Lectures and Events
Gain new insight on the art and culture of Philadelphia with Woodmere’s engaging lectures and gallery talks. Hear from artists, art historians, professors, curators, and writers who offer new perspectives on the Museum’s collection, exhibitions, and related topics.
The Visions of Violet Oakley: Spiritual, Political, and Aesthetic
Saturday, October 7, 3:00 PM
$15 ($10 members)
Lecturer: Patricia Likos Ricci, PhD, associate professor of the history of art and director of the Fine Arts Division, Elizabethtown College
Dr. Patricia Likos Ricci, guest curator of A Grand Vision, will speak about Violet Oakley’s development as an artist and her belief in the power of imagination to reshape society. This lecture is sponsored by Susan and Burn Oberwager.
Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony: Free Interpretation of Plant Forms by Harry Bertoia
Saturday, October 14, 2:00 PM
FREE
Celebrate Woodmere’s conservation and installation of Free Interpretation of Plant Forms, Harry Bertoia’s extraordinary 1967 sculpture and fountain. In coordination with the Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, this masterpiece is an exciting addition to Woodmere’s landscape.
Nature and Sculpture Panel Discussion
Saturday, October 14, 3:00 PM
$15 ($10 members)
Participants: Margot Berg, Public Art Director, Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy; Paul Meyer, F. Otto Haas Executive Director, Morris Arboretum; Timothy Rub, George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer, Philadelphia Museum of Art; and Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director, Grounds for Sculpture Facilitator: William Valerio, Patricia Van Burgh Allison Director and CEO, Woodmere Art Museum
The City of Philadelphia and institutions across our region install sculpture outdoors in a variety of natural, urban, public, and private settings. A panel of distinguished museum directors and leaders discuss the different ways institutions make choices about art in outdoor contexts.
A Literary Lens into the Times of Violet Oakley
Monday, October 23, 1:30 PM
$15 ($10 members)
Lecturer: Steve Wills, education consultant and former director, Wachovia Teacher Resource Center, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Edith Wharton, Kate Chopin, and other women writers of the American Renaissance were the dreamers. Like their male counterparts Robert Norris and Upton Sinclair, they heralded a new century with an optimistic morality reflecting the potential of the nation. As with Violet Oakley, their works can be viewed through the lens of their optimism. This presentation will highlight the social and scientific influences that shaped this era of intellectual and spiritual hope.
Philadelphia’s Last Victorians: Shifting Tides in Architectural Taste, 1885–1910
Saturday, October 28, 3:00 PM
$15 ($10 members)
Lecturer: Jeffrey A. Cohen, PhD, term professor in Growth and Structure of Cities, Bryn Mawr College
At the start of the twentieth century, architects and their clients were attuned to new visual values, from small crafted objects to grand civic ensembles. The work of Frank Miles Day (1861–1918), a friend and colleague of Violet Oakley, includes examples across this range. Day’s residential projects especially embodied the lessons of his travel sketches, as he recorded and absorbed the qualities he admired in older buildings and ultimately translated them into his own designs. Day’s 1902 design for Cogslea, Oakley’s Mount Airy home, reflected both his attraction to historic forms and a new simplicity challenging Victorian notions. Presented in partnership with the Chestnut Hill Conservancy in honor of its 50th anniversary. This lecture is sponsored by Susan and Burn Oberwager.
The Pioneering Women of the Bauhaus
Monday, November 13, 1:30 PM
$15 ($10 members)
Lecturer: Sigrid Wortmann Weltge, professor emerita, art history and design, Philadelphia University
The courage of the Bauhaus women was similar to that of Violet Oakley and the Red Rose Girls. As generational contemporaries, each group blazed new trails in their respective disciplines. The Bauhaus and the ideals on which it was founded left an indelible mark on architecture, design, and educational practices in Europe and the United States. Women who had previously been barred from entering academies flocked to the new institution and became innovators of modern design.
Anti-Workshop Poetry/Performance Workshop
Saturday, January 13, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
$35 ($30 members)
Instructor: Ursula Rucker
For more information and to register, email education@woodmereartmuseum.org or call 215-247-0948.
Join Ursula Rucker in an exploration of word, sound, music, emotion, thought, and theme that will guide you in the poetry writing and performance process. Rucker refers to this as “Anti-Workshop” to focus on providing participants with a safe and nonrestrictive space. All levels welcome. Bring a journal and writing instruments.
Supa Sista Presents Poem/Songs for the People
Saturday, January 13, 2018, 6:00 PM
$22 ($12 members)
Performers: Ursula Rucker, spoken word artist; Tim Motzer, guitarist
Rucker will mesmerize audiences with selections from her powerful and passionate debut album, Supa Sista. Rucker’s sultry voice, words, and fighting spirit address themes of peace, love, truth, injustice, freedom, humanity, healing, and revolution (to name a few). She has collaborated with the Roots, King Britt, the Silent Poets, and many others.
Violet Oakley’s Arts and Crafts Impulse
Saturday, January 20, 2018, 3:00 PM
$15 ($10 members)
Lecturer: Sylvia Yount, Lawrence A. Fleischman Curator in Charge of the American Wing, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Violet Oakley’s art and life were shaped by the Arts and Crafts movement. From her early interests in the English pre-Raphaelites to the establishment of her Cogslea homestead in West Mount Airy, Oakley embraced the ethos of the cultural phenomenon in personal and professional terms. This lecture is sponsored by Susan and Burn Oberwager.