For Immediate Release
October 12, 2022

CLARK ART INSTITUTE RESEARCH AND ACADEMIC PROGRAM PRESENTS LECTURE ON IMPERIAL DATA

Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Tuesday, November 1, at 5:30 pm, architectural historian Zeynep Çelik Alexander (Columbia University) presents a talk examining the architectural history of imperial data. Sharing material from her forthcoming book, Alexander investigates the construction of nineteenth-century storehouses of information in the British Empire. Alexander notes that what people call a “database” today was, first and foremost, a political technology that, she argues, could be understood as a legacy of imperialism. The lecture takes place in the Clark’s auditorium and is free and open to the public. A reception in the Clark’s reading room precedes the program at 5 pm.

ABOUT ZEYNEP ÇELIK ALEXANDER
Zeynep Çelik Alexander’s work focuses on the history and theory of architecture since the Enlightenment. After being trained as an architect at Istanbul Technical University and Harvard Graduate School of Design, she received her PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Alexander is the author of Kinaesthetic Knowing: Aesthetics, Epistemology, Modern Design, a history of an alternative mode of knowing that informed the epistemological logic of modernism in the German-speaking world. She is an associate professor of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University and is an editor of the journal Grey Room.

Free; no registration is required. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events. 

The next Research and Academic Program lecture is Jordan Reznick’s “Indigenous Ecological Science and Photographic Technologies in the West” on Tuesday, November 15, at 5:30 pm.

ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, 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, consisting of more than 285,000 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, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday, from September through June, and daily in July and August. Advance tickets are strongly recommended. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, all visitors age 21 and under, and students with a valid student ID. Free admission is available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and EBT Card to Culture. For information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303. 

Use of facemasks is optional for all visitors. For details on health and safety protocols, visit clarkart.edu/health.

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