Past Events

The words "ALANA Center" written in fancy script encircled by decorative patterns.
Feb. 1, 2023, 10:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.

A gathering to celebrate the first day of Black History Month, sponsored by the Jeh Vincent Johnson ALANA Cultural Center and hosted by leaders of the African Students’ Union (ASU), Black Students’ Union (BSU), and Students of Caribbean Ancestry (SOCA).

Campus community only, please.

Loretta Ross seated in an office with a shelf of books behind her.

Ross—a nationally recognized expert on racism and racial justice, women’s rights, and human rights who teaches at Smith College—will discuss how we must fight oppression and injustice by weaving our collective strengths together and using our differences as a platform for molding a positive future built on justice and love.

Indra Spring Flow Tenri Rehearsal

​​Digital scores can change in real time during a performance, allowing for exciting and spontaneous interaction and improvisation. This workshop will explore this emerging performance practice using the software Indra, culminating in a conducted group improvisation. Participants should bring an instrument and a Mac laptop. A student-only event. Registration required.

Modfest word mark

Honoring the founders of MODfest, we celebrate the “meanings and measures” of modern musical works: Richard Wilson’s Avuncularities (2022) for solo trombone and Perplexities (2022) for oboe and English horn, violin, viola, and cello; and Serenity (2021) for solo piano by Jonathan Chenette.

This is an in-person event that will also be streamed live

Vassar College’s Muslim Students Association (MSA) presents excerpts from the new play Wedding Scraps by Arshia Iqbal ’23a senior thesis project that serves as a funny peek into the world of diasporic Desi kids and their collective efforts to find home.

Photo graph of photo collage featuring multiple circular images on a white field
Jan. 27, 2023, 12:00–1:00 p.m.

The Palmer Gallery exhibit Imploding Meaning: Tale-less Tales About Absolutely Nothing and Everything In Between features the work of M. Pettee Olsen, Michael Oatman, Rosanne Walsh, and Monica Church—all of whom will be speaking at this event. 

 

Black and white photo collage with an image of an old house and the words: New York Supreme Court and Ashokan Reservoir
Jan. 26 – Feb. 19, 2023

An exhibit of artwork by Kate McGloughlin depicts the beauty and sorrow inherent in the Ashokan Reservoir. Kate’s family lost both land and community to reservoir construction. There will also be an artist talk in the second week of the festival during Late Night at the Loeb. This exhibit is sponsored by the Consortium on Forced Migration, Displacement, and Education.

An abstract canvas filled with thick swirls of paint.
Jan. 26, 2023, 5:00–7:00 p.m.

The Palmer Gallery exhibit Imploding Meaning: Tale-less Tales About Absolutely Nothing and Everything In Between features the work of M. Pettee Olsen, Michael Oatman, Rosanne Walsh, and Monica Church.

Dark blue abstract painting by Nari Ward titled, Breathing Bars Diagonal Left, with radiating gold lines from a diamond shape in the center out
Jan. 21 – Sep. 10, 2023

How do artists help us see or shape the past and future? Works ranging from Matthew Vassar’s initial bequest in 1864 to the Loeb’s most recent gifts and acquisitions will cluster in visual dialogues thematizing past, present, and future as categories in constant states of flux and transformation.

A hanging scroll featuring an aerial view of buildings and a waterfall from the Edo period, Japan..

This illustrated lecture by a Wesleyan University professor of art history and East Asian studies will focus on visual narratives spun by the Kumano nuns in early modern Japan for fundraising purposes and the paintings they used, called sankei mandara or “pilgrimage mandalas.”

Photo of a woman looking back from the church organ she is sitting in front of

Organist and Vassar music faculty member Gail Archer hosts a special one-night-only free concert at the iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral to celebrate the music of both Ukrainian and Russian composers. The event will also be livestreamed.

a stone statue of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Jan. 16, 2023, 9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m.

Reflections on Dr. King’s legacy from various members of the campus community. A light breakfast will be served. 

A childlike drawing of houses, a road, the sun, and one fluffy cloud.
Dec. 14, 2022 – Feb. 10, 2023

Have a good idea for a community-based partnership and need funding? Good Neighbors Partnerships provides grants to students (and student groups) and College employees to fund innovative campus-community partnerships with not-for-profit (501c3) organizations in Poughkeepsie. Apply now!

An aerial view of the entrance to the Loeb Art Center with fall foliage.
Dec. 8, 2022

Explore the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center while listening to music sung by the Vassar College Women’s Chorus and Choir at 6:30 p.m.