Lorraine O’Grady: a Conversation and Celebratory Event
Collins Cinema, Wellesley College
November 15, 2012, 5pm
O’Grady at the offices of Artforum International Magazine, New York, 2009. Photo: David Velasco.
The Wellesley College Archives is pleased to announce an event to celebrate internationally acclaimed artist and writer Lorraine O’Grady ’55, who will return to the College for the public opening of her personal and professional papers on Thursday, November 12, 2012.
The celebration will include a talk by O’Grady at 5pm in Collins Cinema; a reception will follow in the Davis Museum, where O’Grady’s work will be on view in the exhibition A Generous Medium: Photography at Wellesley 1972‐2012. The event is free and open to the public. The media alert can be found here.
About Lorraine O’Grady
A Boston native and internationally recognized artist and writer, O’Grady is best known for conceptual installation and performance art. Her 1980s performance as the persona “Mlle Bourgeoise Noire” won new acclaim in the landmark 2007 exhibition WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution. Her work has also been in such exhibits as the Whitney Biennial and the Triennale de Paris. This November, O’Grady’s work will be featured in the 1980s show at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. She currently lives and works in New York City.
O’Grady performing as Mlle Bourgeoise Noire.
The Collection
The O’Grady collection is the first major acquisition of alumnae papers at the Wellesley College Archives. The Archives recently expanded its collecting policy to include the personal and professional papers of notable alumnae when those papers support the academic mission of the college.
Initially acquired in 2010, the collection is comprised of over 50 linear feet of records. Four terabytes of digital files will also be transferred to the Archives. Materials include correspondence, exhibition records, drafts of writing, notes, journals, interviews, and audiovisual materials. The collection covers O’Grady’s life, work, and art, dating from 1952 to 2012.
The Papers of Lorraine O’Grady will be open and available for research at the Archives beginning November 15, 2012.