Iwan Baan
Welcome back!
It's September and the start of the new school year is just around the corner. We are looking forward to another exciting year in the arts at Stanford!
The big news this year is the opening of the McMurtry Building for the Department of Art & Art History! This incredible new home for all the department’s programs marks the third new facility in our arts district following Bing Concert Hall (2013) and the Anderson Collection at Stanford University (2014). The first exhibition in McMurtry’s Coulter Art Gallery is Comma And…, the second annual undergraduate juried show. It opens on Sept. 28. Stay tuned for more news about the activities and programs planned for the inaugural year of the McMurtry Building.
One of the key features of the McMurtry Building is that it puts the Department of Art & Art History right next door to Stanford’s museums so students and faculty can work directly with the museums’ collections. It is an incredible moment to have that proximity. The Cantor Arts Center and the Anderson Collection at Stanford University have both planned marvelous programs in connection with the McMurtry Building’s inaugural year.
Three exhibitions open at the Cantor Arts Center on Sept. 9. Artists at Work celebrates the opening of the McMurtry Building by exploring themes of inspiration, art-making and how place influences artists’ work. Edward Hopper: New York Corner and Richard Diebenkorn: The Sketchbooks Revealed celebrate two major recent acquisitions by two American artists: Edward Hopper’s seminal painting New York Corner (1913) and the collection of 29 rare sketchbooks by Bay Area artist Richard Diebenkorn.
Also on Sept. 9, the Anderson Collection at Stanford University opens an exhibition of work by two Stanford alumni, Tauba Auerbach and Mark Fox, in a dual exhibition of drawings, prints, paintings and sculpture.
In addition to the visual arts happenings on campus this month, Stanford Live kicks off its new season with guests Chick Corea and Béla Fleck performing in Bing Concert Hall during New Student Orientation (NSO) weekend.
Stanford Live will also be hosting an open house for students to explore all that Bing Concert Hall has to offer on Thursday, Sept. 17, from 2 to 4 p.m. Drop by to take a tour of the hall, listen to music and nosh on sweets. If you miss it, be sure to check out Bing Outside/In on Sept. 26, from 1 to 9 p.m,,featuring free performances all around Bing by Stanford Taiko, Circus Bella, The Family Crest and Non Stop Bhangra, as well as art-making activities, Off the Grid food trucks and a ticketed performance of classical Indian dance by Nrityagram.
And this is just the beginning of a year that will be full of exciting programs, events and performances by our faculty and students as well as visiting artists. Visit https://arts.stanford.edu/events/ for the full calendar. And join us in 2015-16!
