Thursdays, 5 PM
Williams faculty and other local experts draw from the quirkiest kinds of libraries as they explore WCMA’s exhibitions, collections, and spaces.
WTF+WCMA: The Dramaturge
Thursday, July 6, 5 pm
Williamstown Theater Festival
Playwrights have been archiving the human experience for centuries. Join us for a live reading of a new play, read by Williamstown Theatre Festival artists
Oral Archives + Lex and Love
Thursday, July 13, 5 pm
Annie Valk, Associate Director for Public Humanities and Lecturer in History
Explore Meleko Mokgosi’s use of language and the unexpected connections between narrative painting and traditions of oral history.
Robert Rauschenberg: Appropriating the Archive
Thursday, July 20, 5 pm
Consider how originality, copyright, and imitation play out in Robert Rauschenberg’s artwork.
The Pigment Library
Thursday, July 27, 5 pm
Narayan Khandekar, Custodian of the Forbes Pigment Library at Harvard University
A look at the fascinating history of color and the science of pigments.
Object Not Found: A Reading
Thursday, August 3, 5 pm
A roving reading of original works by local writers that imagine the lives of objects no longer present in the museum’s collection.
The Osmothèque
Thursday, August 10, 5 pm
Christopher Draghi and Robert Dobay, Perfumers and Founders of Source Adage NYC
Inspired by the scent library housed in Versailles, this multi-sensory tour transforms works in our collection into scents.
Seed Library
Thursday, August 17, 5 pm
Ken Greene, Founder of the Hudson Valley Seed Library
Go from seed to canvas and dig into representations of plants in WCMA’s collection.
Space As Archive
Thursday, August 24, 5 pm
Lisa Conathan, Head of Special Collections at the Williams College Libraries
Spaces act as archives of their own. What histories remain visible and what others disappear?
Thursdays, 6-8 PM
Drinks, snacks, & serendipity on our patio.
July 13, 3-8 PM
Sketchbooks and rain are not friends, so the Mobile Library will be popping up in our Rotunda, the historic site of Williams College’s first library. Check out (literally!) a selection of titles from the largest collection of artist sketchbooks in the world created by photographers, painters, architects, designers, and illustrators from over 135 countries.
Thursday, Aug 24, 7 PM
A screening of vintage educational shorts on the patio pulled from archives by Images Cinema.
During open hours
Borrow a game, a picnic blanket, or a book to enjoy inside or outside the museum.
Tuesdays and Fridays, 1-3 PM
Ponder the philosophical and personal with our librarian-in-residence in the Reading Room.
Come for lemonade and a lunchtime chat about books submitted to People’s Library in response to the question: What book is helping you understand the world right now?
Williams faculty lead the discussion. Here’s what we are reading this summer:
July 12
Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss
Janneke van de Stadt, Professor of Comparative Literature
July 26
On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula Biss
Damian Turner, Professor of Biology
August 9
Thank You For Being Late by Thomas Friedman
Steven Nafziger, Professor of Economics
August 23
The Handmaid’s Tale By Margaret Atwood
Alison Case, Professor of English and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
