Dear <<First Name>>,

Join LLI members for a tour of the Black Melancholia exhibition at the Hessel Museum followed by a reception and discussion led by Casey Robertson, Bard College Center for Curatorial Studies Community Outreach Coordinator, on Wednesday, October 5, at 2:00 p.m., with a second tour, reception and discussion on Wednesday, October 12, also at 2:00 p.m. 

Attendance is limited to 25 members for each tour, so early registration is recommended! This is a members only event. Registration will open in ProClass on September 19 at 9:00 a.m. 

Bringing together the work of twenty-eight artists of African descent, Black Melancholia expands and complicates the notion of melancholy in Western art history and cultures. Including new commissions as well as painting, sculpture, film, photography, works on paper, and sound, from the late 19th century to the present day, the exhibition opens a dialogue with traditional art historical discourse around the representation of melancholia.

Black Melancholia pushes beyond the iconography of melancholia as an art historical subject and psychoanalytical concept to subvert highly racialized discourses in which notions of longing, despair, sadness, and loss were not only pathologized, but also reserved for white cis (fe-)male subjects. The exhibition aims to create a generative space for inspiration, solace, and refuge through a presentation that blends new and recent works with pieces from the late 19th to mid-20th century by artists whose careers never reached full recognition or potential during their lifetimes due to systemic erasure.

Mr. Robertson will guide members through the exhibition. Afterward, a wine and cheese reception will be held on the back patio, where a discussion around the questions, concerns, and ideas raised by the exhibition will take place.

Registrants are reminded that masks are required inside the museum. Please wear your lanyard verifying your COVID vaccine and booster.