We hope you enjoy this month’s Humanities Broadsheet — a compilation of events organized by or featuring members of the Washington University community, as well as our colleagues in the greater humanities community in the St. Louis area.
Click through each event to see the organizer’s complete listing. As you’ll see below, there’s always something going on!
28 FEBRUARY | 1 PM Culture and Environmental Crisis PATRICIA OLYNYK, the Florence and Frank Bush Professor in Art at the Sam Fox School, will moderate a conversation on environmental humanities today between Faculty Book Celebration keynote speaker Nicole Seymour and Ursula Heise, the Marcia H. Howard Chair in Literary Studies Department of English and Institute of the Environment & Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles. Lunch is provided to registrants. RSVP required; see website. Center for the Humanities.
Washington University, Olin Library, Room 142 & Zoom
28 FEBRUARY | 4 PM In Defense of Tackiness: The Queer Environmental Politics of Glitter – 2024 Faculty Book Celebration
NICOLE SEYMOUR, professor of English at California State University, Fullerton and author of Glitter, an environmental-cultural history of a substance often dismissed as frivolous. Seymour will offer an environmental-cultural history of glitter, contextualizing and challenging the recent backlash against this substance, including the sweeping ban implemented by the European Union in 2023. Focusing on the tackiness of glitter — its physical stickiness as well as its metaphorical association with the vulgar — Seymour will chart how glitter has served as a rallying symbol for the marginalized: the working class, people of color and queer communities. Two members of the Washington University faculty will speak on their own new book releases. Ila Sheren, associate professor of the Department of Art History and Archaeology, is author of Border Ecology: Art and Environmental Crisis at the Margins.Hayrettin Yücesoy, associate professor of Arabic and Islamic studies of the Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies, is author of Disenchanting the Caliphate: The Secular Discipline of Power in Abbasid Political Thought. RSVPs appreciated. Center for the Humanities.
Washington University, Umrath Lounge & Zoom
1–29 FEBRUARY Slavery in St. Louis Exhibit
The famous Black abolitionist William Wells Brown once remarked, “No part of our slave-holding country is more noted for the barbarity of its inhabitants than St. Louis.” This exhibition tells the story of slavery in St. Louis through primary source documents, historic images and individual stories of enslavement across nine banners covering the founding of St. Louis from 1764 to the Reconstruction era. The Slavery in St. Louis exhibition also discusses how present-day institutions, including Washington University, are researching and working to address their historical entanglements with slavery. WashU & Slavery Project.
Washington University, Olin Library, Lobby
1 FEBRUARY | 5 PM Black History Month Celebration
Join the Department of African & African American Studies, the Center for Black Grads, African Student Association, Black Men's Coalition, Association of Black Students and more for a night filled with fun, food and history as we joyfully celebrate the commencement of another Black History Month. Department of African and African American Studies.
Washington University, Danforth University Center, Tisch Commons
1 FEBRUARY | 5:30 PM Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya Lecture
Born in Atlanta to Thai and Indonesian immigrants, Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya is a multidisciplinary artist, educator and activist. Her work in sculpture, textile, public art and ritual has reclaimed space in museums and galleries, at protests and rallies, on buildings, in classrooms and on the cover of Time. Her work examines the unseen labor of women, amplifies AAPI narratives and affirms the depth, resilience and beauty of communities of color. Phingbodhipakkiya has been artist-in-residence with the NYC Commission on Human Rights and sits on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, where she advises the president on how art can foster community well-being. Sam Fox School.
Washington University, Steinberg Auditorium
1 FEBRUARY | 6 PM Heather McGhee, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together (Author Talk)
Over her career in public policy, Heather McGhee has crafted legislation, testified before Congress and helped shape presidential campaign platforms. Her book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, spent 10 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list and was longlisted for the National Book Award and Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. It is a Washington Post and Time magazine Must-Read Book of 2021. Starting at Fairgrounds Park in north St. Louis City, where a riot was sparked after the first Black St. Louis residents attempted to swim at newly desegregated pool at Fairgrounds Park, McGhee chronicles the sobering history of divide and inequity across the United States. However, she implores the reader to reframe equity, moving away from a “zero sum” mindset to an inclusive perspective in which everyone can thrive. Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity and Department of African and African American Studies.
Washington University, Graham Chapel
1 FEBRUARY | 8 PM Visiting Writer: Giada Scodellaro
GIADA SCODELLARO was born in Naples, Italy, and raised in the Bronx, New York. She is a writer, photographer and translator who holds an MFA in Fiction from the New School. Scodellaro is a recipient of a MacDowell Fellowship and is the inaugural Tables of Contents Regenerative Residency fellow. Her debut collection, Some of Them Will Carry Me, was named one of the New Yorker’s best books of 2022. Department of English.
Washington University, Duncker Hall, Hurst Lounge (Room 201)
2–3 FEBRUARY Black Anthology: Pressed
The two-act play is written, choregraphed and produced by the members of the student group Black Anthology. $14–$16. Evening performances include a preshow discussion at 6:15 pm. Black Anthology.
Washington University, Edison Theatre
3 FEBRUARY | 2 PM Opening & participatory ritual: Moving Stories in the Making: An Exhibition of Migration Narratives
How can narratives — visual, textual, and oral — bridge divides between migrants and the communities in which they settle? Moving Stories in the Making: An Exhibition of Migration Narratives brings together the work of local and national artists who craft narratives of migration and holds space for migrants and those affected by migration to tell their stories. Exhibit and programming scheduled for Feb. 3–March 30. Moving Stories and The Luminary.
The Luminary, 2701 Cherokee St., St. Louis, 63118
5 FEBRUARY | 12 PM Jeremy Denk, Every Good Boy Does Fine (Author Talk)
MacArthur “Genius” Grant–winning pianist Jeremy Denk will discuss his New York Times best-selling book Every Good Boy Does Fine: A Love Story, in Music Lessons with Todd Decker, the Paul Tietjens Professor of Music, Washington University. It’s an immersive exploration of classical music — its power, its meanings and what it can teach us about ourselves. In his book, Denk shares the most meaningful lessons of his life and tries to repay a debt to his teachers. He also reminds us that we must never stop asking questions about music and its purposes: consolation, an armor against disillusionment, pure pleasure, a diversion, a refuge and a vehicle for empathy. RSVP required; see website. Department of Music.
Washington University, 560 Music Center, Pillsbury Theatre
5 FEBRUARY | 12:30 PM Art Is My Voice
CBABI BAYOC is an internationally renowned St. Louis based visual artist, muralist and New York Times best-selling illustrator for Good Night Racism, authored by Ibram X. Kendi. Acrylic paint, a flat brush and an iPad have become not only his voice but his weapons of choice in battling the ignorance of prejudice and racism by showing the dopeness of Black people. This presentation will explore how Bayoc uses art as his voice to relay the humanity, beauty and resilience of Black people in their everyday walks in America. His work with Nikole Hannah-Jones, Ibram X. Kendi, Foot Soldiers Park and selective work in the St. Louis Metropolitan area will be highlighted. Open Classroom, Brown School.
VIRTUAL – RSVP
6 FEBRUARY | 12:30 PM Creative Energy: A Tool for Change?
DEBORAH D. AHMED is the executive director of the Better Family Life Cultural, Educational and Business Center and a PhD candidate in social work at Saint Louis University. Ahmed will discuss how creative principles and practices have and continue to be used in Afrikan Diaspora culture. She, along with the guests, will discuss personal journeys, short and long-term implications, setting and raising the bar for creative expression and the responsibilities that accompany all this. Her panelists will include spoken word, movement, theatrical and music artists. Open Classroom, Brown School.
VIRTUAL – RSVP
6 FEBRUARY | 5:30 PM Josh Kline: Bunny and Charles Burson Visiting Lecture
The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York recently presented the first U.S. museum survey of Josh Kline’s work. His film Adaptation (2019–22) recently screened at LAXART on the occasion of his first solo exhibition in Los Angeles. Kline’s work has been exhibited in Oslo; Turin, Italy; Oxford, England; Stockholm; New York City; Minneapolis; Boston; San Francisco; Washington, D.C., among others. His work is included in the collections of numerous institutions including Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and the Rubell Family Collection, Miami. In summer 2024, Kline will have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Sam Fox School.
Washington University, Steinberg Hall, Steinberg Auditorium
6 FEBRUARY | 7 PM Earthalujah! Reverend Billy & The Church of Stop Shopping: A Conversation with William Talen and Savitri D
What began as a televangelist parody 25 years ago has grown into a radical performance community of international renown, the Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping. Whether taking the stage at Burning Man, performing at Zuccotti Park or opening for Neil Young, Reverend Billy and his choir have become widely recognized prophetic voices questioning the gods of the market. William Talen (aka Reverend Billy) will be joined by his long-time collaborator Savitri D, the artistic director of the Stop Shopping Choir. In recent years, they have worked together on building a new community in New York City known as Earth Church. John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics.
Washington University, Knight Hall, Emerson Auditorium
7 FEBRUARY | 12 PM The Pangdatsang Trading Firm: Politics, Currency Exchange, and Trans-Tibet Business During WWII
ELIZABETH REYNOLDS, lecturer in the Program in Global Studies at Washington University and a scholar of Tibetan and Chinese history, will introduce the Pangdatsangs, one of the wealthiest and most powerful Tibetan families of the mid 20th century. In the decades leading up to WWII, the Pangdatsang family expanded their long-distance transportation firm from India to China through strategic alliances with both the Tibetan government and the Chinese nationalists. This talk traces the Pangdatsang firm’s engagement with transnational and state-backed financial infrastructures as they learned to navigate the often opposing forces of an emerging state bureaucracy and unofficial market pressures. Additionally, it argues that managing long-distance trade in a borderland environment required the use of old and new financial networks, from monasteries to modern banks and foreign exchange, and an ability to adapt to rapidly shifting norms. Program in Global Studies.
Washington University, McMillan Hall
7 FEBRUARY | 4 PM Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant
Join us for a reading and reception with filmmaker and co-founder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, Curtis Chin. His memoir, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant (Little, Brown 2023), about coming of age and coming out, traces the author's journey through 1980s Detroit as he navigated rising xenophobia, the AIDS epidemic and the Reagan Revolution to find his voice as a writer and activist — all set against the backdrop of his family’s popular Chinese restaurant. Department of English.
Washington University, Duncker Hall, Hurst Lounge (Room 201)
7 FEBRUARY | 5:30 PM Hung Liu’s Re-presentations of Historical Photographs
In Toward a ‘Bent Ornamentalitism’: Hung Liu's Re-presentations of Historical Photographs, Zihan Feng, PhD student in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, discusses the Chinese-born American contemporary artist Hung Liu’s reuse of historical portrait photographs of Chinese women in her prints and assemblages. This talk explores how Liu strategically juxtaposes historical portraits with varied imagery to reconceive distortions of female bodies — in particular, bound feet — as not merely historical evidence of gender-based violence but a “bent and ornamental” form of being against the patriarchal norm and Western ethnographic gazes. In resonance with scholar Anne Anlin Cheng’s rumination that the “flesh” of racialized and gendered Asian women often survives through “synthetic, ornamental personhood,” Feng discusses how re-presentations of historical images of racialized and gendered subjects negotiate the realms of violence and aesthetics and interrogate the intricate association between natural bodies and the modern notion of subjectivity and autonomy. RSVP required; see website. New Perspectives Talk, Kemper Art Museum.
Washington University, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Study Room (Room 104)
7 FEBRUARY | 6 PM A Featured Talk with Nnedi Okorafor
NNEDI OKORAFOR is a writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. The more specific terms for her works are africanfuturism and africanjujuism, both terms she coined and defined. Born in the United States to two Nigerian (Igbo) immigrant parents and visiting family in Nigeria since she was a child, the foundation and inspiration of Nnedi’s work is rooted in this part of Africa. Her many works include Who Fears Death (winner of the World Fantasy Award and in development at HBO as a TV series), the Nebula and Hugo award-winning novella trilogy Binti (in development as a TV series), the Lodestar and Locus Award–winning Nsibidi Scripts Series, LaGuardia (winner of a Hugo and Eisner awards for Best Graphic Novel), and her most recent novella, Remote Control. Her debut novel Zahrah the Windseeker won the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature. African Student Association and Department of African and African American Studies.
Washington University, Umrath Lounge
8 FEBRUARY | 7 PM Untold Stories: LGBTQ+ Composers Through Time
In partnership with the St. Louis Symphony Community Partnerships Program, Washington University Department of Music and musicians of the SLSO team up for this unique narrated performance that introduces stories of composers from the LGBTQ+ community over the last 1,000 years. This thought-provoking hour-long concert includes music you know alongside stories you don’t about composer lives hidden by prejudice and legal consequences. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. RSVP required; see website. Department of Music.
Washington University, Pillsbury Theatre, 560 Music Center
9 FEBRUARY | 4 PM Chancellor’s Lecture with John McWhorter
JOHN MCWHORTER is an associate professor in the Slavic department at Columbia University specializing in language change and language contact. He is a highly regarded scholar and the author of more than 20 books. He also writes a popular weekly column for The New York Times and hosts the language podcast Lexicon Valley.
Washington University, Graham Chapel
12 FEBRUARY | 4 PM The Fate of the Earth
ELIZABETH KOLBERT is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. The history of life on Earth has been described as long periods of boredom interrupted occasionally by panic. Kolbert will discuss the current biodiversity crisis in the context of the great mass extinctions of the past. Why do humans pose such a threat to the other species on the planet and what can be done to contain this threat? RSVP required; see website. Center for the Environment.
Washington University, Graham Chapel
12 FEBRUARY | 5:30 PM Mary Mattingly Lecture: Proposals
Artist Mary Mattingly makes sculptures and photographs about imagined futures. Her sculptural ecosystems prioritize access to food, shelter and clean water, resulting in large-scale participatory projects around the world. In 2016, she led Swale, a floating sculpture and edible landscape on a barge in New York that depended upon water common law and inspired New York City Parks to establish their first public “Foodway.” Her artwork has been exhibited at institutions, such as Storm King Art Center, International Center of Photography, Seoul Art Center, Brooklyn Museum, Palais de Tokyo, Barbican Art Gallery and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana. Notable grants include the Guggenheim Foundation Grant, James L. Knight Foundation, Harpo Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts and the Jerome Foundation. The Sam Fox School.
Washington University, Steinberg Auditorium
13 FEBRUARY | 1 PM Ethical Research Data: The Feminist Principle of Examining Power in the Context of Big Data and AI
LAUREN F. KLEIN is the Winship Distinguished Research Professor and associate professor of quantitative theory & methods and English at Emory University. In Data Feminism, Klein and her coauthor, Catherine D’Ignazio, established a set of principles for doing more just and equitable data science. Informed by the past several decades of intersectional feminist activism and critical thought, the principles of data feminism modeled how to examine and challenge power, rethink binaries and hierarchies, elevate emotion and embodiment, consider context, embrace pluralism and make labor visible. How can these principles be applied to the current conversation about AI, its present harms and its future possibilities? This talk will briefly summarize the principles of data feminism before moving to a set of examples that show how these principles can be applied — and extended — to our current technological landscape. Bernard Becker Medical Library.
VIRTUAL - RSVP
14 FEBRUARY | 10:45 AM–2 PM Douglass Day Transcribe-a-thon
Drop in for a collaborative digital transcribe-a-thon in celebration of Frederick Douglass’ birthday. We will be transcribing the correspondence of Frederick Douglass, noted abolitionist, orator and U.S. ambassador to Haiti. Together with Douglass Day events across the country, we will attempt to transcribe all 8,731 pages in one day. Volunteers will be available to assist you with learning to operate the digital transcription interface. Every Valentine’s Day, the organizers of Douglass Day hold a transcribe-a-thon to honor Frederick Douglass’s birthday. Although Douglass never knew his birthdate, he chose to celebrate every year on February 14. Since the first transcribe-a-thon in 2017, the Douglass Day organizers have hosted local and national events to transcribe important collections of manuscripts related to the life of African Americans as well as the papers of key figures of Black history. These events represent a moment to participate in and celebrate the preservation of African American intellectual history firsthand. We encourage you to bring a laptop or tablet; some computers will be available. A selection of Haitian dishes will be served for lunch, refreshments and birthday cake will be provided. Free and open to all; feel free to come and go as you need to during the event's duration. RSVP required; see website. Department of Romance Languages & Literatures, Washington University Libraries and WashU & Slavery Project.
Washington University, Olin Library, Room 142
15 FEBRUARY | 5:30 PM Mona Kareem
Poet and translator Mona Kareem will be joined in conversation by Safa Khatib, PhD candidate in the Program in Comparative Literature. In the words of her translator Sara Elkamel, Mona Kareem is “the author of an impossibly fluid cartography.” This event will focus on the trajectory of Kareem’s poetics across her three internationally acclaimed books: Mornings Washed by Thirst’s Water, Absence with Amputated Fingers and What I Sleep for Today. Moving between her poems in both their Arabic original and Elkamel’s English translations, the conversation will approach larger questions about the relationship between poetry, perception, imagination and geopolitics. RSVP required; see website. University Libraries.
Washington University, Olin Library, Ginkgo Reading Room
15 FEBRUARY | 8 PM Visiting Writer: Heather Radke
HEATHER RADKE is a writer and a contributing editor at WNYC’s award-winning podcast, Radiolab. Her first book, Butts: A Backstory, was named a Best Book of the Year by Esquire, Time and Publisher’s Weekly, and was one of Amazon’s Top 20 Books of the Year. She teaches writing in the MFA program at Columbia University. Department of English.
Washington University, Duncker Hall, Room 201, Hurst Lounge
16 FEBRUARY | 5:30 PM Faculty Showcase
WashU performance faculty will perform various solo and chamber works. Department of Music.
Washington University, Pillsbury Theatre, 560 Music Center
18 FEBRUARY | 2 PM Chinese-language Tour of The Body in Pieces
Student educator Weixun Qu, PhD student in the Department of Art History & Archaeology, leads an interactive tour of The Body in Pieces. This exhibition draws on the Kemper Art Museum’s significant European and American modern art collection to explore how the fragmented body acted as a metaphor for modernity in early 20th-century art. Featured artists include Jean Dubuffet, Fernand Léger and Joan Miró, among many others. Check in at Welcome Desk.
中文美术导览：The Body in Pieces
邀请您来和艺术史暨考古学系博士生曲维洵共同欣赏Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum本期展览《The Body in Pieces》。本展览聚焦于Kemper Art Museum现代艺术馆藏中几位重要的欧美艺术家，像是让·杜布菲、费尔南·莱热、胡安·米罗等。来一起探索二十世纪初的艺术家如何籍由零散不全的身体画作来反映现代性。Kemper Art Museum.
Washington University, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
19 FEBRUARY | 4 PM Reimagining the Humanities: Immersive 3D Environments for Teaching, Learning, and Research
The Virtual Viking Longship Project, supported by a Digital Humanities Advancement Grant from the NEH, explores strategies for establishing a digital humanities (DH) community of inquiry and practice at two leading liberal arts institutions, Grinnell College and Carleton College. The creation of an immersive, standalone virtual reality (VR) experience for visualizing the social, linguistic, cultural, political and economic roles that the longship played in the Viking Age will provide the impetus to this investigation. This presentation will detail the development work leading up to the grant award, including the creation and operation of the Grinnell College Immersive Experiences Lab (GCIEL). The presentation will also discuss the affordances of immersive 3D environments for teaching and learning, how GCIEL supports the public good and promotes social responsibility through its activity and how students on GCIEL development teams learn the technical, social-awareness and problem-solving skills within a liberal arts context that make them attractive candidates for 21st-century jobs. David Neville is the founding director of the Grinnell College Immersive Experiences Lab and a digital liberal arts specialist at Grinnell College. Originally trained as a medievalist and Germanist, Neville is the author of over 50 articles, posters and presentations on topics such as the digital humanities, immersive computing, digital game-based learning and blended learning, RSVP required; see website. Incubator for Transdisciplinary Futures.
Washington University, Danforth University Center, Room 276
21 FEBRUARY | 12–6 PM Homage: Traveling Black History Exhibit
Join us on a remarkable journey through Black history and culture with the Homage exhibit. Each original artifact represents an icon, cultural phenomenon or pivotal historical moment and accompanies works created by artists and creatives. Stop in and view the exhibit at your own pace. Department of African and African American Studies.
Washington University, Ridgley Hall, Holmes Lounge
21 FEBRUARY | 5 PM Following Courage: William Wells Brown
In celebration of Washington University Libraries’ recent acquisition of a first British edition of Narrative of William W. Brown, an American slave, written by himself, Gregory Carr, assistant professor of theater at Harris-Stowe State University, will lecture on Brown’s literary works. In addition to the lecture, the first edition and related materials from the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections will be on display before and after the lecture. RSVP required; see website. WashU & Slavery Project, Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Equity (CRE2) and University Libraries.
Washington University, see schedule for locations
21 FEBRUARY | 5:30 PM An Evening with Shailja Patel: Asian American Internationalism for a Boiling Planet
How do we bring our multiple identities to the multicrises of our time? As ethnic minorities in the U.S., how do we acknowledge both our privileges and our marginalization? What does it mean to be anti-imperialist, anti-fascist and internationalist in our movements, from Black Lives Matter and prison abolition to queer liberation? What are we actually calling for when we talk about land back and decolonization? What does a liveable, shareable world look like? And how do we get there? Shailja Patel (she/her) is the author of Migritude, which was shortlisted for Italy's Camaiore Prize. Taught in over 200 colleges and universities worldwide, Migritude is based on Patel’s highly acclaimed one-woman theater show, which generated standing ovations on four continents. Patel’s poems have been translated into 17 languages. Honors include a Global Feminist Spotlight from the Nobel Women’s Initiative, a Civitella Ranieri Fellowship, a Sundance Theatre Fellowship, a MassMOCA fellowship, the Nordic Africa Institute African Writer Fellowship, the Jozi Book Fair Guest Writer Award and the Voices of Our Nations poetry award. Her work features in the Smithsonian Museum's groundbreaking Beyond Bollywood exhibition. Patel is the public affairs editor for the Massachusetts Review. RSVP required; see website. Program in American Culture Studies.
Washington University, Women’s Building Formal Lounge
22 FEBRUARY | 12:30 PM The Last Word: Exploring Identity, Resistance and Narrative Power in Art
KVTHEWRITER is a rapper, poet, educator and activist. In an exploration led by KVtheWriter, discover how artists can harness their personal identity and experiences to spark both interpersonal and systemic change within themselves and their communities. Through an examination of the risks and challenges inherent in artistic activism, KVtheWriter, along with the audience, will unveil the narrative potency of art — illuminating stories often overlooked and undertold in St. Louis and beyond. Open Classroom, Brown School.
VIRTUAL - RSVP
22 FEBRUARY | 5:30 PM Faculty Book Talk: Ignacio Infante
IGNACIO INFANTE, associate professor of comparative literature and Spanish, will discuss his latest scholarly monograph, A Planetary Avant-Garde. This book explores how experimental poetics and literature networks have aesthetically and politically responded to the legacy of Iberian colonialism across the world with a focus on avant-garde responses to Spanish and Portuguese imperialism across Europe, Latin America, West Africa and Southeast Asia between 1909 and 1929. Infante will be joined in conversation by Sarah María Medina, Ph.D. candidate in the Program in Comparative Literature. RSVP required; see website. University Libraries.
Washington University, Olin Library, Ginkgo Reading Room
23 FEBRUARY–3 MARCH The Winter’s Tale
Once upon a time, King Leontes of Sicilia accused his childhood friend King Polixenes of Bohemia of seducing his wife. His jealousy was groundless and preposterous, and yet no one could dissuade him from it. Even when the “Oracle” confirmed his wife Hermione’s innocence, he rejected the truth and pushed his entire kingdom into further turmoil. Ultimately, Leontes lost everything — wife, family and all those who loved him. Years passed, and a new generation moved the world beyond the imperious behavior of delusional men. Geography shifted, magic became possible and a world formerly driven by rage was re-envisioned to one where reconciliation and understanding prevail. The Winter’s Tale is Shakespeare’s grand and ambitious fable that defies categorization. Four hundred years later, everything thing about it seems custom made for our moment. This play is translated by William Shakespeare and directed by William Whitaker. Performing Arts Department.
Washington University, Edison Theatre
23 FEBRUARY | 12–6 PM The Heart and Soul of the Movement: The Influence of the “Divine 9”
This exhibit focuses on members of the “Divine 9,” who helped create a culture of change and resistance that impacted the civil rights movement in America. Through original artifact, participants discover how the involvement of these students led to tangible social change. Department of African and African American Studies.
Washington University, Umrath Hall, Umrath Lounge
23 FEBRUARY | 12 PM Global Afterlives of America’s First Red Scare: Political Deportees and Transnational Radicalism Between the World Wars
KENYON ZIMMER is an associate professor of history at the University of Texas at Arlington. Between 1917 and 1925, the United States deported more than 1,000 foreign-born leftwing radicals in the largest expulsion of political dissidents in U.S. history. This presentation places this event in global perspective by tracing the transnational experiences, networks and impacts of these deportees. Like deportees today, many were separated from families and communities, exposed to persecution and violence in their native countries or transformed into refugees and exiles. But their trajectories reveal other, unanticipated consequences: “repatriated” radicals — most of whom had acquired or evolved their political views in the United States — influenced labor and revolutionary movements abroad, often in ways contrary to American foreign policy objectives. Deportation supplied leaders as well as rank-and-file members to anarchist, syndicalist, socialist and Communist movements in a long list of countries, including Russia, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Canada, Cuba and Argentina. A handful of deportees even returned clandestinely to the United States under false names and resumed their activities on American soil. The forced migrations of the First Red Scare, in other words, contributed to leftwing radicalism on a global scale by expanding and forging new links in transnational radical networks. Program in Global Studies.
Washington University, McMillan Café
23 FEBRUARY | 5:30 PM Q&A with Kahlil Robert Irving
As part of the opening celebrations for Kahlil Robert Irving: Archaeology of the Present, artist Kahlil Robert Irving will be in conversation with Hamza Walker, director of LAXART, an independent, nonprofit art space in Los Angeles. Irving is known for his ceramic assemblages made of layered images and replicas of everyday objects often considered detritus but that are representative of a historical moment, a way of life or even specific individuals. Irving and Walker will discuss topics ranging from Black life and collective memory to urban landscapes, as well as how the mining of contemporary artifacts begins to tell a fragmented story of American history. RSVP required; see website. Kemper Art Museum.
Washington University, Steinberg Auditorium
24 FEBRUARY | 1:30 PM Curatorial Tour: The Body in Pieces
Assistant Curator Dana Ostrander leads an interactive tour of The Body in Pieces. This exhibition draws on the Kemper Art Museum’s significant modern art collection to explore how the fragmented body acted as a metaphor for modernity in early 20th-century art. Many European and American artists experienced the mechanization of newly industrialized cities and consequently sought to incorporate these mechanical movements into their creative processes, portraying human bodies that are segmented into geometric shapes, cropped into fragments or melted into gestural brushstrokes. Featured artists include Jean Dubuffet, Fernand Léger and Joan Miró, among many others. Check in at welcome desk. Kemper Art Museum.
Washington University, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
27 FEBRUARY | 12:30 PM Black & Blue: Double Consciousness and the Black Artist
MK STALLINGS is the research and evaluation manager of Regional Arts Commission. There is a tension for the artist where success is sometimes complicated by the distance between excellence in the fine arts and commercial viability. If the artist is Black, the question is not just about art or money but the values that influence art production. Should their art challenge oppressive systems or should they seek inclusion among the most notable of the art world? This talk will apply W.E.B. Du Bois’ double consciousness as a framework for examining this historical tension for the Black Artist while highlighting contemporary data. Open Classroom, Brown School.
VIRTUAL – RSVP
27 FEBRUARY | 5 PM Ursula Heise: Multispecies Justice and Narrative
URSULA HEISE is the director of the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies at Institute of the Environment & Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles. The connection between struggles for social justice and environmental conservation has transformed North American environmentalism over the last two decades under the labels of environmental justice, political ecology and the environmentalism of the poor. Multispecies justice, a new paradigm that has emerged over the last decade, has sought to expand environmental justice thinking beyond the boundaries of the human species by reconceptualizing who or what is considered a subject of justice, who is included in communities of justice, and how concepts of justice differ across cultural communities. This lecture will explore what role different forms of narrative, from documentary films and popular scientific reporting to science fiction, play in defining and imagining multispecies communities of justice. Science in the Public Square.
Washington University, Umrath Lounge
28 FEBRUARY | 4 PM 2024 Rava Memorial Lecture Series
ELIZABETH RODINI is the Andrew Heiskell Arts Director at the American Academy in Rome. Painted in 1480 at the Ottoman court in Istanbul, Gentile’ Bellini’s famed portrait of Sultan Mehmed II has had a rich afterlife, stretching across three continents and entangled with issues ranging from authenticity to historical memory to the formulation of national patrimony. Through a close examination of the portrait and its history, including questions of style, provenance, condition and display, we will consider different perspectives on its italianità and the ways in which that identity shifts while remaining firm. Reception will be held at 4 pm in Goldberg Formal Lounge. Lecture begins at 5 pm. Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.
Washington University, Danforth University Center, Room 276
29 FEBRUARY | 5 PM Pranksters, Standups, and Fitness Gurus: New Perspectives on Parody
Assistant Professor of Religion and Politics Fannie Bialek will moderate this panel discussion featuring new scholarship in the realm of parody, religion and politics. Panelists and talks include the following: Jesus and Jest: Comedy and Christianity in the 1960s” by Joshua Wright from Hope College; “How Standup Made Islam Secular” by Samah Choudhury from Ithaca College; “In on the Joke: Parody and Religion at SoulCycle” by Cody Musselman from Washington University. John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics.
Washington University, Knight Hall, Emerson Auditorium
29 FEBRUARY | 5:30 PM The Lord, the Slave, and the Tailor’s Son: A Case of Identity Theft in Renaissance Italy
CRAIG A. MONSON is the Paul Tietjens Professor Emeritus of Music at Washington University. Andrea Casali — “the handsomest cavalier there was in Bologna,” pampered endling of a preeminent noble family, heir to fabulous wealth and works by Michelangelo and Raphael, a skilled athlete and man-at-arms but also a poet and pupil of Guido Reni — was elevated to the Bolognese senate before he turned 16. Implicated in a fatal quarrel, the 19-year-old secretly left town in 1603 to fight at the Siege of Ostend. The following year, reports reached Bologna that a sniper’s bullet had struck him down. Thirty years later, a grizzled, ransomed galley slave of the “Infidel Turk” turned up in Rome, claiming to be Casali. His attempt to reclaim his inheritance provoked an uproar that resonated throughout Italy. One eminent jurist, keen to get the self-styled Casali hanged, described the case as “the most serious, the most notorious, and the greatest deception that Christendom has ever known.” Even without such hyperbole, it is a tale worth reexamining, in which the promotion of “fake news,” the presentation of rumor as fact, the distortion of evidence to manipulate public opinion, but also witness intimidation and insurrection by thousands of true believers sound as familiar as the practice of identity theft. 5:30 pm reception; 6 pm lecture. Program in Comparative Literature.
Washington University, Danforth University Center, Room 276
St. Louis Community Events
1 FEBRUARY | 5 PM History of Black Fashion
Join us for a program celebrating historical and contemporary Black fashion in St. Louis. You’ll hear the stories of designer Elizabeth Keckly, the annual Ebony Fashion Fair, the Louise Dunn Modeling and Charm School and more. You’ll also hear from a panel of contemporary Black fashion insiders who will share their thoughts on what Black fashion means today. Shop a trunk show from local designers and see the talent of the St. Louis Black fashion scene and be ready to place orders for pieces to take home. Missouri Historical Society.
Missouri History Museum, Lee Auditorium and MacDermott Grand Hall, 5700 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, 63112
2–23 FEBRUARY | 11 AM Black History Month Tour
In honor of Black History Month, Saint Louis Art Museum curators will offer tours on Fridays in February spotlighting different works by Black artists in SLAM’s permanent collection. This week, American Art Curator Melissa Wolfe will be highlighting works by Edmonia Lewis, Augusta Savage and Elizabeth Catlett. No reservation is required. Saint Louis Art Museum. Fri., Feb. 2 Fri., Feb. 9 Fri., Feb. 16 Fri., Feb. 23
Saint Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Dr., St. Louis, 63110
2–24 FEBRUARY | 1 PM Drop-In Collection Tour: Flower Power
Join a lively and engaging tour of the Saint Louis Art Museum’s collection. Flowers and floral motifs have the power to transport us from winter to spring. Journey through the galleries and experience the power of flowers in our collection. No reservation is required. Saint Louis Art Museum. Fri., Feb. 2 Sat., Feb. 3 Fri., Feb. 9 Sat., Feb. 10 Fri., Feb. 16 Sat. Feb. 17 Fri., Feb. 23 Sat., Feb. 24
Saint Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Dr., St. Louis, 63110
2 FEBRUARY | 1 PM African Film: A Conversation
Join Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo and Charlie Farrell, 2022–24 Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellow, in conversation about African film and its importance. Toliver-Diallo is the founder of the African Film Festival at Washington University, an event she began in 2005. Every year, the best of recent African cinema is screened right here in St. Louis. This conversation will offer insight into trends in African cinema and will highlight Wangechi Mutu: My Cave Call on view through March 31, in Gallery 301. This conversation will be followed by a Q&A. Saint Louis Art Museum.
Saint Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park, St. Louis, 63110
2 FEBRUARY | 2–8 PM Annual Lunar New Year Celebration
Join us for an afternoon of family fun including demonstrations of traditional Chinese arts including calligraphy, writing of Spring couplets, and Chinese Kung Fu, dance and folk music. Also enjoy a Baby Dragon Parade, face painting and more. Richmond Heights Memorial Library.
Richmond Heights Memorial Library, 8001 Dale Ave., Richmond Heights, 63117
2 FEBRUARY | 4:30 PM Artist Talk: Dominic Chambers
Nationally renowned artist and St. Louis native Dominic Chambers will deliver an artist talk in conversation with Simon Kelly, curator of modern and contemporary art, Saint Louis Art Museum. During the conversation, Chambers will share works from the museum’s collection that inspired him in his youth and influenced his professional career. Chambers currently has works on view until February 11 in the exhibition Birthplace at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.
Saint Louis Art Museum, Education Center, 1 Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park, St. Louis, 63110
3 FEBRUARY–30 MARCH Moving Stories in the Making: An Exhibition of Migration Narratives
How can narratives — visual, textual, and oral — bridge divides between migrants and the communities in which they settle? Moving Stories in the Making: An Exhibition of Migration Narratives brings together the work of local and national artists who craft narratives of migration and holds space for migrants and those affected by migration to tell their stories. The Luminary.
The Luminary, 2701 Cherokee Street, St. Louis 63118
3 FEBRUARY | 12 PM Soldiers Memorial Outdoor Tours
This guided outdoor tour explores the history, architecture, relief imagery, monuments and statues of both Soldiers Memorial and the Court of Honor. It also highlights many neighboring historic buildings. Missouri Historical Society.
Soldiers Memorial, Court of Honor, 1315 Chestnut St., St. Louis, 63103
3 FEBRUARY | 2 PM St. Louis in Service Exhibit Tours
Explore St. Louis’s military history from the American Revolution through the present day. This guided tour introduces you to artifacts, places and stories of individuals featured in the galleries at Soldiers Memorial. Groups have the option to add on a 15-minute tour of the outdoor memorials honoring St. Louisans who made the ultimate sacrifice. Missouri Historical Society.
Soldiers Memorial, Court of Honor, 1315 Chestnut St., St. Louis, 63103
4–25 FEBRUARY See STL Walking Tours
See STL’s fun and creative tours mix engaging storytelling and a deep well of
historical knowledge with an infectious enthusiasm for the exciting changes the city is
currently undergoing. Tours are two hours in length and are wheelchair accessible. $15–$20.
Tour starting/ending points are included in your booking details. Missouri Historical Society.
10 am, Feb. 4: Forest Park; 10 am, Feb. 9: Central West End; 10 am, Feb. 10: Dogtown; 1 pm, Feb. 10: Dogtown; 10 am, Feb. 11: Downtown Origins; 10 am, Feb. 16: The Hill; 10 am, Feb. 17: Cherokee Street; 1 pm, Feb. 17: Soulard North and LaSalle Park; 10 am, Feb. 19: Dogtown; 1 pm, Feb. 19: Dogtown; 1 pm, Feb. 23: Laclede’s Landing; 10 am, Feb. 24: Dogtown; 10 am, Feb. 24: Downtown Origins; 11 am, Feb. 24: Forest Park; 10 am, Feb. 25: Urban Renewal
4 FEBRUARY | 2 PM Vietnam: At War and At Home Exhibit Tours
Your guide will walk you through the exhibit, exploring the Vietnam War’s origins, evolution
and legacy. The exhibit will present a diverse and holistic snapshot of the turbulent times in
Vietnam, in America and in the St. Louis region. Groups have the option to add on a 15-minute
tour of the outdoor memorials honoring St. Louisans who made the ultimate sacrifice, including those who served in Vietnam. Missouri Historical Society.
Soldiers Memorial, Court of Honor, 1315 Chestnut St., St. Louis, 63103
5–22 FEBRUARY Enslaved People in North St. Louis County
Presented by Jeffrey Edison, museum educator for St. Louis County Parks. Learn about the enslaved people who built and ran the farm at the Daniel Bissell House in North St. Louis County. St. Louis County Library.
7 pm, Mon., Feb. 5, Florissant Valley Branch, 195 New Florissant Rd. S., Florissant, 63031
2 pm, Fri., Feb. 9, Jamestown Bluffs Branch, 4153 N. Highway 67, Florissant, 63034
6 pm, Mon., Feb. 12, Lewis & Clark Branch, 9909 Lewis-Clark Blvd., St. Louis, 63136
10 am, Thurs., Feb. 22, Prairie Commons Branch, 915 Utz Ln., Hazelwood, 63042
5 & 22 FEBRUARY | 11 AM York and the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Presented by Jeffrey Edison, museum educator for St. Louis County Parks. Learn about the critical role an enslaved man named York had in the history of Westward expansion. St. Louis County Library.
11 am, Mon., Feb. 5, Grant’s View Branch, 9700 Musick Rd., St. Louis, 63123
2 pm, Thurs., Feb. 22, Oak Bend Branch, 842 S. Holmes Ave., St. Louis, 63122
6 FEBRUARY | 11 AM The Tuskegee Airmen: History of African American Pilots in World War II
The Tuskegee Airmen are famous throughout the world for their successes during World War II. Learn how these pilots — some of whom were from the St. Louis area — exemplified their worth and importance in battle as African American fliers and paved the way for future Black pilots and military personnel. This story will take flight in a presentation by St. Louis County Library’s Paul Steensland and Robert “C. J.” Hall. Missouri Historical Society.
Missouri History Museum, Lee Auditorium, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112
7 FEBRUARY | 7 PM An Evening with Local Author: Rebecca Copeland
Local author Rebecca Copeland will read from and discuss her book, The Kimono Tattoo. The Kimono Tattoo takes readers on a journey into Kyoto’s intricate world of kimono design and into a mystery that interweaves family dynamics, loss and reconciliation. A University City resident, Copeland was born in Japan to missionary parents before moving to North Carolina. She earned a PhD in Japanese literature at Columbia University, and she is now a professor of Japanese language and literature at Washington University in St. Louis. University City Public Library.
University City Public Library, Auditorium, 6701 Delmar Blvd., University City, 63130
7 FEBRUARY | 8 AM Finding Common Ground through Civil Discourse
Civil discourse is more than just a mutual exchange of ideas — it’s a vital ingredient to better public policy and leadership. How do we foster meaningful and productive discourse? Experienced politicians and leaders share their perspectives on finding common ground and working across divides in our region. RSVP required; see website. FOCUS St. Louis, Missouri Historical Society.
Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112
7 FEBRUARY | 7 PM Curtis Chin, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant (Author Talk)
Author, producer, director and activist Curtis Chin who will discuss his memoir Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant. Nineteen-eighties Detroit was a volatile place to live, but above the fray stood a safe haven: Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine, where anyone from the city’s first Black mayor to the local drag queens and from a big-time Hollywood star to elderly Jewish couples could sit down for a warm, home-cooked meal. Here was where, beneath a bright-red awning and surrounded by his multigenerational family, filmmaker and activist Curtis Chin came of age; where he learned to embrace his identity as a gay ABC or American-born Chinese; where he navigated the divided city’s spiraling misfortunes; and where — between helpings of almond boneless chicken, sweet-and-sour pork and some of his own less-savory culinary concoctions — he realized just how much he had to offer to the world, his beloved family and himself. A cofounder of the Asian American Writers' Workshop in New York City, Curtis Chin served as the nonprofit’s first executive director. He went on to write for network television before transitioning to social-justice documentaries. Chin has screened his films at over 600 venues in 16 countries. A graduate of the University of Michigan and a former visiting scholar at New York University, Chin has received awards from ABC/Disney Television, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and more. RSVP required; see website. Left Bank Books.
Left Bank Books, 399 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, 63108
8 , 12, 14 FEBRUARY | 2 PM Flight of Devotion: The History Behind the Movie
Explore the pioneering lives of aviation trailblazers Jesse Brown and Thomas Hudner, highlighting Brown as one of the first African American naval aviators and Hudner’s heroic actions in the Korean War and showcasing a compelling narrative of courage, perseverance and brotherhood amid historical challenges. St. Louis County Library.
2 pm, Thurs., Feb. 8, Cliff Cave Branch, 5430 Telegraph Rd., St. Louis, 63129
6:30 pm, Mon., Feb. 12, Florissant Valley Branch, 195 New Florissant Rd. S., Florissant, 63031
2 pm. Wed., Feb. 14, Oak Bend Branch, 842 S. Holmes Ave., St. Louis, 63122
8 FEBRUARY | 12 PM Art Speaks: Ed Clark Beyond the Canvas
Ed Clark was an abstract painter who established his legacy creating collages that extend beyond the canvas, pioneering the broom-sweep technique, and developing elliptical paintings and drawings. Join Justice Henderson, 2023–25 Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellow, as she explores Clark’s works on paper. Saint Louis Art Museum.
VIRTUAL – RSVP
8 FEBRUARY | 7 PM Ayesha Rascoe, HBCU Made (Author Talk)
Presented in partnership with Harris Stowe State University and St. Louis Public Radio, Ayesha Rascoe will be in conversation with Marissanne Lewis-Thompson, St. Louis Public Radio newscaster. Host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday, Rascoe presents a joyous collection of essays about historically Black colleges and universities. Edited by Rascoe and with a distinguished set of contributors including Oprah Winfrey, Stacey Abrams and Branford Marsalis, HBCU Made offers moving and candid reflections about the schools that nurtured Black leaders in the arts, public service, business and more. This book is for proud alumni, current students and anyone considering an HBCU. St. Louis County Library.
Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd., St. Louis, 63117
9 FEBRUARY | 11 AM–8 PM Lunar New Year Celebration
Celebrate the Year of the Dragon by enjoying free music and dance performances, making your own art you can take home, and exploring the Saint Louis Art Museum’s Asian art collection. Saint Louis Art Museum.
Saint Louis Art Museum, Sculpture Hall, 1 Fine Arts Dr., St. Louis, 63110
9 FEBRUARY | 4 PM MindsEye Collection Highlights Tour: Flower Power
Flowers and floral motifs have the power to transport us from winter to spring. Journey through the galleries and experience the power of flowers in our collection. This live, audio-description tour is in partnership with MindsEye, a Belleville, Illinois, nonprofit organization that strives to build a more inclusive community by translating vision into audio. Meet at the Sculpture Hall welcome desk. No reservation is required. Saint Louis Art Museum.
Saint Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Dr., St. Louis, 63110
10 FEBRUARY | 2 PM Intellectual Artist Series: Moving to Higher Ground by Wynton Marsalis
Dive into the history and culture of jazz music with this season's featured book, Moving to Higher Ground by Wynton Marsalis. Each discussion will be a part of a live podcast recording by HEAL Center for the Arts and will be followed by live musical performances. HEAL Center for the Arts and St. Louis County Library.
St. Louis County Library — Lewis & Clark Branch, 9909 Lewis-Clark Blvd., St. Louis, 63136-5322
10 FEBRUARY | 3:30 PM Couch Conversations 1: Sin City with Helen De Cruz and Aaron McMullin
Join Art Saint Louis for the exciting launch of Couch Conversations, an event series designed to nurture and develop a deeper relationship with collecting original, ideally local art and the deeply generative implications, as well as meeting other collectors or artists and strengthening our community around collecting. For some, the idea of going into an art gallery, buying original art or calling yourself an art collector is intimidating or seems like an otherworldly kind of thing. For some, this is not a scary thing, but one that they just want to learn more about and better understand what it is that they are drawn to and how to connect with artists, galleries and invest in the best way for their own life situations. This series is designed as an access point and to break down barriers to entry into the honestly intriguing, exciting and world-expanding experience of connecting with original art and bringing it into your daily life and home. $10–$20. Art St. Louis.
Art Saint Louis, 1223 Pine St., St. Louis, 63103
10 FEBRUARY | 6 PM Bonnie Jo Campbell, The Waters (Author Talk)
On an island in the Great Massasauga Swamp — an area known as “The Waters” to the residents of nearby Whiteheart, Michigan — herbalist and eccentric Hermine “Herself” Zook has healed the local women of their ailments for generations. As stubborn as her tonics are powerful, Herself inspires reverence and fear in the people of Whiteheart and even in her own three estranged daughters. The youngest — the beautiful, inscrutable and lazy Rose Thorn — has left her own daughter, 11-year-old Dorothy “Donkey” Zook, to grow up wild. Donkey spends her days searching for truths in the lush landscape and in her math books, waiting for her wayward mother and longing for a father, unaware that family secrets, passionate love and violent men will flood through the swamp and upend her idyllic childhood. Rage simmers below the surface of this divided community, and those on both sides of the divide have closed their doors against the enemy. The only bridge across the waters is Rose Thorn. Campbell is the author of six works of fiction, including American Salvage — finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award — and Once Upon a River. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, AWP's Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction and a Pushcart Prize. Left Bank Books.
Left Bank Books, 399 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, 63108
10 FEBRUARY | 7 PM Joy-Ann Reid, Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America (Author Talk)
In conversation with Carol Daniel, senior producer and host, Nine PBS. Host of MSNBC’s The ReidOut, Joy-Ann Reid shares the extraordinary legacy of civil rights icons Medgar and Myrlie Evers. When Medgar Evers became the field secretary for the Mississippi branch of the NAACP, his wife Myrlie served as his secretary and confidant. On June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers became the highest profile victim of a Klan-related assassination at that time. In the wake of his tragic death, Myrlie carried on their legacy and became a leader in her own right. In this groundbreaking account of two heroes of the civil rights movement, Reid explores the on-the-ground work that went into winning basic rights for Black Americans. $35–$42 (includes book copy). St. Louis County Library.
Shalom Church (City of Peace), 5491 N. Hwy 67, Florissant, 63034
12 FEBRUARY | 12 PM An Introduction to Art Conservation
ZOE PERKINS will discuss the principles used in modern art conservation, the various approaches possible when undertaking treatments and new technologies being adapted in the field. Light refreshments will be provided. RSVP required; see website. Kranzberg High Noon Series, St. Louis County Library.
St. Louis County Library — Florissant Valley Branch, 195 New Florissant Rd. S., Florissant, 63031
12 FEBRUARY | 6:30 PM History of Greenwood Cemetery
Presented by Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association. Learn about the history and preservation efforts of the cemetery and its important place in local Black history. St. Louis County Library.
St. Louis County Library – Natural Bridge Branch, 7606 Natural Bridge Rd., St. Louis, 63121
13 FEBRUARY | 11 AM Calvin Riley, Black Saint Louis (Author Talk)
CALVIN RILEY, the founder and executive director of the George B. Vashon Museum, will share how he established the institution and built a collection that reflects the stories of St. Louis Black culture over the past 250 years. Located on St. Louis’ historic “Millionaires’ Row,” the George B. Vashon Museum holds more than 10,000 artifacts, including the newly added Julius B. Hunter Collection. Black Saint Louis explores the rich history of African Americans in St. Louis — from the city’s founding as a French fur-trading post to the Spanish colonial era to the new millennium — and tells the stories of extraordinary people who helped pave the way for the St. Louis we know today. Missouri Historical Society.
Missouri History Museum, Lee Auditorium, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112
13 FEBRUARY | 7 PM Alex Michaelides, The Fury (Author Talk)
From the author of The Silent Patient and The Maidens comes a compelling closed community thriller as a former movie star throws a select party on a private Greek island whilst a murderer lurks in the shadows. On a small private Greek island, former movie star Lana Farrar — an old friend — invites a select group of us to stay. It’ll be hot, sunny, perfect. A chance to relax and reconnect — and maybe for a few hidden truths to come out because nothing on this island is quite what it seems. Not Lana. Not her guests. Certainly not the murderer, furiously plotting their crime. $35-$42. St. Louis County Library.
Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd., St. Louis, 63117
14 FEBRUARY | 6 PM
Rafael Frumkin, Bugsy & Other Stories (Author Talk)
St. Louis area author Rafael Frumkin will discuss his newest book Bugsy & Other Stories, a wildly imaginative story collection about queerness, neurodivergence, sexuality and self-discovery. In the title story, a queer young adult with bipolar disorder drops out of college in a fog of depression, aimlessly drifting between maintaining their job at a fast food restaurant and dodging their mom’s texts. But when they fall in with a group of sex workers starring in BDSM films, they find radical freedom, love and community. In other stories, we meet a psychiatrist whose meticulously maintained life is upended by an Alex Trebek-like voice in his head, an e-girl celebrity who is being courted by a delusional fan, a young boy on the spectrum at odds with a neurotypical world determined to “cure” him and an elderly woman whose consciousness is being transformed by her oncoming death. Frumkin is a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop and the Medill School of Journalism. His has written two novels, The Comedown and Confidence. He is an assistant professor of creative writing at Southern Illinois University. Left Bank Books.
Left Bank Books, 399 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, 63108
15 FEBRUARY | 2 PM St. Louis Love Stories
Take a fun, in-depth look at several important true love stories in St. Louis history. Topics include Dred and Harriet Scott, Frankie and Johnny, and Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Dent, plus other well-known and less-known stories of the power of love to change history. Presented by Amanda Clark, Community Tours Manager at the Missouri Historical Society. Registration required. St. Louis County Library.
St. Louis County Library – Daniel Boone Branch, 300 Clarkson Rd., Ellisville, 63011
15 FEBRUARY | 4 PM Audio Description Tour: Soccer City
In 1875, the first recorded soccer-like game in St. Louis took place at the future site of Sportsman’s Park between teams named the Blondes and Brunettes. In 2019, the city was awarded a Major League Soccer team, the first majority female-owned club in MLS history. In between these two dates are amateur and professional teams, victories and defeats and periods of struggle and astounding upsets. Combined, they sealed the St. Louis region’s reputation as America’s first soccer capital. Unlike most cities, St. Louis cultivated a unique, homegrown soccer culture with an impact that stretched beyond our nation’s borders. Soccer City at the Missouri History Museum presents graphics, digital interactives, films and artifacts that tell the story of a major metropolis, a dynamic sport and the many personalities that propelled St. Louis to the competitive forefront. Audio Description Tours at the Missouri History Museum are for visitors who are blind or have low vision. Each quarter, individuals or groups will enjoy a 45-minute guided tour led by specially trained staff and volunteers in select Museum galleries. These tours can accommodate up to 10 visitors and are free of charge. RSVP required; see website. Missouri Historical Society.
Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, 63112
15 FEBRUARY | 7 PM Uché Blackstock, Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine (Author Talk)
In conversation with Dr. Jovita Oruwari, author of Black Girls in White Coats. As an ER physician and professor in academic medicine, Uché Blackstock, MD, is profoundly aware of the systemic barriers that Black patients and physicians continue to face. Dr. Blackstock’s memoir, Legacy, is a journey through the critical intersection of racism and healthcare. At once a searing indictment of our healthcare system and a call to action, Legacy is Dr. Blackstock’s odyssey from child to medical student to practicing physician — to finally seizing her own power as a health equity advocate against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. St. Louis County Library.
St. Louis County Library – Florissant Valley Branch, 195 New Florissant Rd. S., Florissant, 63031
15 FEBRUARY | 7 PM Gregg Hurwitz, Lone Wolf: An Orphan X Novel (Author Talk)
Once a black ops government assassin known as Orphan X, Evan Smoak left the Program, went deep underground and reinvented himself as someone who will go anywhere and risk everything to help the truly desperate who have nowhere else to turn. Since then, Evan has fought international crime syndicates and drug cartels, faced down the most powerful people in the world and even brought down a president. Now struggling with an unexpected personal crisis, Evan goes back to the very basics of his mission. This time, the truly desperate is a little girl who wants him to find her missing dog. Not his usual mission, and not one Evan embraces with enthusiasm, but this unlikely, tiny job quickly explodes into his biggest mission yet, one that finds him battered between twisted AI technocrat billionaires, a mysterious female assassin who seems a mirror of himself and personal stakes so gut-wrenching he can scarcely make sense of them. Evan’s mission pushes him to his limit — he must find and take down the assassin known only as the Wolf before she succeeds in completing her mission and killing the people who can identify her — a teenaged daughter of her last target and Evan himself. Matched skill for skill, instinct for instinct, Evan must outwit an opponent who will literally stop at nothing if he is to survive. St. Louis County Library.
St. Louis County Library – Daniel Boone Branch, 300 Clarkson Rd, Ellisville, 63011
16 FEBRUARY | 6 PM Opening Lecture—Matisse and the Sea
SIMON KELLY, curator of Matisse and the Sea, will discuss the importance of coastal imagery across the career of modernist artist Henri Matisse, including his artwork of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The lecture focuses particularly on the Saint Louis Art Museum’s own iconic marine painting, Bathers with a Turtle. Free but tickets are required. Tickets may be reserved in person at the Museum’s Information Centers or through MetroTix. Saint Louis Art Museum.
Saint Louis Art Museum, Farrell Auditorium, 1 Fine Arts Dr., St. Louis, 63110
20 FEBRUARY | 6 PM Raven Maragh-Lloyd, Black Networked Resistance: Strategic Rearticulations in the Digital Age (Author Talk)
Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies and Film and Media Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, Raven Maragh-Lloyd, PhD, will discuss her new book Black Networked Resistance: Strategic Rearticulations in the Digital Age, which explores the creative range of Black digital users and their responses to varying forms of oppression, utilizing cultural, communicative, political and technological threads both on and offline. Maragh-Lloyd demonstrates how Black users strategically rearticulate their responses to oppression in ways that highlight Black publics' historically rich traditions and reveal the shifting nature of both dominance and resistance, particularly in the digital age. Through case studies and interviews, Maragh-Lloyd reveals the malleable ways resistance can take shape and the ways Black users artfully demonstrate such modifications of resistance through strategies of survival, reprieve and community online. Each chapter grounds itself in a resistance strategy, such as Black humor, care or archiving, to show the ways that Black publics reshape strategies of resistance over time and across media platforms. Linking singular digital resistance movements while arguing for Black publics as strategic content creators who connect resistance strategies from our past to suit our present needs, Black Networked Resistance encourages readers to create and cultivate lasting communities necessary for social and political change by imagining a future of joy, community and agency through their digital media practices. RSVP required; see website. Left Bank Books.
Left Bank Books, 399 N Euclid Ave. St. Louis, 63108
20 FEBRUARY | 7 PM Billy Dee Williams, What Have We Here? Portraits of a Life (Author Talk)
St. Louis County Library’s 2024 Black History Celebration presents an evening with Hollywood Legend Billy Dee Williams in conversation with Rene Knott, KSDK TV news anchor. Williams shares, in his own words, all that has sustained and carried him through a lifetime of dreams and adventure. From his Emmy-nominated breakout role in Brian’s Song to becoming a pop culture icon as Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise, Williams has always projected irresistible screen presence and defied expectations. Williams’ memoir reflects on his extraordinary career unchecked by the racism and typecasting so rife in the mostly all-white industry in which he triumphed. $37–$45. St. Louis County Library.
Skip Viragh Center for the Arts at Chaminade, 425 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, 63131
20 FEBRUARY | 7 PM Yangsze Choo, The Fox Wife (Author Talk)
Acclaimed author of The Ghost Bride (now a Netflix Original series) and The Night Tiger, Yangsze Choo presents a stunning novel about the depths of maternal love and ancient folktales. Manchuria, 1908: In the last years of a dying empire, a courtesan is found frozen in a doorway. Her death is clouded by rumors of shapeshifting foxes. Bao, a detective with an uncanny ability to sniff out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach — until now. St. Louis County Library.
St. Louis County Library — Grant’s View Branch, 9700 Musick Rd., St. Louis, 63123
21 FEBRUARY | 6 PM Slavery in St. Louis
Join Historian Nick Sacco with the National Park Service to learn about slavery in St. Louis and get an introduction for the exhibit on view in the branch. St. Louis County Library.
St. Louis County Library – Lewis & Clark Branch, 9909 Lewis-Clark Blvd., St. Louis, 63136
21 FEBRUARY | 7 PM Steve Berry, The Atlas Maneuver (Author Talk)
In the waning months of World War II, Japan hid vast quantities of gold and other stolen valuables in boobytrapped underground caches all across the Philippines. Retired justice department operative Cotton Malone is in Switzerland doing a favor for a friend. What was supposed to be a simple operation turns violent and Cotton is thrust into a war between the world’s oldest bank and the CIA, a battle that directly involves the hidden treasure. St. Louis County Library.
St. Louis County Library — Daniel Boone Branch, 300 Clarkson Rd., Ellisville, 63011
21 FEBRUARY | 7 PM Race in America: Past, Present and Future–Presented by The Black Rep
This performance comes alive with music, poetry and song in a compelling montage of works by artists from the past and present to examine the effects of racism throughout history and ask the burning question: “How far have we come?” St. Louis County Library.
St. Louis County Library – Lewis & Clark Branch, 9909 Lewis-Clark Blvd., St. Louis, 63136
22 FEBRUARY | 5 PM Black History Month Program with “5 On Your Side”
In celebration of Black History Month, 5 On Your Side’s anchors will lead a conversation with Black St. Louisans who will talk about their experiences and perspectives on race. Missouri Historical Society.
Missouri History Museum, Lee Auditorium and MacDermott Grand Hall, 5700 Lindell Blvd.,
63112
22 FEBRUARY | 7 PM A’Ja Wilson, Dear Black Girls: How to Be True to You (Author Talk)
2024 Black History Celebration presents Olympic Gold Medalist and WNBA Star A’ja Wilson. Despite gold medals and WNBA championships, Las Vegas Aces star Wilson knows how it feels to not be heard, not to feel seen and not to be taken seriously. Wilson shares stories from her childhood about how even when life tried to hold her down, it didn’t stop her. She shares how to keep fighting, all while igniting strength, passion and joy. St. Louis County Library.
Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd., St. Louis, 63117
23 FEBRUARY | 6 PM As the Story is Told: Native American Narratives in American Art History
William P. Healey’s objective as a collector was to build an assemble of Native American art as told by Native Americans and not through the interpretations of non-Native artists who painted the west through their own lens, which often created a false narrative of Indigenous people. Native American Art of the 20th Century: The William P. Healey Collection, which celebrates Healey’s transformative gift of Native American art, is an American story — the legacy of families tied to tradition and their continuing practices. Join artist and exhibition co-curator Tony Abeyta for this first-come, first-served gallery talk discussing Native American narratives in art history. Meet at the at the Sculpture Hall welcome desk. No reservation is required. Saint Louis Art Museum.
Saint Louis Art Museum, Gallery 234 and 235, 1 Fine Arts Dr., St. Louis, 63110
24 FEBRUARY | 2 PM East St. Louis Race Riots
Join Jeffrey Edison, museum educator for St. Louis County Parks, for a thought-provoking lecture shedding light on the tragic and pivotal events of the East St. Louis race riots, exploring their historical significance and lasting impact on American society. In celebration of Black History Month. RSVP required; see website. St. Louis County Library.
St. Louis County Library — Mid-County Branch, 7821 Maryland Ave., St. Louis, 63105
24 FEBRUARY | 2 PM The Shared History of German Immigrants and African Americans in Missouri
Historians Cecilia Nadal and Sydney Norton examine the contributions of African Americans and German immigrants who dedicated their lives to ending slavery and worked together to institute laws of social and political equality after emancipation. They shed light on the legacy of these fruitful collaborations through research and current relationships within these ethnic groups. St. Louis Public Library.
St. Louis Public Library – Carpenter Library, 3309 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 63118
24 FEBRUARY | 4 PM Amy Spalding, At Her Service (Author Talk)
St. Louis native Amy Spalding and Left Bank Book’s own champion of romance Taylor Smith as they discuss Amy’s sapphic rom-com At Her Service. Max Van Doren has a wish list, and a great career and a girlfriend are at the top. But despite being pretty good at her job as an assistant to one of Hollywood’s fastest rising talent agents, she has no idea how to move up the ladder. And when it comes to her love life, she’s stuck in perpetual lust for an adorably perfect bartender named Sadie. Her goals are clear, and Max has everything but the self-confidence to go for them. When Max’s roommate, Chelsey offers to sponsor her for a new self-actualization app, Max gives in. If she can't run her own life, maybe an algorithm guiding her choices will help? Suddenly Max is scoring big everywhere, and her dreams are achingly close to coming true. RSVP required; see website. Left Bank Books.
Left Bank Books, 399 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, 63108
26 FEBRUARY | 6:30 PM Rooted: The History and Future of Ozark Cuisine with Chef Rob Connoley of Bulrush
Join Rob Connoley of Bulrush restaurant to learn about the past and future of Ozark cuisine, his hyper-local approach to sustainable cooking and the roles played by Indigenous people, enslaved residents and Euro-Appalachian immigrants in shaping how Missourians eat. St. Louis Public Library.
St. Louis Public Library – Kingshighway Library, 2260 S. Vandeventer Ave., St. Louis, 63110
28 FEBRUARY | 4 PM Book symposium, Afonso Seixas-Nunes, SJ, The Legality and Accountability of Autonomous Weapon Systems
Saint Louis University's Center for Religious and Legal History and CREST Research Center (Culture, Religion, Ethics, Science, and Technology) will host a presentation of Afonso Seixas-Nunes' The Legality and Accountability of Autonomous Weapons Systems: A Humanitarian Law Perspective. Seixas-Nunes is an associate professor at Saint Louis University School of Law and an accomplished scholar. A panel discussion will follow the presentation, featuring Anders Walker, also of the SLU School of Law, and Charles Freiburg, a SLU graduate student researching ethics and AI. Free and all are welcome. Saint Louis University's Center for Religious and Legal History and CREST Research Center.
Saint Louis University, North Campus, DuBourg Hall, Pere Marquette Gallery, (Room 240)
29 FEBRUARY | 6 PM Phillip B. Williams, Ours (Author Talk)
PHILLIP B. WILLIAMS introduces us to an enigmatic woman named Saint, a fearsome conjuror who, in the 1830s, annihilates plantations all over Arkansas to rescue the people enslaved there. She brings those she has freed to a haven of her own creation: a town just north of St. Louis, magically concealed from outsiders, named Ours. It is in this miraculous place that Saint’s grand experiment — a truly secluded community where her people may flourish — takes root. Although Saint does her best to protect the inhabitants of Ours, over time, her conjuring and memories begin to betray her, leaving the town vulnerable to intrusions by newcomers with powers of their own. As the cracks in Saint’s creation are exposed, some begin to wonder whether the community’s safety might be yet another form of bondage. Williams is the author of two collections of poetry, Thief in the Interior, which was the winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and a Lambda Literary Award; and Mutiny, which was a finalist for the PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection and the winner of a 2022 American Book Award. Williams is also the recipient of a Whiting Award and fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and the National Endowment for the Arts. He currently teaches in the MFA creative writing program at New York University. RSVP required; see website. Left Bank Books.
Left Bank Books, 399 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, 63108
29 FEBRUARY | 7 PM Tony Messenger, Profit and Punishment (Author Talk)
Pulitzer Prize-winning St. Louis Post Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger has spent years documenting how poor Americans are convicted of minor crimes and then saddled with exorbitant fines and fees. If they are unable to pay, they are often sent to prison, where they are then charged a pay-to-stay bill, and in a cycle that soon creates a mountain of debt. These insidious penalties are used to raise money for broken local and state budgets, often overseen by for-profit companies, and it is one of the central issues of the criminal justice reform movement. In Profit and Punishment, Messenger has written a call to arms, exposing an injustice that is agonizing and infuriating in its mundane cruelty. In 2019, Messenger won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary for his series of columns on debtors’ prisons in Missouri. In 2016, Messenger was awarded a Missouri Honor Medal, the highest award bestowed by the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism. That same year, he won a National Headliner for editorial writing. In 2015, Messenger was a Pulitzer finalist for his series of editorials on Ferguson and won the Sigma Delta Chi award for best editorials of the year, given by the Society of Professional Journalists. Saint Louis County Library.
The J, 2 Millstone Campus Dr., St. Louis, 63146
