Past Events

An individual with dark, curly hair and round glasses stands behind a microphone at a lectern, gesturing with one hand. They wear a colorful patchwork-patterned blouse and bracelets. A blurred indoor backdrop shows a banner and window light.

Explores how storytelling rooted in personal experience, Zambian proverbs, and mother tongues can heal colonial harms and preserve culture, featuring Mubanga Kalimamukwento, an award-winning Zambian author, magazine founder, and University of Minnesota Feminist Studies PhD student.

Free and open to the public.

Graphic with flowers and text that reads: Surviving Injustice.

Beyond Survival is a documentary that tells the story of New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA) and the powerful leadership of currently and formerly incarcerated survivors in creating change. Through compelling interviews with legislators, judges, and advocates, including survivors of abuse and long-term incarceration, Beyond Survival narrates the 10-year Coalition for Women Prisoners campaign for the DVSJA and spotlights critical efforts to implement this groundbreaking sentencing reform.

An illustration of a window with a ghost and glowing eyes behind it.

Looking for a spook-tacular way to start off your Halloweekend? Check out our Halloween events!

Detail of a painting depicting a social event in the fourteen century.

This year marks the 650th anniversary of Giovanni Boccaccio’s passing. We explore his legacy in a interdisciplinary panel of Vassar faculty, followed by a keynote speech by Grace Delmolino (University of California, Davis) titled: “Boccaccio and Consent.” No reservation required

Campus community only, please

 A mixed-media assemblage with layered red-tinted photographs, including African masks, sculptures, and archival images, arranged on a background printed with repeating black-and-white circular motifs. These motifs alternate between skulls wrapped in patterned cloth and portraits of a family framed by laurel leaves, with the phrase “Owu Sɛ Fie” repeated across the fabric ground. The central collage glows in deep red, contrasting sharply with the neutral beige and black patterned border.

Artist Lyle Ashton Harris will give a lecture which will explore the intersections between his practice in photography and collage, examining ideas of gender, sexuality, and belonging.

This event is open to the public.

Vassar barn exterior

Join us for Poughkeepsie Farm Project’s 3rd Annual Harvest Fest, our biggest celebration of the year! The Fest is a family-friendly music festival featuring food trucks, maker market, kids activities, craft beer & wine, and community on the farm! Funds raised help feed Poughkeepsie families. RAIN OR SHINE!

Film still of a close up of a seated person holding a cigarette while looking on.

A Screening of Jennifer Reeves’ The Gloria of Your Imagination followed by a Q&A with the director.

People gather at an indoor event, walking among rows of tables where representatives share information and materials.

The Engaged Pluralism Open House is a campus-wide celebration where students, staff, faculty, administrators, and organizations share passions, talents, and creative practices to spark curiosity, conversation, and community.

Campus community only, please.

Adult and child crouching and below a painting on the wall while looking at. The adult is pointing at the painting.

Join us for free drop-in family programs on select Sundays. Each date will feature different hands-on art activities inspired by art on view. Activities can be modified for all ages, but are best suited for children 5 and up.

Detail of performance focused on a violinist actively playing.

Eduardo Navega, conductor

This event is open to the public.

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

A table is set up outdoors, featuring various food items, including a plastic container filled with red apples and baked goods. Two individuals are engaged in preparation; one is pouring from a metal kettle, while the other places items on the table. In the foreground, a person with short, colorful hair is observing the table and holding a cup. The setting is vibrant, characterized by sunlight casting soft shadows, and the surrounding area displays green grass and trees with autumn foliage.

Acorn cookies?! Sumac tea?! Both are delicious! Come on out and have a taste at the Vassar Arboretum’s pop-up event showcasing the various kinds of food that come from trees.