Historic Deerfield’s 2024 Summer Lecture Series–building upon the exhibit Unnamed Figures–will feature three scholars of the visual, textual, and material cultures that reveal the Black experience of the early American North. Join us in-person at the Deerfield Community Center or by Zoom.
Attendance is free, but registration is required.
June 27 at 7:00 PM
Join American Folk Art Museum curator Emelie Gevalt for an in-depth consideration of the research behind the exhibition Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in the Early American North, which originated at AFAM in 2023 and is now on view at Historic Deerfield. Brought together for the first time in what the New York Times called a “vitally important, deeply moving” exhibition, objects from the show prompt new considerations of old images, offering a window onto Black representation in a region that is often overlooked in narratives of early American history. Drawing on extensive new research from the show and her doctoral dissertation, Gevalt will present rare examples of early African American representation in New England through portraiture, landscape, needlework, sculpture, and other vernacular forms. The talk will also provide insights into curatorial practice with a behind-the-scenes look at the collaborative processes—including partnerships with artists, scholars of multiple disciplines, and descendants—that gave shape to the project in essential ways.
July 11 at 7:00 PM
July 18, 2024 – 7:00 PM
