“You have to be a person who champions other work, so that you build the context within which your work can be legible.”
Nayland Blake ’82 Profiled in Hyperallergic
Nayland Blake ’82, professor of studio arts.
Nayland Blake ’82, professor of studio arts at Bard College, was profiled in Hyperallergic. In an interview with Lisa Yin Zhang, Blake spoke about how their art and work affects their understanding of their own identity, what Pride Month means to them, and the movements that informed the work of their peers in queer art. “I think the models were the Civil Rights movement and the Women’s Rights movements—the insistence on the importance and centrality of work by women artists or, for lack of a better term, minority artists, all through the ’60s and ’70s,” Blake told Zhang. “To me, the lessons of those movements were: It’s not enough to just make something in your studio. You have to also be a scholar. You have to also be a writer. You have to be a person who champions other work, so that you build the context within which your work can be legible.” Blake’s first large-scale outdoor installation, “Haunt”: Being the Folly of One Victorya Spectre, will be on view at Art Omi in Columbia County, NY, on June 27.
The Studio Arts Program at Bard provides a breadth of expanded offerings while retaining a strong core of courses that provide a firm grounding in basic techniques and principles, in an era when much contemporary art cannot be contained within the traditional categories and technology is transforming the production of visual images.
Bard Artist in Residence Jonathan VanDyke MFA ’05 Awarded a Grant from the Gottlieb Foundation
VanDyke’s portfolio began in 2005, while he was pursuing an MFA at Bard focusing on painting and sculpture.
Bard Artist in Residence Jonathan VanDyke MFA ’05 Awarded a Grant from the Gottlieb Foundation
Jonathan VanDyke MFA ’05, artist in residence. Photo by Shawn Poynter
Jonathan VanDyke MFA ’05, artist in residence at Bard College, was awarded a Gottlieb Foundation Individual Support Grant, a competitive arts grant for artists who have worked in their field for at least 20 years. The grant, which aims to “recognize and support the serious, fully-committed artist,” gives individuals $25,000 to fund their creative projects. VanDyke’s portfolio began in 2005, while he was pursuing an MFA at Bard focusing on painting and sculpture. He has presented major projects at The Museum of Art of Ravenna, The Columbus Museum, The Power Plant, The AKG Buffalo Art Museum, and many other institutions worldwide. “This award is especially meaningful for me in relation to Bard: to apply for this award you must submit 20 years of studio work, and so the first images in my portfolio came from my Bard MFA thesis exhibition, while the last images documented work I’ve made since joining the Bard faculty a few years ago,” VanDyke said.
VanDyke teaches in the Studio Arts Program at Bard, which provides a breadth of expanded offerings while retaining a strong core of courses that provide a firm grounding in basic techniques and principles, in an era when much contemporary art cannot be contained within the traditional categories and technology is transforming the production
Post Date: 06-01-2026
Bard Faculty Member Julia Weist Awarded a MacDowell Fellowship
While in residence from August 6–20, Julia will complete postproduction work on her project, Questioning, to be presented as a live work of theater debuting at New Theater Hollywood in July 2026.
Bard Faculty Member Julia Weist Awarded a MacDowell Fellowship
Julia Weist, visiting artist in residence in studio arts. Photo by Adam T. Deen.
Julia Weist, visiting artist in residence in studio arts at Bard College, has been awarded a MacDowell Fellowship to the MacDowell Residency Program in the Visual Arts category for spring/summer 2026. While in residence from August 6–20, Julia will complete postproduction work on her project, Questioning, to be presented as a live work of theater debuting at New Theater Hollywood in July 2026. Located in Peterborough, New Hampshire, MacDowell is one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious artist residency programs, and fellowships are distributed by seven discipline-specific admissions panels that make their selections solely based on the excellence of the applicant's work.
Questioning re-enacts an exchange that occurred between Weist and New York's Department of State, which investigated her artistic use of a private investigator license. After leveraging her research-based artistic practice to earn PI credentials in 2022, Weist had gained access to restricted tools that aggregate sensitive, non-public data about American citizens. She used the data to create photographs that arranged and obscured information she purchased about herself, her spouse, and neighbors. When the work was exhibited, New York's Department of State opened an inquiry into her licensure, raising fundamental questions about artistic authority, investigative methodology, and the financial systems that value artistic labor. The state ultimately determined that none of Weist's work violated the rules of the credential, and dropped its case. In residence at MacDowell, she will edit video documentation of Questioning, which restages her interrogation with NY's deputy chief investigator, thereby closing the case on her own terms.
The Studio Arts Program at Bard provides a breadth of expanded offerings while retaining a strong core of courses that provide a firm grounding in basic techniques and principles, in an era when much contemporary art cannot be contained within the traditional categories and technology is transforming the production of visual images.
Wednesday, July 1, 2026 11:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 CCS Bard Galleries
Betty Parsons: An Expanded World is the first major retrospective to examine the intertwined legacies of Betty Parsons (1900 - 1982) as both pioneering abstract artist and trailblazing gallerist who shaped the trajectory of 20th century American art.
Best known for ushering in the American avant-garde by establishing the careers of Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, and Jackson Pollock, among others, Parsons also maintained a dedicated artistic practice throughout her life. This exhibition centers her output as a painter and sculptor, while exploring the radical history of the Betty Parsons Gallery and its support of underrecognized, experimental artists. Organized by Kelly Taxter (CCS ‘03) with artist Amy Sillman, Betty Parsons: An Expanded World features approximately 80 works spanning painting, sculpture, and works on paper, tracing Parsons’ voluminous output as she evolved from a young academic painter to a mature abstractionist over a six-decade career. A revelatory and newly commissioned, multi-channel film by G. Anthony Svatek and Kaija Siirala will bring to life the largely unknown history of the Betty Parsons Gallery. More info here.
11:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 Hessel Museum of Art, CCS Bard
Replica of a Chip: The Weaving Technology of Marilou Schultz
Wednesday, July 1, 2026 11:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 Hessel Museum of Art, CCS Bard
Replica of a Chip: The Weaving Technology of Marilou Schultz marks the first survey of acclaimed Navajo/Diné weaver and mathematics educator Marilou Schultz. On view through November 29, 2026, the exhibition positions Schultz as an innovator whose work across culture and industry has influenced the practices of art, Navajo weaving, and computer architecture over a 65-year career. Replica of a Chip traces the full arc of Schultz’s artistic practice, demonstrating how she has consistently pushed the boundaries of experimentation within Navajo weaving, first through teaching herself new weaving styles, dyes, and techniques and later, using it as a means to reflect on the digital technologies shaping contemporary culture and society—from early computer microprocessors to stock market tickers and other digital data.
The exhibition is curated by Candice Hopkins (citizen of Carcross/Tagish First Nation, CCS Bard ‘03), Executive Director and Chief Curator of Forge Project and Fellow in Indigenous Art History and Curatorial Studies at CCS Bard.
Thursday, July 2, 2026 11:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 CCS Bard Galleries
Betty Parsons: An Expanded World is the first major retrospective to examine the intertwined legacies of Betty Parsons (1900 - 1982) as both pioneering abstract artist and trailblazing gallerist who shaped the trajectory of 20th century American art.
Best known for ushering in the American avant-garde by establishing the careers of Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, and Jackson Pollock, among others, Parsons also maintained a dedicated artistic practice throughout her life. This exhibition centers her output as a painter and sculptor, while exploring the radical history of the Betty Parsons Gallery and its support of underrecognized, experimental artists. Organized by Kelly Taxter (CCS ‘03) with artist Amy Sillman, Betty Parsons: An Expanded World features approximately 80 works spanning painting, sculpture, and works on paper, tracing Parsons’ voluminous output as she evolved from a young academic painter to a mature abstractionist over a six-decade career. A revelatory and newly commissioned, multi-channel film by G. Anthony Svatek and Kaija Siirala will bring to life the largely unknown history of the Betty Parsons Gallery. More info here.
11:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 Hessel Museum of Art, CCS Bard
Replica of a Chip: The Weaving Technology of Marilou Schultz
Thursday, July 2, 2026 11:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 Hessel Museum of Art, CCS Bard
Replica of a Chip: The Weaving Technology of Marilou Schultz marks the first survey of acclaimed Navajo/Diné weaver and mathematics educator Marilou Schultz. On view through November 29, 2026, the exhibition positions Schultz as an innovator whose work across culture and industry has influenced the practices of art, Navajo weaving, and computer architecture over a 65-year career. Replica of a Chip traces the full arc of Schultz’s artistic practice, demonstrating how she has consistently pushed the boundaries of experimentation within Navajo weaving, first through teaching herself new weaving styles, dyes, and techniques and later, using it as a means to reflect on the digital technologies shaping contemporary culture and society—from early computer microprocessors to stock market tickers and other digital data.
The exhibition is curated by Candice Hopkins (citizen of Carcross/Tagish First Nation, CCS Bard ‘03), Executive Director and Chief Curator of Forge Project and Fellow in Indigenous Art History and Curatorial Studies at CCS Bard.
Friday, July 3, 2026 11:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 CCS Bard Galleries
Betty Parsons: An Expanded World is the first major retrospective to examine the intertwined legacies of Betty Parsons (1900 - 1982) as both pioneering abstract artist and trailblazing gallerist who shaped the trajectory of 20th century American art.
Best known for ushering in the American avant-garde by establishing the careers of Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, and Jackson Pollock, among others, Parsons also maintained a dedicated artistic practice throughout her life. This exhibition centers her output as a painter and sculptor, while exploring the radical history of the Betty Parsons Gallery and its support of underrecognized, experimental artists. Organized by Kelly Taxter (CCS ‘03) with artist Amy Sillman, Betty Parsons: An Expanded World features approximately 80 works spanning painting, sculpture, and works on paper, tracing Parsons’ voluminous output as she evolved from a young academic painter to a mature abstractionist over a six-decade career. A revelatory and newly commissioned, multi-channel film by G. Anthony Svatek and Kaija Siirala will bring to life the largely unknown history of the Betty Parsons Gallery. More info here.