During the month of February 20 thru March 20, the Nightingale-Brown House's Carriage House Gallery will transform into a Public Humanities LAB. During this time, Public Humanities graduate students will mount exhibitions, pop-up experiences, prototyping projects, performances, workshops and gatherings that probe questions about art, memory, storytelling, history, culture and identity. All programs are free and open to the public. The Public Humanities LAB is open M-F 10am-4pm. The exact schedule of events is being finalized. Please check below for scheduling updates.

February 21 - 22 / Escape the Haffenreffer: Behind the Scenes / GARAGE

Exploding in popularity over the past five years, escape room games are live-action team-based games where players work together to discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish a specific goal in a limited amount of time. This spring, the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Brown will host a series of escape room games. In preparation for this event, Bryn Pernot and Aly Myers will be prototyping and playtesting game components like the narrative, puzzles, and timing, offering students a behind-the-scenes look at a program in process.

About the Curators

Bryn Pernot is a second year in the Public Humanities Master's program with an interest in integrating anthropology, art, design, and games to research and develop innovative programs that provide a space for public participation. Alyson Myers is a first year in the Public Humanities Master's program with an interest in developing creative and accessible educational resources and programs for teachers and history museums.  

February 23 - March 1 / Monument Worthy: Personal Memory Markers / GALLERY

Opening night: Friday, February 23, 5:30 - 7pm.

How do monuments and memorials come to be? What does it mean for something to be “monument worthy?” This exhibition invites contributing artists to reveal what “monument worthy” looks like in their lives; these examples of personal memory and significance markers create “monuments” that help to reveal the layered and unknown memoryscapes we inhabit.  

About the Curators

Hannah Mooney is a first-year student in the MA Public Humanities program with interests in public history, historic preservation, and museum education.  Molly Pailet is a first-year student in the MA Public Humanities Program. She is passionate about applied history, non-traditional education, and creating opportunities for engagement and connection.

March 2 - March 8 / A Seat @ the Table / GALLERY

Evening Events: March 5-7

A Seat @ the Table is an installation and 3-day series of programs that focus on the ways people, particularly women of color, use the kitchen as a space to engage in activities outside of cooking and eating.  This project explores the ways in which beauty practices, entertaining, and storytelling occur at and around the kitchen table.

About the Performers

Johanna Obenda is a first year MA student in the Public Humanities and the graduate fellow at the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, and her work centers on slavery, its after-effects, and the varied experiences of the African Diaspora. Claritza Maldonado is a first-year American Studies Ph.D. Student, creative writer, and poet from Chicago whose research and writing content intersects with Latina/o/x Studies. Taylor Jackson is a first year MA student in the Public Humanities work explores the history of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade as well as black performative arts  and is the curatorial fellow at the Swearer Center for Public Service. Jacquelynn Jones is a first-year Ph.D Student in the Department of American Studies whose academic research focuses on visual, literary and performative representations of racial-mixture.

March 8 / The Phantom Archive: Keepers of Beasts / HOUSE

One-time Performance: Thursday, March 8, 7:00 - 8:30pm

Join an experiment in historical storytelling, with projected images and ambient soundscapes. Hear two tales drawn from the archives — the stories of Mr. Crowley, a celebrity chimpanzee, and Nancy Luce, a poet and friend to chickens. Transmitted to us through the mists of time, these are parables of creatures and friendship, of life and death.

About the Performers

Kate Duffy is a Ph.D. candidate in American Studies at Brown University.  Erik Osheim is a musician based in Providence, Rhode Island.

March 9 - March 15 / Bad Art / GALLERY

Life-drawing class: Friday, March 9, 4 - 5:30pm // Exhibition Opening: Monday, March 12, 7 - 9pm

Inspired by negativity bias and affects of inadequacy, Bad Art features artist-identified “bad” art, a life drawing class with dogs, and an exhibition opening, where visitors will be encouraged to observe through drawing and to sketch the installed work. Rather than moralizing our failures, Bad Art encourages us to linger in discomfort and make bad art together.

About the Curators

Maggie Unverzagt Goddard is a PhD candidate in American Studies whose research explores connections between the body and material objects.  Mika Matsuno is a senior at Brown concentrating in History and Sociology who appreciates both the making and sharing of bad art.

March 16 - March 20 / MOONHAUS / GALLERY

Presented by the Begonia Segovia San Juan Center for Astro-Metaphysics and Public Cosmology

Open House: Monday, March 19, 2 - 8pm // Equinox Party: Tuesday, March 20, 7 - 9:30pm

MOONHAUS is an installation and event series exploring contemporary popular “witch” culture, initiating social meaning-making experiences, and embracing the many complicated constructs of The Feminine. Please stop by for informal astrological chats, light crafting, and (inter)personal questing during our open house on March 19, and come back for a jubilant welcoming of the spring equinox on the evening of March 20.

About the Curators

Public Humanities MA students Julia Renaud and Rica Maestas are delighted to serve as hosts and conduits for the duration of MOONHAUS. When not possessed by the divine, Rica is an interdisciplinary author, administrator, artist, and burqueña, and Julia is a former archivist with a deep interest in collaboratively researching, interpreting, and amplifying underrepresented histories with and for publics.