DISCOVER WITHIN: ART LECTURES

Inspired by the current flurry of activity around Philadelphia-born artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976), this timely lecture offers a brief survey of the artist's career, including his trademark sculptural mobiles, large-scale public works, paintings, prints, and intricate jewelry. First, drawing on the revelatory exhibition High Wire: Calder's Circus at 100 presented this fall and winter at the Whitney Museum of American Art, we will examine the history behind the creation as well as presentations of Calder's Circus, a quirky but significant work made of everyday materials, including wood, wire, string, fabric, cork, and other found materials. Second, we will consider the newly inaugurated Calder Gardens, the latest addition to the incredible arts institutions that line Benjamin Franklin Parkway, such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rodin Museum, and the Barnes Foundation. Here we will examine not only this uniquely conceived space created by architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron but also the ways in which this magical venue creates a dynamic conversation between art, architecture, nature, and the city that surrounds it. 

 Thursday, February  12, 2026 at 5pm EST

This lecture traces Peggy Guggenheim’s journey as collector, gallerist, and twentieth-century icon. Synonymous with one of the most extensive and exemplary private collections of European and American modernist art, she left an indelible mark on the history of twentieth-century art through her support and collection of key artists in pre- and post-war avant-garde movements. Beginning with her origins in New York City and following her on her travels to Paris to London and back again, we will her practices as not only a collector but also as a key support for emerging artists through her short-lived Guggenheim Jeune gallery in London and her innovative space called Art of This Century in New York. Finally, we will study her jewel-like white fortress and garden perched on the Grand Canal in Venice.

This talk will feature such masters as Jackson Pollock, Alexander Calder, Piet Mondrian, Rene Magritte, Max Ernst, Giorgio de Chirico. and more while revisiting the wonderful life and times of this energetic, fierce, and fun-loving art world tour-de-force! Ms. Guggenheim’s distinctive personality, dogged determination, and personal wealth positioned her to create a collection whose legacy remains an invaluable touchstone for modern art and collecting.

 Thursday, April  23, 2026 at 5pm EST

This talk introduces the 2026 Venice Biennale, In Minor Keys, an exhibition that shifts attention away from spectacle and toward quieter, more intimate forms of artistic expression. Rather than emphasizing grand statements, the Biennale explores how contemporary artists work through subtle gestures, layered emotions, and alternative rhythms of seeing, listening, and experiencing.

Moving through the Biennale’s primary sites—the Giardini, the Arsenale, and locations across the city of Venice—the lecture highlights selected installations and pavilion presentations that engage themes of memory, displacement, ecological fragility, and the politics of attention. Sound, performance, text, and ephemeral materials play a central role, inviting viewers to slow down and attune themselves to works that unfold over time.

By embracing nuance, restraint, and resonance, In Minor Keys offers a powerful reflection on how art can respond to the complexities of the present moment—not by speaking louder, but by listening more closely. 

 Thursday, June  14, 2026 at 5pm EST