*Virtual* EX LIBRIS: Conjuring the Spirit World

The Providence Athenaeum enriches the mind, inspires the spirit, and elevates public discourse.As an independent, member-supported library and cultural center located on Providence’s historic Benefit Street, the library has welcomed illustrious writers, spirited thinkers, and intellectual community members through its doorsover its nearly 200 years of existenceto engage in reading, conversation, and debate.

Providence Athenæum

Curator George H. Schwartz explores Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic, and Mediums.

<h4>The EX LIBRIS program series from the Providence Athenæum features an array of humanities scholars, authors, historians, and thought leaders, illuminating fascinating topics and inspiring the intellectually curious. EX LIBRIS programs take place at the Athenæum in front of a live studio audience and are simulcast via Zoom, as well as recorded. This is the VIRTUAL event. Members can purchase $5 in-person tickets <a href="https://provath_conjuring102524.eventbrite.com" title="https://provath_conjuring102524.eventbrite.com">here</a>.</h4> Join Peabody Essex Museum curator-at-large George H. Schwartz for an exploration of <a href="https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/conjuring-the-spirit-world-art-magic-and-mediums" title="https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/conjuring-the-spirit-world-art-magic-and-mediums" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic, and Mediums</a> (on view September 14, 2024 to February 2, 2025). This multisensory exhibition explores the essential role art and objects played for mediums and magicians “communicating” with the dead during the 19th- and 20th-century Spiritualism movement in the United States and Europe - a time when people actively debated and wondered, “can spirits return?” Paintings, posters, photographs, stage apparatuses, film, publications and other objects transport visitors to the age of the Fox sisters and the Davenport Brothers, Harry Kellar and Howard Thurston, Harry Houdini and Margery the Medium, among many others. This exhibition also touches on Spiritualism’s influence on scientific and social thought in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; the role of mediums and magicians as a source of agency and reinvention; and how the intersecting components of science and spirituality relates to our contemporary world.-George H. Schwartz, PhD is curator-at-large at the Peabody Essex Museum, where he curates exhibitions and specializes in maritime art, material culture, early collecting and museum history, and how global objects shaped an emerging national identity in the early United States. He also teaches material culture at Tufts University in the museum studies program.

The Athenæum's Fall 2024 Season is generously sponsored by the following friends and partners:

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Virtual EX LIBRIS: Conjuring the Spirit World

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Virtual EX LIBRIS: Conjuring the Spirit World