Celebrate Women’s History with Bartow-Pell Mansion as it continues its annual Winter Lecture Series that is highlighting strong female figures who left their mark on American History. Each lecture will be followed by light refreshments or tea and refreshments. The fee for each lecture is: $23/person, $60 for all three dates, and $45 members for all three dates. Lectures are free, charge is for refreshments. Call to register at (718) 885-1461.
On Thurs., Mar. 5 at 1 pm, Nadema Agard, Director, Red Earth Studio will present: Pocahontas – An Algonquin icon. This lecture explores the legendary figure from an Algonquin traditional world view, a Western historical context, and the contemporary perspective of Algonquin women of the greater Northeast, using literary references, images, video clips and music. Pocahontas will be presented in the context of her cultural and spiritual beliefs as a child born to be a special medicine person and chosen for a great destiny. Her post-European-contact history will show her to have been a businesswoman, landowner, Christian convert and diplomat in contrast to the popular American cultural stereotype that has evolved.
As the Director of Red Earth Studio Consulting/Productions, Nadema Agard (Cherokee/Lakota/Powhatan) is an artist, illustrator, published author, scholar, curator, speaker, museum professional and consultant in Repatriation and Multicultural/Native American arts and cultures. With a B.S. degree in Art Education from New York University, and an M.A. degree in Arts and Education from Teacher’s College, Columbia University, she is a former Museum Professional of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
The lecture series is completed on Thurs., Mar. 12 at 1 pm with Ms. Linda Russell, a balladeer/musical historian who will present: Remember the Ladies – A History of American Women in Song. Ms. Russell, will share a musical survey of the history of women in America. By looking at the popular songs of the past — the ballads, love songs, suffrage anthems, work songs and dance tunes — we can trace the perceptions and realities of women’s lives. Accompanying herself on mountain and hammered dulcimers, pennywhistle, guitar and limberjack, Linda Russell explores the images in the songs, interspersing the music with lively commentary that includes excerpts from diaries and letters in which the women tell their stories in their own words.
At the end of the month spark your artistic talent as you partake in a hands-on workshop. On Sat., Mar. 21 from noon to 3:30 pm you can learn the how to make Ukrainian Easter Eggs as the site will be holding a Pysanky Workshop. If you have ever been fascinated looking at the complex craftsmanship of the decorated Ukrainian egg, then this is the workshop for you! In the setting of Bartow-Pell’s L’Orangie you will learn the beginning steps of making your own Ukrainian Easter Egg, which could be a new family heirloom! Do know that participants will be working with very hot wax and permanent dyes, therefore we advise you wear appropriate clothing. It is a long workshop, please bring lunch as only light snacks will be provided.
The fee for the workshop is: $15 person Members: $10. Appropriate for 16 years olds and up. Registration required as space is very limited. Call (718) 885-1461 for more information.
The Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum is located in Pelham Bay Park at 895 Shore Road.
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Immaculate Conception Church is hosting a Gospel Fest on Sun., Feb. 22, from 3 to 5 pm at 754 East Gun Hill Road. For more information on this free event call the rectory at (212) 653-2200. Several visiting choirs from the Bronx as well as Harlem, New York will join the concert.
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Roberto Clemente State Park presents an evening with Lorenzo DuFan on Thurs., Feb. 12, at 6 pm. The program will begin at 6 pm with a presentation by Dufan, a sailor aboard the U.S.S. Mason in World War II. The US Navy was segregated until 1944 when the U.S.S. Mason set sail. The movie Proud will be shown after his talk.
Roberto Clemente State Park is located at W. Tremont Avenue and Matthewson Road. For further information call (718) 299-8750.
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The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT, examines the process of how artists reconstruct the world of dinosaurs in the new exhibition Dinosaurs: The Art of Reconstruction, which opens Sat., Feb. 7, and continues through Sun., June 14. The show juxtaposes approximately thirty works by painters and sculptors with cast skeletal and fossilized remains of dinosaurs. It also complements another exhibition currently at the museum titled Digging for Dinosaurs, (through July 26), which offers hands-on activities related to paleontology and dinosaurs. Both exhibitions are supported by the Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund.
Dinosaurs: The Art of Reconstruction delves into notable dinosaur reconstructions and highlights changes in individual species based on new information from the fossil record and on current theories and knowledge of physiology and anatomy. Works by important early contributors to the field, such as Waterhouse Hawkins and Charles R. Knight, are included in an examination of the history of artists’ reconstructions. Among the paintings and small sculptures on view are casts of skeletal and fossilized remains, which serve as the
Contemporary artists Bob Walters, Tess Kissinger and Mick Ellison, whose works are represented in the exhibition, are examples of today’s best scientific illustrators. As artists, Walters, Kissinger and Ellison are not just observers seeking facts, but are active participants conveying science with technical sophistication and sensitivity.
A full selection of programs related to the exhibition are scheduled, including a Dinosaur Family Day on Sun., Feb. 8; Dinosaur Discovery School Vacation Workshops, Feb. 10 to 13; and a lecture by leading dinosaur expert Dr. Mark Norell, Chairman and Curator, from the American Museum of Natural History’s Division of Paleontology, at 3 pm on Sun., Mar. 1.
The museum is located at 1 Museum Drive in Greenwich, CT. For information call (203) 869-0376.
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The Uptown Coffeehouse will be presenting folk singer/songwriter Bill Staines on Sun., Feb. 8, at 4450 Fieldston Road at 5 pm. Admission is $15. Bronx Cultural Cards are accepted.
Anyone not familiar with Staines’ music is in for a special treat. For over 35 years, Bill has traveled back and forth across North America, singing his songs and delighting audiences at festivals, folksong societies, colleges, concerts, clubs and coffeehouses. Bill became involved with the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960s and, for a time, emceed the Sunday hootenanny at the renowned Club 47 in Cambridge. Singing mostly his own songs, he has become one of the most popular singers on the folk music circuit today and averages around 200 concert dates a year.
Call (718) 885-2955 for more information.
