The Springfield Museums’ monthly tour and lecture schedule continues in June with the popular Thursday Museums à la Carte lectures, held weekly at 12:15 p.m. in the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts. Admission is $4 ($2 for members of the Springfield Museums); visitors are invited to bring lunch (cookies and coffee are provided). The programs are sponsored by Big Y World Class Market. For more information about Museums à la Carte, call 413.263.6800, ext. 488. This month’s lectures include:
- June 5 – It’s The End of the World As You Know it: Video Games and the Evolution of Reality. Devin C. Griffiths, author, examines the video game industry from its quiet inception dominant global enterprise.
- June 12 – American Moderns, 1910-1960: From O’Keeffe to Rockwell. Terry Carbone, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of American Art at the Brooklyn Museum, discusses the works on view at the D’Amour Museum in this summer’s major exhibition.
- June 19 – Something from Nothing: The Story of the Gee’s Bend Quilts. Steve Wittenberg, MD discusses the rich quilting tradition that has evolved in rural Alabama over the past two centuries.
- June 26 – American Legends in Art, 1910-1960. Heather Haskell, director, and Julia Courtney, curator, Springfield Art Museums, will discuss how the new American Moderns exhibit underscores the D’Amour Museum’s noteworthy collection of 20th century American Art.
Also scheduled in June are informal half-hour “mini-tours” every Sunday at 1 PM by volunteer docent educators. The tours highlight a different element of the unique collections of one of the four museums, and are free with Museum admission (check with the Welcome Center staff or the Museums’ website for an updated schedule of mini-tours). Topics for June are:
- June 1 – Greek and Roman Myths; Nicole Bourguignon, George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum.
- June 8 – Steampunk Springfield: Humachines; Diane Huot, GWVS
- June 15 – Medieval/Religious Paintings; Dawn Whitney, D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts
- June 22 – 1899 Knox Automobiles; Jerre Hoffman, Wood Museum of Springfield History
- June 29 – Art of The Thirties; Deena Maniscalchi, DMFA
Monthly Walking Tours are presented in collaboration with the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association (AQCA). On June 14 at 10:30 a.m., join Jennifer Zazo, Park Ranger/Social Media Coordinator, for a tour of the Springfield Armory National Historic Site. Walking tours are free for Springfield Museums and AQCA members, $5 nonmembers, and start at the Museums’ Welcome Center.