| Hosted by | This event is hosted as a collaboration between the Yale School of Art, New Haven Free Public Library, Yale University Art Gallery, and Yale University’s Office of the President. |
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| Details | Followed by a reception celebrating the display of Barbara Earl Thomas’s design mock-ups for the Hopper College Window Commission, with refreshments from Anchor Spa and the Harlem Biscuit Company In conjunction with a display of mock-up designs that led to her stained glass installations in Yale’s Grace Hopper College, Barbara Earl Thomas will discuss this recent commission in New Haven which confronts and contextualizes the history of the residential college’s name, which originally honored 19th-century statesman and slavery advocate, John C. Calhoun. The twelve new windows, designed by Barbara Earl Thomas and Faith Ringgold, honor Grace Hopper’s legacy as a mathematician, computer scientist, teacher, and rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, and reflect cherished aspects of student life and staff contributions to the college community. In addition to the six new stained glass medallions, Thomas designed glass and metal portraits of Grace Hopper and Roosevelt Thomas (for whom the dining hall is named) which were recently installed in two stone niches of the Hopper Dining Hall. These stunning backlit niches, which extend beyond the original scope of the commission, involve an innovative approach to the medium of stained glass, and complete the artist’s commission. Thomas will be in conversation with a second-year MFA student in Painting/Printmaking at the Yale School of Art, Christopher Paul Jordan, whose own practice involves creating paintings, sculptures, and installations as time-capsules for displaced folks to hold, bury, connect, and reintegrate their stories. Luis Chavez-Brumell, Deputy Director at the New Haven Free Public Library, shared, “The New Haven Free Public Library is delighted to exhibit Barbara Earl Thomas’s design mock-ups for the Hopper College window commission to bring an important work to a wider audience. This is an opportunity to celebrate local history in real-time while acknowledging the role art plays in healing and humanizing communities.” The display of Barbara Earl Thomas’ mock-ups of the windows in the Ives Main Library entrance will be on view from November 14 through December 31, 2022. This event is hosted as a collaboration between the Yale School of Art, New Haven Free Public Library, Yale University Art Gallery, and Yale University’s Office of the President. About the Hopper College Window Commission In August 2022, twelve new windows designed by artists Faith Ringgold and Barbara Earl Thomas were installed in Yale’s Grace Hopper College. Honoring Grace Hopper’s legacy as a mathematician, computer scientist, teacher, and rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, the new Hopper windows also reflect cherished aspects of student life and staff contributions to the college community. The new windows confront and contextualize the history of the residential college’s name, which originally honored John C. Calhoun and now Hopper. |
| Admission | FREE |
| Location | New Haven Free Public Library, Ives Main Library, Community Program Room |
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| More Info | info link |