'CLARK IN THE WORLD' LECTURE DRAWS TWO INTERNATIONAL ART HISTORY LEADERS TO THE CLARK ART INSTITUTE

For Immediate Release

September 10, 2014

Williamstown, MA—The Clark Art Institute presents the free lecture “The Clark in the World” on Sunday, September 21 at 3 pm in the Manton Research Center auditorium. Kavita Singh, professor of art history at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, and Patrick D. Flores, professor of art studies at the University of the Philippines and curator of Vargas Museum, join Clark Director Michael Conforti for a discussion of their experiences as both conveners and participants in various Clark international events. Singh and Flores participated in the 2011–14 Andrew Mellon Foundation-funded initiative “The Trade Routes of Art History” in Sydney, Singapore and Manila.

In addition to organizing numerous scholarly colloquia, symposia, and focused panel discussions in Williamstown, the Clark—through its robust Research and Academic Program (RAP)—is a dynamic planner and convener of programs globally. The Clark plays an important role in the international conversation of art history, in particular as it relates to globalization. As a convener, the Institute is a catalytic agent to such global conversations.
In this discussion, Conforti provides an overview of the Clark’s international engagements to date, including those involving Clark Fellows, symposia, conferences, Andrew Mellon Foundation initiatives, and exhibitions abroad. Singh and Flores then join Conforti to explore how the Clark might think about future international initiatives. Participants will discuss looking at art history from an international point of view, how it is practiced in various countries, and what the Clark can do to engage these multiple perspectives. In addition, Singh and Flores will talk about their Clark experiences both in Williamstown and abroad, particularly as people of color.

Kavita Singh is a professor at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, teaching the history of Indian painting (Mughal and Rajput) and the history and politics of museums. Her interests, stemming from her work on the history of museums in India, are material culture and cultures of collecting and display as well as heritage and the politics of ownership. She is currently working on a book on the place of museums in post-colonial India.

Singh first became involved with the Clark as a Clark Fellow in 2009. She also participated at the Clark’s colloquium in 2012, “All at Sea: Piracy, Art History and the Indian Ocean,” held at the Power Institute, University of Sydney and sponsored by the Andrew Mellon Foundation. Singh serves as the Clark’s representative in South Asia and regularly consults on the Institute’s international initiatives. She is also a member of the RAP advisory council.

Patrick D. Flores is professor of art studies in the Department of Art Studies at the University of the Philippines, which he chaired from 1997 to 2003, and curator of the Vargas Museum in Manila. He is adjunct curator at the National Art Gallery, Singapore. Flores was a visiting fellow at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1999 and an Asian Public Intellectuals Fellow in 2004. He was a grantee of the Asian Cultural Council (2010) and a member of the Advisory Board of the exhibition The Global Contemporary: Art Worlds After 1989 (2011), organized by the Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, and a member of the Guggenheim Museum’s Asian Art Council (2011). He co-edited the Southeast Asian issue with Joan Kee for Third Text (2011). Recent publications include Remarkable Collection: Art, History, and the National Museum (2006); and Past Peripheral: Curation in Southeast Asia (2008).

Flores has been involved with many Clark initiatives including attending the 2012 colloquium, “All at Sea: Piracy, Art History and the Indian Ocean.” On behalf of the Clark and the Department of Art Studies of the University of the Philippines, Flores convened the conference “Histories of Art History in Southeast Asia” in Manila in 2013.

“The Clark in the World” is part of the “Clark Inspired” series, featuring leading scholars and museum professionals who share a distinctive bond forged in Williamstown and at the Clark. The next and final lecture in the series, “Past, Present, and Future: The Clark’s Research and Academic Program (RAP),” will be held Sunday, September 28 at 3 pm. For more information, visit clarkart.edu.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH AND ACADEMIC PROGRAM

The Clark’s Research and Academic Program is internationally recognized as one of the leading centers for research in the visual arts and has established collaborations with partner institutions including the Getty Research Institute; the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art (France); Institute of Art History of the Estonian Academy of Arts; Power Institute at the University of Sydney; University of the Philippines Diliman; Asia Art Archive (Hong Kong); Asian Civilizations Museum (Singapore); and the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa), among others.

In addition to hosting its fellowship program on the Clark’s Williamstown campus, RAP maintains an active series of conferences, colloquia, symposia, and scholarly conversations presented at venues around the globe. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Getty Foundation have provided generous support to these programs. The Manton Foundation established an endowment to support the activities of the RAP program in 2007; in 2008, the Starr Foundation endowed the program’s directorship. Darby English was appointed STARR director of the program in April 2013.

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, open to the public with more than 240,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark opened its expanded facilities on July 4, 2014, unveiling new and enhanced spaces that accommodate the continued growth of the Institute’s programs. Included in this final stage of the project are the new 42,600-square-foot Clark Center designed by Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, expansion and renovation of the original Museum Building and the ongoing renovation of the Manton Research Center by Selldorf Architects, and a sweeping redesign of the grounds by Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architecture. The first phase of the campus expansion project was completed in 2008 with the opening of the Lunder Center at Stone Hill, a striking conservation and exhibitions facility also designed by Tadao Ando.

The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Opening season hours: Galleries open daily from July 4 through October 13, 2014, 10 am to 5 pm (Tuesdays until 6 pm and Fridays until 7 pm in July and August). From October 14, 2014 through June 30, 2015: Galleries open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $20 through October 31, 2014 and free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

Press contact:
Amanda Powers
The Clark
[email protected]
413 458 0471