Bard Graduate Center is devoted to the study of decorative arts, design history, and material culture through research, advanced degrees, exhibitions, publications, and events.

Bard Graduate Center advances the study of decorative arts, design history, and material culture through its object-centered approach to teaching, research, exhibitions, publications, and events.

At BGC, we study the human past and present through their material expressions. We focus on objects and other material forms—from those valued for their aesthetic elements to the ordinary things used in everyday life.

Our accomplished interdisciplinary faculty inspires and prepares students in our MA and PhD programs for successful careers in academia, museums, and the private sector. We bring equal intellectual rigor to our acclaimed exhibitions, award-winning catalogues and scholarly publications, and innovative public programs, and we view all of these integrated elements as vital to our curriculum.

BGC’s campus comprises a state-of-the-art academic programs building at 38 West 86th Street, a gallery at 18 West 86th Street, and a residence hall at 410 West 58th Street. A new collection study center will open at 8 West 86th Street in 2026.

Founded by Dr. Susan Weber in 1993, Bard Graduate Center has become the preeminent institute for academic research and exhibition of decorative arts, design history, and material culture. BGC is an accredited unit of Bard College and a member of the Association of Research Institutes in Art History (ARIAH).

The Bard Graduate Center Gallery began the 2024–25 season with fanfare, welcoming esteemed colleagues and partners from Sèvres, Manufacture et Musée nationaux, to the opening of Sèvres Extraordinaire! Sculpture from 1740 until the Present, an exhibition made possible by many years of research and collaboration on the part of both institutions. When a leak in the pipes at BGC Gallery’s home at 18 West 86th Street caused the exhibition to close after only a few days, it was heartbreaking.

BGC Gallery’s staff, led by director of exhibitions and chief curator Julia Siemon, sprang into action. Siemon coordinated with colleagues at Sèvres over many months to obtain permission to hold the exhibition over until the gallery could reopen, and in January, the French Ministry of Culture granted its approval.

At that point, planning for the BGC Gallery’s renovation began in earnest. In addition to repairing the damage from the leak, the work included upgrading existing systems and structures. The plumbing of our historic building was subjected to close scrutiny and holistic review in order to prevent future issues. The renovation comprised new ceilings, skim coating and repainting, upgraded lighting, and refinished floors throughout.

The gallery staff will begin reinstallation of Sèvres Extraordinaire! in late July. The exhibition will be on view from September 10 through November 16, 2025. BGC will continue its exploration of French decorative arts and design history in 2026 when it presents Viollet-le-Duc Drawing Worlds, the first exhibition in the US to consider the essential role of drawing in the work of architect Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, best known as the visionary behind the nineteenth-century restoration of Notre-Dame.

The gallery’s reopening will be of great significance both for our community and the broader field. According to Siemon, “BGC Gallery serves as a vital center of learning and a catalyst for engagement in the interrelated disciplines of decorative arts, design, and material culture. It is celebrated in the museum world for its long-standing legacy of landmark projects dedicated to significant—yet often understudied—figures and movements in the history of decorative arts and design; its exhibitions and publications typically represent the definitive intervention on the artists and objects they investigate.”

Siemon continued, “Everyone at BGC is therefore thrilled to reopen the doors to 18 West 86th Street with the new iteration of Sèvres Extraordinaire.” Founder and director Susan Weber agreed. “We eagerly anticipate welcoming guests back to the BGC Gallery this fall,” she said.