For this artist-curated installation of the Frye Art Museum’s collection, the research collective ESTAR(SER) reaches into an archive of dreams to assemble an exhibition that asks fundamental questions about museums and the works of art they hold: What do artworks want from us? And what do we want from them? 

An ancient tale tells of an artist who once painted a child carrying a bunch of grapes. So lifelike was the image that birds came and pecked at the tasty-looking fruit. But the painter wasn’t satisfied. If the child had been more realistic, he reasoned, the birds would have been too frightened to approach. Determined, he reworked the painting, and, setting it outside, watched as three birds approached: the first glimpsed the child and fled, just as he had hoped; the second went ahead as before, and tried to eat the illusory fruit. But the third bird just landed in front of the painting and looked at it, in perfect stillness, for a very long time.

Embarking from this story of appetite, fear, and fascination, THE THIRD, MEANING stages much-loved works from the Frye Art Museum’s collection—along with some rarely seen treasures—in a series of triads, groupings of three that invite viewers to ponder the “Birdish” problem: Should we draw near? Turn away? Keep looking? Each triad aims to set up a small conversation (about form, about content, about history). Visitors are invited to eavesdrop on these quiet exchanges, occasionally with the aid of playful tools for focusing, diffracting, or remaking their perceptions. What is it like to look with avian eyes? And if the paintings were themselves birds, which is hungriest? Which would fly away? Which, gazing back, would stay?

No mere allegory, the “third bird” can be thought of as an avatar of attention. Through the attentive senses, every museumgoer participates in the making of a work of art. THE THIRD, MEANING circles the power and complexity of this remarkable human faculty: our ability to give attention, and to receive what it gives; the power to land in front of anything, and wait upon everything. In conjunction with the exhibition, a series of gallery interventions and activations configured by ESTAR(SER) will offer opportunities to test the creative possibilities of every act of sustained attention.

ESTAR(SER) is an international research collective concerned with the history—and the mythology—of attention. Recent work includes: “All Senses on the Qui Vive,” 33rd São Paulo Biennial (2018); “El Halo del Cuidar,” Reina Sofia, Madrid (2019); “The Dance of Attention,” Glasgow International (2020/21); and “The Milcom Memorial Reading Room and Attention Library,” Mana Contemporary and the Monira Foundation, Jersey City (2022). Associates of ESTAR(SER) collaborate on various publications, for instance: The ESTAR(SER) Working Group on Exhibitions, “Presenting and Representing the ‘W-Cache,’” Proceedings of the Esthetical Society, New Series, Part VII, Supplement (2016): 1-81; and, most recently, the edited volume In Search of the Third Bird (London: Strange Attractor, 2021).

D. Graham Burnett works at the intersection of historical inquiry and artistic practice. He makes texts (and occasions) using experiential approaches to archival material, pedagogical modes, and hermeneutic activities traditionally associated with the research humanities. Based in New York, Burnett trained in the History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge University and teaches at Princeton. He edits a series in speculative historiography, “Conjectures,” for The Public Domain Review (UK), and is the author of a number of books, including Masters of All They Surveyed (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001); Trying Leviathan (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007); The Sounding of the Whale (2012); and Twelve Theses on Attention (New York: FoA/PUP, 2022), co-authored and co-edited with Stevie Knauss and the Friends of Attention, with whom he often collaborates. Burnett’s essays, pseudonymities, and metafictions have appeared in: Cabinet (where he is an editor), October, Parkett, Texte zur Kunst, TANK, Geist, and elsewhere, including the catalogue of the 55th Venice Biennial.

Joanna Fiduccia is an art historian, art critic, and assistant professor in the Department of the History of Art at Yale University. She is the author of Figures of Crisis: Alberto Giacometti and the Myths of Nationalism (New Haven: Yale University Press, forthcoming), as well as scholarship and criticism published in October, Art History, Parkett, Spike Art Quarterly, East of Borneo, and Artforum. A founding co-editor of the journal apricota and a collaborator with the Friends of Attention, her writing has also appeared in catalogues and essay collections including Maria Martins: Tropical Fictions (Sao Paolo: Museu de Arte de São Paulo, 2021), In Search of the Third Bird (London: Strange Attractor, 2021), and Alberto Giacometti: In Search of Lost Works (Paris: Editions Fage, 2020).

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February 16 @ 8:00 am – December 30 @ 5:00 pm

Designing Motherhood: Things That Make and Break Our Births explores the arc of human reproduction through the lens of art and design. The exhibition examines the evolution of rights and societal norms connected to contraception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experiences over the last 150 years, highlighting that birth—and the culture that surrounds it—impacts every living person. While being born is a universal human experience, the designs that shape it are not. Designing Motherhood invites you to consider why and how we have developed designs to facilitate reproductive health.

Featuring over 200 objects, this exhibition brings together a unique collection of contemporary artists and designers whose work helps us ponder the political, economic, and social implications of how we all relate to reproduction, juxtaposing photography with product design, maternal and newborn health innovations, maternity fashion, and much more.

This exhibition was organized by the Designing Motherhood curatorial team in collaboration with the Discovery Center at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In Seattle, the project thought partners are the Designing Motherhood advisory committee: Amie Bishop, Senior Research Advisor for OutRight Action International; Angela Garbes, Seattle-based writer and author of Like A Mother (2018); Ari Robbins Greene, proud dad to two children; Dr. Cyril Engmann, Senior Director of Quality and Program Impact and Institutional Official at PATH; Dila Perera, Executive Director at Open Arms Perinatal Services; Mercedes Snyder, owner of Something Beautiful Midwifery; and Rebecca Mauldin, Director of Communications & Development at ChildStrive.

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July 13 @ 8:00 am – July 16 @ 5:00 pm

Although Readercon is modeled on “science fiction conventions,” we have no art show, no costumes, no gaming, and almost no media. Instead, Readercon features a near-total focus on the written word.

In many years the list of Readercon guests rivals or surpasses that of the Worldcon in quality. Readercon is the only small convention regularly attended by such giants of imaginative literature as Samuel R. Delany, Ellen Datlow, Amal El-Mohtar, John Crowley, Greer Gilman, and Catherynne M. Valente.

The program consists of two tracks each of panel discussions, author readings, and solo talks or workshops, plus kaffeeklatsches (intimate gatherings with an author), autograph signings, and extracurricular activities. The program also currently features the presentation of two major genre awards: the Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award for a neglected author and the Shirley Jackson Awards for dark fantasy and psychological suspense.

There is a large Bookshop full of new, used, and rare, and collectible books & magazines (and yet more great conversation; if a Readercon attendee is not at a program item, they’re probably here).

There’s more. We publish a Souvenir Book whose pages of content rival a Worldcon’s in number, and a separate, comprehensive Program Guide. There is a hospitality suite well-stocked with munchies; and, yes, there are parties. Readercon is also proud to host a number of charitable efforts.

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July 22 @ 8:00 am – July 26 @ 5:00 pm

The Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) is pleased to invite you to join us at our 29th Annual Meeting in Montréal, Canada from July 22-26, 2023, at the Palais de congres de Montréal

OHBM is the primary international organization dedicated to neuroimaging. Each year, approximately 3,000 attendees gather to attend top-notch educational programs, share the latest research and network. Our annual meeting is the premier event for professionals to stay up to date with industry changes and new technologies. Join us in Montréal to share your research in the number one university research hub in Canada.

Share your excitement about the OHBM Annual Meeting using #OHBM2023. Like us on Twitter to receive regular meeting updates in your news feed.

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August 4 @ 8:00 am – August 8 @ 5:00 pm

With much excitement, the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management returns, in person, to Boston, Massachusetts, USA for AOM 2023: Putting the Worker Front and Center.  The Annual Meeting is the world’s premier event for scholarly engagement, and the largest gathering of management and organization scholars in the world. The Annual Meeting offers attendees a chance to expand research, network with colleagues, and disseminate knowledge addressing the 21st century’s most pressing challenges related to management and organizations. Whether you’re a first-time attendee, an academic, a student, or practitioner, there is a unique opportunity to interact with thousands of like-minded AOM members and colleagues from around the world.

In the past, Boston has been AOM’s most highly attended location, with 10,000+ attendees from around the world.  Located in the Northeastern United States, Boston is home to several renowned educational institutions, making it an international hotspot for research and learning. The city’s intellectual aptitude combined with its historic charm make it a sought-after destination for business.

This year’s Annual Meeting will feature:

• 1,500+ in-person sessions.
• The inaugural Annual Meeting Opening Reception Friday evening with early access to exhibits and opportunities to meet with AOM’s leaders both past and present.
• A new online platform to review the program, create your schedule, chat with other attendees and authors, review uploaded session materials and contribute to online discussions.
• A pre-recorded Presidential Address, viewable online.
• Expanded networking hubs with morning coffee breaks and opportunities to meet with DIG leaders.
• Access to the Career Fair (by appointment).
• Over 30 different journal sessions, including reviewer workshops, “publishing in” sessions, and meetings around academic fundamentals such as writing, developing, and publishing research in the field of management.

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August 21 @ 8:00 am – August 25 @ 5:00 pm

The IFLA World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) is the most international professional and trade event for the library and information services sector.

It brings high-level speakers, experts in every aspect of the profession, and library and information workers from around the world together to help set the international agenda and explore issues and developments of interest to the global library field.

The Congress is also a time to celebrate our advocacy successes, learn lessons from each other, and collectively strengthen our voice.

Delegates from every country, from libraries and aligned sectors, and from student to director level are encouraged to attend. No other conference offers the same feast of librarianship and opportunities for delegates to network, discuss and learn from each other on such an international scale.

Whether it is through physical participation, at conferences held in locations and regions across the globe, or through increasingly strong virtual elements IFLA continues to explore options and develop experiences that bring the library world together.

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August 31 @ 8:00 am – September 3 @ 5:00 pm

Join us for the 119th APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition, August 31 – September 3, 2023, held in Los Angeles, California, to address the latest scholarship in political science! The conference theme is “Rights and Responsibilities in an Age of Mis- and Disinformation.”

APSA and the 2023 program co-chairs, Zoltán Búzás, University of Notre Dame, and Felicity Vabulas, Pepperdine University, look forward to your participation in panels and sessions prepared by APSA’s divisions and numerous related groups. See registration details here. 

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September 1, 2023 @ 8:00 am – May 31, 2024 @ 5:00 pm

Steven Beaucher, author of Boston in Transit and antique map dealer over at our brother website www.WardMaps.com, is guest curating an expansive exhibit at the Leventhal Map and Education Center at the Boston Public Library. This dense and visually engaging exhibit will present maps and other navigation devices used by Bostonians over four centuries. Rare and seldom seen maps will be complimented by photographs, ephemera, guidebooks, and other transit artifacts. This exhibit is free and open to the public.

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