What: “Dolls: Collections, Stories, and Tradition” Exhibition

Where: African American Art & Culture Complex, Sargent Johnson Gallery, 1st Floor, San Francisco

When: Opening Reception: February 2, 2012, Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. (Exhibition on view Feb 2 — May 3)

Details:

The Sargent Johnson Gallery is pleased to present a doll exhibition that addresses a need to celebrate the diversity and beauty of African American and African people and their experience, manifested in dolls. This exhibition is a survey, with selected samples of dolls from several collections and doll makers who have as their focus Black Dolls. They come in all shapes and sizes. They are made of various materials and have different functions. They tell stories and are witness to history. The human form doll is among the first play toys a child, especially a female child has to identify with; thus, its aesthetic appearance has important implications for how a child perceives his or her self image.

Curated by Nashormeh Lindo, this exhibition serves as a response to the underrepresentation of positive images reflective of the black experience in the mainstream toy and doll industry and that have negative implications for young girls from the Western Addition—primarily those who are African American of a darker skin complexion. Come and learn about the fascinating world of African and African American dolls!

Click here for more details: African American Art & Culture Complex

The December 15 application deadline for the Jack Handford Summer Internship is quickly approaching (extended to February 1, 2012). This internship provides a $2,000 stipend for a student member of the Costume Society of America to complete an internship with an accredited museum or costume collection. The internship is open to undergraduate students about to commence their senior year and to graduate students.

Not a member? There are currently two special offers open to non-members who are interested in joining:

The Western region is currently offering a discount to students joining or renewing. Currently registered students can join CSA or RENEW their memberships by sending in a CSA Membership application form with proof of their current registration at an educational institution (copy of a Registration card I.D.) along with a check made out to CSA for $25 (Instead of the regular $45) For more details, click here.

In addition, and for a limited time, join now and receive a pre-selected, complimentary issue of CSA National Symposia Abstracts (valued at $16.00)! Offer ends 12/31/2011. Click here for details!

I spent this past Friday and Saturday in the small town of Williams, CA. For those who don’t know it, it is on I-5, at the exit for Clear Lake. It’s primarily a farm town – but its history is long and well preserved in the former school house, now known as the Sacramento Valley Museum. My family’s roots go back to this particular town to at least 1920, but we were in the surrounding area as early as 1885.

The museum is a large two-story building and it contains all manner of historical every-day objects. It had a special Veterans Day memorial on view (which included example uniforms and paraphernalia from every major conflict). The permanent exhibitions areas include farming equipment, Williams High Alumni collections (including band uniforms), Masonic paraphernalia, as well as rooms organized by theme: kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, children’s rooms as well as businesses such as apothecary, general store and happily for me, the clothing boutique (all including objects from varying time periods). Shocking -and somehow comforting-to know just how long the same pharmacy (Fouch’s) has been in existence here.

Of particular note were the Model-T car, the dusters in the tack room (circa 1900), and some fine examples of corsets, dresses, and women’s accessories. Somehow, the things worn and used by real people (rather than the rich-and-famous) are always of greater interest to me. They seem more authentic, and by extension, more important to study and understand.

If you ever find yourself in the area, I’d encourage a visit – it’s a unique way to step back in time and smaller, lesser-known collections need your support to survive. Hope you enjoy these quick snap-shots: