Newswise — Wellesley, Mass. (Oct. 21, 2016) — Wellesley College hosts a major two-day symposium, “The Jewett Arts Center: The Modern Campus at Mid-Century & Today,” Friday, October 21, and Saturday, October 22. Appropriately, the symposium is being kicked off in the Jewett Arts Center itself—a midcentury Modern masterpiece in the center of Wellesley’s idyllic campus—designed by Paul Rudolph and completed in 1958.

The symposium will examine the cultural contexts, design strategies, and future uses of historic Modern buildings on American college and university campuses. Over the course of two days, scholars, historians, architects, and historic preservation experts will explore these issues, with a special focus on the Jewett Arts Center. Talks will cover the fields of art and architectural history, historic preservation, music, and landscape history. Alice Friedman, Grace Slack McNeil Professor of American Art at Wellesley, and Martha McNamara, director of the College’s New England Arts and Architecture program, organized the symposium.

Susan Macdonald, head of field projects and director of the Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative at the Getty Conservation Institute, will give the keynote presentation, “Somewhere between History and Current Events: Conserving Modern Heritage,” at 5:30 pm on Friday, October 21, in the Jewett Auditorium. Macdonald will speak about the conservation issues and challenges presented by Modern architecture and the Getty’s activities to develop best practices in the conservation of 20th-century heritage. A reception will follow at 7 pm.

Saturday’s sessions will take place in Wellesley’s Collins Cinema and will include panels on the Jewett Arts Center in the context of national and international efforts to preserve midcentury Modern architecture; on the midcentury interest in a “synthesis of the arts”; and on Modern planning and design on college and university campuses.

More information on the symposium, including the full schedule and list of speakers, can be found here.

The symposium is funded by a grant from the Getty Foundation “Keeping it Modern” program and the Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos ’79 Fund of Wellesley College.

About Wellesley CollegeSince 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to some 2,400 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 75 countries.

Press Contacts:Sofiya Cabalquinto, Wellesley College, 781-283-3321, [email protected]Christopher Hennessy, Wellesley College, 781-283-3201, [email protected]