New exhibition in Fenwick Gallery,“Conjuring Presence,” featuring Mason students, faculty, alumni

Fenwick Gallery at George Mason University is pleased to host “Conjuring Presence,” an exhibition of visual art and poetry featuring Mason students, faculty, and alumni. The exhibition will run in Fenwick Gallery and online from October 20 through December 11, with a literary reading and an artists’ panel to be announced at a later date.

Curated by Mason faculty member and artist Jessica Kallista, “Conjuring Presence” asks both artists and audience to think critically and examine many manifestations of presence: What does it mean to join our creativity as we co-sense and conspire together for the sake of enlivening our imaginations and our communities? What does it mean to become mindful of the need to work against erasure when we understand who is not present and why? Who decides whether some people are or are not allowed to be present to occupy spaces in the arts and academia? How do we acknowledge the past, work for a just future, and still ground ourselves in the present? How might we work to conjure presence? 

The artists and poets featured in “Conjuring Presence” were paired and asked to consider these questions throughout the collaborative process. In doing the work of considering, questioning, and challenging the status quo with radical honesty and presence of mind, together they embrace the power to envision, freedom dream, and co-create otherwise worlds into existence.

This exhibition is co-curated by Heather Green (Asst. Professor, School of Art) and Stephanie Grimm (Art and Art History Librarian and Fenwick Gallery Manager), with exhibit support from Chen Bi (Fenwick Gallery Graduate Assistant). Exhibition support is generously provided by the University Libraries, School of Art, and Creative Writing Program at Mason.

“Conjuring Presence” will be on display in Fenwick Gallery and online. Fenwick Gallery is located in Fenwick Library on Mason’s Fairfax campus. The gallery is open during Library business hours; see the Library’s website at http://library.gmu.edu for the most accurate and up-to-date information.

For more information on this exhibition at Fenwick Gallery, contact Stephanie Grimm, Art and Art History Librarian, at sgrimm4@gmu.edu.

Center for Mason Legacies releases “Black Lives Next Door” preliminary findings

The Center for Mason Legacies (CML) invites you to explore their newly created digital project, Black Lives Next Door: George Mason and Northern Virginia in an Age of Disparity and Opportunity (BLND). Building on work that began in 2020, BLND is presenting its first set of findings and inviting our community to take a journey through our “pasts next door” and related stories. Read the full announcement here.

About the Center for Mason Legacies: CML is an interdisciplinary and collaborative research center established by the University Libraries and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. CML’s mission is to preserve and examine the legacy of George Mason IV (1725-1792), his ancestors and heirs, and the people he enslaved. Learn more about the center here and their various research projects here.

Congratulations, Mason graduates!

George Mason University will conduct its 54th Spring Commencement virtually at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 14, 2021, with First Lady Jill Biden as the featured speakerThe university-wide commencement ceremony will be live-streamed. Mason will also hold in-person graduation recognition events throughout the week leading up to Friday’s ceremony.

Do you have COVID-19 vaccine questions?

What should you expect when you get your COVID-19 vaccination? Join George Mason Honors College students as they ask their top questions to a panel of healthcare professionals on Thursday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Panelists from Mason’s Student Health Services and the Fairfax County Health Department will discuss where and how students can register for an appointment, what to expect when you are vaccinated, what to do if you experience side effects, and more. 

This online event is open to Mason students, faculty, staff, and Mason family members.  

Registration is required. 

GMU students register here.

Mason Faculty and Community Members register here.

Students helping students: new Re:Search podcast

A new podcast from the Teaching and Learning Team’s Peer Referral Coaches has launched!

Have you ever thought, “I know the Library exists, but how can they help me beyond accessing books?” Then the Re:Search podcast is for you! Join us every Thursday for a new episode.

If you need help navigating the library website, want research tips and a focused look into various services, or just want to learn more about the resources available to you through the University Libraries, this podcast will share helpful information and tips for our Mason community.

You can learn more about the podcast here, and you can subscribe to the podcast on SoundCloud here.

Interested in learning more about our Peer Referral Coaches? Peer Referral Coaches (PRCs) are academic student employees hired by the Mason Libraries’ Teaching and Learning Team to assist in carrying out various research activities, providing peer-to-peer research assistance, facilitating library and research workshops, and more! You can meet our current group of coaches here.