PUTNEY, Vt. – Next Stage announces the return of the NXT Curators Series, offering an opportunity for audiences to hear from curators in various arts and humanities fields. The intent is to shine a light on lesser-known styles and genres, providing a behind-the-scenes look at what curators need to consider when working with their medium.
“Three curators, all speaking on a different facet of what it means to present, collect, and preserve various objects, will be a part of our yearly Curator Series,” says Keith Marks, executive director of Next Stage Arts. “The series highlights a diverse lineup of topics – Art Deco, the environmental movement, and a historian committed to preserving music recorded on shellac. The range of topics gives the audiences a broad range of perspectives to consider.”
On Sunday, Feb. 18, Join Angelina Lippert, the chief curator of Poster House (the country’s first museum dedicated to the art and history of posters) for “Art Deco: Commercializing the Avant-Garde,” an evening discussing the fascinating history of Art Deco advertising. From the Paris Exhibition of 1925 to the 1939 New York World’s Fair, this talk covers everything from the Great Depression up through the Great Gatsby. Discover the true meaning behind the definition of “Deco” and how it became the first global art movement.
Lippert is the author of “The Art Deco Poster,” and has lectured at the School of Visual Arts, The Cooper Union, New York University, the Pratt Institute, The New York Times, Columbia University, and The Sotheby’s Institute of Art. She has written for Muse by Clio, and is currently a reviewer at the New York Journal of Books. She holds a master’s degree in the art of the Russian avant-garde from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, and a bachelor’s degree in theology and art history from Smith College.
Then on Wednesday, March 20, what if listening for the past could change our understanding of history? In “Historical Grooves: Archiving the Sounds of the Jewish-Muslim Relationship,” an interactive musical conversation, professor Christopher Silver will detail his efforts to amplify a set of twentieth century North African Jewish and Muslim voices, which for too long have remained silent in the historical record. Through selections from his first-of-its-kind archive of early 20th-century shellac records from Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, he will draw our attention to the sublime sounds of the artists whose music shaped and spoke to an era of profound change and remarkable resilience.
Christopher Silver is the Segal Family Assistant Professor in Jewish History and Culture in the Department of Jewish Studies at McGill University. His first book, “Recording History: Jews, Muslims, and Music Across Twentieth Century North Africa,” was published in 2022 with Stanford University Press, and was the winner of the 2023 L. Carl Brown AIMS Book Prize in North African Studies. He is also the founder and curator of the website www.gharamophone.com, a digital archive of North African records from the first half of the 20th century.
Finally, on Sunday, April 21, join curator Tim Medland for a vibrant discussion of his latest exhibition “We Tried to Warn You! Environmental Crisis Posters, 1970–2020.” Recently receiving a full-page, incredible review in the New York Times, this show chronicles how graphic designers from around the world have attempted to tackle issues of environmental activism – and how they’ve both succeeded and failed at changing public consciousness. You will walk away with not only a deeper understanding of how we got to the level of climate crisis we are in today, but also with hope for the future regarding what can actually be done to counteract man-made environmental devastation.
Tim Medland is an independent curator who focuses on the history of visual and material culture. He holds a master’s degree in museum studies from the University of Leicester, with a concentration in socially engaged practice. His research interests include environmental activism and sustainability, and the histories of transport, propaganda, colonialism, and migration.
Next Stage is located at 15 Kimball Hill in downtown Putney, Vt. All talks are free to attend, but donations are appreciated. Advance registration is available at www.nextstagearts.org. For more information, call 802-387-0102.