Clark Art to Host Conversation on Feminism, Black History and Identity

Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Thursday, Oct. 27, at 5 p.m., Tsedaye Makonnen, the Futures Fellow in the Clark Art Institute’s Research and Academic Program, joins Nikki A. Greene, associate professor of art at Wellesley College, in a conversation examining feminism and the transhistorical forced migration of Black communities across the globe.

The conversation explores Makonnen’s studio, curatorial, and research-based practice, and how it threads together her identity as a daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, a Black American woman, a doula, and a mother. This lecture will be held in the Clark’s Conforti Pavilion and is free and open to the public. A reception precedes the program at 4:30 p.m.

Tsedaye Makonnen’s studio practice primarily focuses on feminism and migration. She intends to create a global spiritual network that recalibrates the world’s energy towards something positive. Makonnen is the current recipient of a permanent large-scale public art commission for Providence, Rhode Island. In 2019, she was a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow, and in 2021, her light sculptures were acquired by the Smithsonian for its permanent collection.

Most recently, she performed at the 2022 Venice Biennale for Simone Leigh’s Loophole Retreat. At the Clark, she works on a project that explores how performance art can challenge whiteness, colonialism, and the effects of systemic forms of oppression on migration. Makonnen will exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2023.

The event is free and no registration is required. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events. A recorded video of this lecture releases on the Clark’s YouTube channel on Nov. 3.

The next Research and Academic Program lecture is Zeynep Çelik Alexander’s “Imperial Data: An Architectural History” on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 5:30 p.m.


Tags: Clark Art,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Williamstown Fire District to Post Chief's Position

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Fire District's Personnel Committee on Monday finalized a job description for the next chief and agreed to post the job with an eye toward getting a new leader in the door by March.
 
That is when Craig Pedercini is set to turn 65 and retire from a department he has served for 37 years — the last 22 as chief.
 
On Monday, the five-person Personnel Committee agreed to post the position by Dec. 1 with the hope to begin screening applicants in early January, though it left open the possibility of beginning the screening process earlier depending on the response rate.
 
The panel's goal is to present a small group of finalists to the Prudential Committee in time for it to make a hiring decision in February.
 
Committee member Fred Puddester told his colleague that Richard Duncan, a human resources professional under contract with the district, said that timeline is reasonable.
 
The committee Monday fine-tuned some of the language in the job description and finalized a couple of the job requirements for the call/volunteer fire department's only full-time employee.
 
A couple of areas that needed to be ironed out included the job's educational requirement and a potential residency requirement.
 
View Full Story

More Williamstown Stories