most Endangered Properties List, the run of the traveling photography exhibit featuring properties listed in 2008 is coming to an end. Be sure to check it out at Three Sisters, 1074 Hope Street, through May 14.

Senate Committee on Corporations forwards Gas Meter Bill to Senate Floor

Ugly gas metersThank you to all who answered our Preservation Alert and contacted your state senators and Committee on Corporations members urging them to support S-0107, the Senate Bill that would prohibit National Grid from installing gas meters without homeowners' permission. National Grid has successfully stalled the legislative process and continues its efforts to weaken the bill's protections; the vote, once scheduled for April 29, is now set for the middle of next week. Thank you for your assistance with this important advocacy effort. Read more about the issue in Preservation, the magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

What Place Matters to You?


This Place Matters signIn honor of National Preservation Month, PPS invites you to participate in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's endeavor to discuss places that matter to people across the nation. Whether it's the site of a significant historical moment or something more personal, the National Trust wants you to document and publicize the places that matter most to you on their This Place Matters website. One place that matters to us all, the City of Providence, is profiled in the latest issue of Preservation; click here to read the story.
Education

April Docent Site Visit Gives Behind-the-Scenes Look at John Brown House

John Brown house visitDan Santos, Educational Programs and Services Manager at the John Brown House, gave the PPS docents a personalized tour of the house on Tuesday, April 7. Focusing on the early years of the building and its grounds, the tour brought to light discoveries made by local archeologist and Brown postdoctoral fellow Krysta Ryzewski. A full exhibit of her discoveries will eventually be displayed at the John Brown House; stay tuned for updates.


PPS Re-launches Adult Education with Fall Symposium

Old Stone BankThis fall PPS will re-launch its Adult Educational Programs by taking a look at the "American Renaissance" (c. 1876 - c. 1914) in Providence with a symposium that coincides with our annual Fall Event, to be held under the gilded dome of one of Providence's most iconic commercial buildings of the period. The cultural and aesthetic trends of this era will be further explored through a series of lectures in 2010, developed in collaboration with other local cultural and historic institutions. Please mark your calendars for October 23-24 and check www.ppsri.org for updates.

Children's Heritage Education Tours

Kids on TourBookings are still being accepted for our Spring 2009 Children's Heritage Education Tours, which are led Monday through Friday at 10:00 a.m., through June 12.
 

Teachers may contact Education Coordinator Kathleen McAreavey at kmcareavey@ppsri.org or (401)831-7440, ext. 103. To learn more about PPS's educational programing, including ways you can help, click here.

Art+History: Place Explorations
At the Nightingale-Brown House through October 2

Please stop by the Nightingale-Brown House to view the graduate thesis project Art+History. Curated by graduate students Rosie Branson Gill and Meg Rotzel and presenting original works by Carla Hererra- Prats and Jill Slosburg-Ackerman, this exhibit of commissioned artworks reflects on the assembled histories of the house.
 
For more information, curriculum and public programs visit
http://artplushistory.wordpress.com/  and
http://www.brown.edu/Research/JNBC/.
Events

30th Festival of Historic Houses
 
Festival Brochure ImagePPS celebrates the 30th Anniversary of its Festival in style with a Saturday, June 6 tour on majestic Stimson Avenue and a Sunday, June 7 tour in the eclectic West End. To honor this anniversary Festival, Tiffany & Co. is sponsoring a "Tiffany Garden Party" on Friday, May 29 in an historic Angell Street house and garden adjacent to the Saturday tour neighborhood. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.ppsri.org/festival.

Sponsors to date include: Dominion Energy, Pella Windows and Doors, Bank Rhode Island, Dimeo Construction Company, WPRI-TV, and
 
New England Home logo
Volunteer/Donation Opportunities

30th Festival of Historic Houses
 
Be a volunteer for one of the premier events of the Providence cultural calendar - the Festival of Historic Houses on June 6. Volunteer shifts are 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. or 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Roles include, but are not limited to: house guides, route guides, and registration greeters. Mandatory volunteer meetings are scheduled for Monday, May 4 at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, May 16 at 10:00 a.m; all volunteers are required to attend one meeting. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Barbara Zdravesky at barbara.zdravesky@gmail.com.

General Office/Clerical Assistant

PPS seeks a volunteer to assist with general office/clerical tasks, including but not limited to answering a multi-line phone, greeting visitors, working on special projects, mailings, and attending and assisting with various major events. Experience with Microsoft Office programs necessary. Help needed Mondays and Thursdays, 12:00-5:00 p.m., and Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.  Must be pleasant on the phone and able to handle multiple tasks at once. Please email your interest and availability to info@ppsri.org.
Community Notes

Available for Rent: Shakespeare's Head, 21 Meeting St.

Shakespeare's Head GardenCommercial tenant sought for lovely garden-level office space in historic building. Office approximately 400 square feet, it features a row of windows with a view of the tranquil Shakespeare's Head Garden and plenty of natural light. Monthly rent is $650. Terms: Long-term, triple-net lease. Contact Kristi Agniel at (401) 749-5008.
  
Location: Convenient to Downtown, Courthouse, State House, College Hill and RISD.
Owner:  Shakespeare's Head Association. 
Availability: Immediate.


Keep off the Grass at the John Nicholas Brown Center

Original, site-specific theatre, developed by New York-based playwright Molly Rice and students in the Brown University class "Site-Specific Playwriting in Brown's Historical Spaces," will travel from the Nightingale-Brown House (357 Benefit Street) to the John Brown House (52 Power Street), May 11-13 at 5:00 p.m. For questions and reservations please e-mail historicsiteplay@gmail.com.

Marcel Breuer: Design and Architecture
April 17-July 20, 2009, at the RISD Museum of Art
 
Marcel Breuer apartmentMarcel Breuer: Design and Architecture is the first exhibition to treat all facets of Breuer's work with equal weight. Breuer's long career was marked by equal parts acclaim and controversy -
like the modernist style he helped to define.

"Old House Soul"

Another chapter of the preservation documentary "Old House Soul" (a work in progress) will be screened on Thursday, May 7 (6:00-7:30 p.m.) at the Providence Public Library in the Barnard Room, 3rd floor, 150 Empire Street, Providence. For more information, visit www.oldhousesoul.com.
The mission of the Providence Preservation Society (PPS) is to improve the quality of life in the city of Providence through historic preservation and the enhancement of the built environment. PPS is a nonprofit membership organization, exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and is recognized as a charitable organization.
 

Talk on Photography, Race, and Humor in the US - RISD, 05/04, 7 pm

New Voices in Art History Lecture Series

Tanya Sheehan, "Photography under a Cloud: Race and Early Photographic Humor"

Monday, May 4, 7pm
Metcalf Auditorium, Chace Center, RISD
20 North Main Street

In this lecture Professor Sheehan critically examines how and why popular ideas about the photographic medium have intersected with anxieties about racial identity in America since the mid-nineteenth century. Through an analysis of satirical writings on photography, graphic illustrations of photographic practices, and comically staged photographs, she develops a model for taking early photographic humor seriously as a popular form of entertainment and as highly complex social commentary.

Tanya Sheehan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art History at Rutgers University, where she teaches courses on art and science, race and representation, and the history of photography. She is the author of the forthcoming book, "Doctor Photo: The Medicine of Photography in American Culture" (Penn State University Press), which examines the cultural work of medical metaphors and models in nineteenth-century photographic discourse. Professor Sheehan has recently received research fellowships from the Leslie Center for the Humanities at Dartmouth College, the Beinecke Library at Yale University, and the American Antiquarian Society to support a second book project on racial jokes in early photographic humor.

The New Voices in Art History lecture series is sponsored by the Department of the History of Art and Visual Culture and the Division of Liberal Arts at the Rhode Island School of Design

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

RI Historical Society -- Upcoming Events

At the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association…

You are cordially invited to attend the
Fifty-fifth Annual Meeting of the
Rhode Island
Jewish Historical Association
Sunday, May 3, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.
Jewish Community Center
401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence

Bernard P. Fishman
Executive Director of the
Rhode Island Historical Society

Will deliver the Thirty-ninth David Charak Adelman Lecture
“From
Egypt to Rhode Island: What 30 Years in History Museums
Tells Me about the Future of the Past”

**************************************

Thursday, May 7,
6:30 p.m.
Rhode Island Historical Society Library
121 Hope Street, Providence
Free Admission, To R.S.V.P.: Lee Teverow
(401) 273-8107 x10 or lteverow@rihs.org
 
Lecture: Flesh and Stone: Ruins and the Civil War
Megan Kate Nelson, a New England Regional Fellowship Consortium Research Award recipient, will discuss her book project, Ruin Nation: The Destruction of the South and the Making of America during the Civil War Era. Nelson will explain how and why Americans destroyed southern cities, plantations, forests, and men, and how both soldiers and civilians responded to these different kinds of ruins. She will also talk about the challenges of investigating the environmental history of the Civil War, and the importance that letters and diaries of New Englanders play in her research. Nelson received her Ph.D. in American Studies from the
University of Iowa and is Assistant Professor of History at California State University, Fullerton.

*************************************
 
Wednesday, May 13,
12:00 noon
Free, Contact: Barbara Barnes
(401) 273-7507 x62 or bbarnes@rihs.org
 
Downcity Alive! Spring Has Sprung Downcity!
Join us on 45-minute
noon time walks sponsored by the Providence Foundation and Rhode Island Historical Society that are free and open to all! They are discovery tours for those who work, shop and walk downtown at lunch time. Today, come find out what the summer has in store and what's new on Westminster and Weybosset Streets.

**************************************
 
Thursday, May 21,
7:00 p.m.
Gallery Night
John Brown House Museum
52 Power Street, Providence
Free Admission, To R.S.V.P.: Dalila Goulart
(401) 331-8575 x45 or programs@rihs.org

If These Walls Could Talk …
Man with a Horn: Cornetist Bobby Hackett
Come celebrate the life and music of Rhode Island’s own jazzman Bobby Hackett with a retrospective on his decades-long career. Dr. Steven Kane will lead this tribute presentation, which includes some examples of Hackett’s recorded works. Dr. Kane is a practicing psychotherapist in Providence, and is also a professional swing pianist, jazz educator, and keyboard teacher.

************************************
 
Saturday, May 23,
1:00 p.m.
Tickets: $10
To R.S.V.P.:
Barbara Barnes
(401) 273-7507 x62 or bbarnes@rihs.org
 
Gallery Night in the Light of Saturday:
East Side
Join us on these walking tours offered by Gallery Night Providence and the Rhode Island Historical Society. Let the fun you had on Gallery Night continue during the weekend. On the Saturday after Gallery Night in May, June and July, walk with a tour guide who knows the neighborhood and an artist who knows the galleries and the art. Learn more about the Providence art scene. After the tour, linger awhile. Explore the neighborhood; find a great cafe for coffee and conversation; stay for dinner. Maps and local information provided. All tours begin at 1 p.m. at a specific neighborhood location to be announced. Tickets are $10/person. Reservations are requested.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Hail lecture--Identity by Design

Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology
Identity by Design:
Tradition, Change and Celebration in Native American Women’s Dresses

Barbara A. and Edward G. Hail Lecture

Tuesday, April 28, 5:30 p.m.; List 120

Oglala Lakota co-curators Colleen Cutschall (Professor of Visual Art and Aboriginal Art, Brandon University) and Emil Her Many Horses (Associate Curator, National Museum of the American Indian) will discuss their exhibit Identity by Design, produced by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Professor Cutschall and Mr. Her Many Horses produced the exhibit in collaboration with contemporary Native women designers to explore the artistry, meaning, and history behind Native women’s dresses.

Sponsored by contributors to the Barbara A. and
Edward G. Hail Lecture fund, the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage, the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America / American Indian Studies, the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center, and the Friends of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology.

Lecture takes place at List 120.

Reception follows at our gallery in Manning Hall.

RI Historical Society -- Upcoming Events


Saturday, April 25,
10:00 a.m.
Tour departs from the
John
Brown House Museum
52 Power Street, Providence
To R.S.V.P.: Dalila Goulart
(401) 331-8575 x45 or programs@rihs.org
 
African-American History Walking Tour
This
walking tour celebrates the history of African Americans who lived on College Hill from 1701 to the present. Ray Rickman, a well known community leader, will lead a lively discussion and offer his perspective on the people and historic buildings of Providence's oldest neighborhood. Tickets are $10 per person; tour lasts about ninety minutes. Reservations are requested.

**************************************
 
Thursday, May 7,
6:30 p.m.
Rhode Island Historical Society Library
121 Hope Street, Providence
Free Admission, To R.S.V.P.: Lee Teverow
(401) 273-8107 x10 or lteverow@rihs.org
 
Lecture: Flesh and Stone: Ruins and the Civil War
Megan Kate Nelson, a New England Regional Fellowship Consortium Research Award recipient, will discuss her book project, Ruin Nation: The Destruction of the South and the Making of America during the Civil War Era. Nelson will explain how and why Americans destroyed southern cities, plantations, forests, and men, and how both soldiers and civilians responded to these different kinds of ruins. She will also talk about the challenges of investigating the environmental history of the Civil War, and the importance that letters and diaries of New Englanders play in her research. Nelson received her Ph.D. in American Studies from the
University of Iowa and is Assistant Professor of History at California State University, Fullerton.

*************************************
 
Wednesday, May 13,
12:00 noon
Free, Contact: Barbara Barnes
(401) 273-7507 x62 or bbarnes@rihs.org
 
Downcity Alive! Spring Has Sprung Downcity!
Join us on 45-minute
noon time walks sponsored by the Providence Foundation and Rhode Island Historical Society that are free and open to all! They are discovery tours for those who work, shop and walk downtown at lunch time. Today, come find out what the summer has in store and what's new on Westminster and Weybosset Streets.

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At the
Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association…

You are cordially invited to attend the
Fifty-fifth Annual Meeting of the
Rhode Island
Jewish Historical Association
Sunday, May 3, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.
Jewish Community Center
401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence

Bernard P. Fishman
Executive Director of the
Rhode Island Historical Society

Will deliver the Thirty-ninth David Charak Adelman Lecture
“From
Egypt to Rhode Island: What 30 Years in History Museums
Tells Me about the Future of the Past”


Monday, April 13, 2009

RI Historical Society -- April Programs and Events


Thursday, April 16,
6:30 p.m.
Gallery Night
John Brown House Museum
52 Power Street, Providence
Free Admission, To R.S.V.P.: Dalila Goulart
(401) 331-8575 x45 or programs@rihs.org

If These Walls Could Talk …
The Archaeology of College Hill
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Krysta Ryzewski of Brown University who will enlighten us on recent archaeological work done on the John Brown House Museum property. Ryzewski is a Postdoctoral Fellow and Professor at the University’s Joukowsky Institute. Her course “The Archaeology of College Hill” gives students hands-on experience as practicing archaeologists through the investigation of local historical and archaeological sites in the College Hill area. Dr. Ryzewski and two of her students will give a behind-the-scenes look at the methods and techniques used throughout the project, as well as what results were found and what we can learn from it.

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Saturday, April 18,
10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Rhode Island Historical Society Library
121 Hope Street, Providence
RIHS members, $10; Non-members, $15
To register:
Lee Teverow
(401) 273-8107 x10 or lteverow@rihs.org

Workshop:
Rhode Island Italian
Did your family “come over” from Italy in the late 19th- early 20th century? Have you reached a dead end with your online search for your roots? Learn how to trace your immigrant ancestors using materials available at the RIHS Library and other Rhode Island repositories. Barbara Carroll, a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, will show you how to round out your family narrative, using local as well as online resources. Carroll has been doing genealogical and historical research since 1986, specializing in 19th and 20th century Italian and Jewish immigration to Rhode Island. RIHS members, $10; Non-members, $15.

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Saturday, April 25,
10:00 a.m.
Tour departs from the
John
Brown House Museum
52 Power Street, Providence
To R.S.V.P.: Dalila Goulart
(401) 331-8575 x45 or programs@rihs.org
 
African-American History Walking Tour
This
walking tour celebrates the history of African Americans who lived on College Hill from 1701 to the present. Ray Rickman, a well known community leader, will lead a lively discussion and offer his perspective on the people and historic buildings of Providence's oldest neighborhood. Tickets are $10 per person; tour lasts about ninety minutes. Reservations are requested.

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