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).

Just in time for New York City’s design week (May 11–23, 2018), Wallpaper* magazine has featured Bard Graduate Center Gallery’s Reading Room, designed by Studio Giancarlo Valle and curated by Wendy’s Subway and Some Other Books, as a space that is “ideal for escaping design week-fueled hysteria.” Writes Elly Parsons:

The Reading Room, designed by architecture studio Giancarlo Valle (which counts Linda Farrow, Phillip Lim and Jason Wu as clients), uses Japanese Shoji-like screens to create an oasis of calm – an ideal spot for turning over a new leaf. Books slot into the latticed framework, suspended, ready to be plucked and perused.

The book collection is a tale of two halves, split into two distinct sections curated by Some Other Books (a NY‐based publisher of artists’ books and multiples founded by Kristen Mueller in 2018) and Wendy’s Subway (a non‐profit library, writing space, and publisher located in Bushwick, Brooklyn). The Artists/Textiles section contains publications by artists working with textiles, whether in art or fashion. The Artists/Books section focusses on artists whose work takes the form of the book or zine.

It’s a project inspired by Bard’s two spring exhibitions, Fabricating Power with Balinese Textiles and The Codex and Crafts in Late Antiquity. The latter celebrates the very earliest forms of book-making, wooden tablets called ‘Codex’, and the high craftsmanship associated with them, reflected in the quality of the wooden structure that folds itself around the nook. Happy browsing.

Read the full article here.

The Reading Room is open during all Gallery hours and the next hosted event will be on May 31 on the topic of “Women in Art Publishing: Collaborative Networks.” The discussion will highlight innovative and inclusive approaches to collaborative practice among female-identifying leaders in contemporary art publishing. Featuring Corina Reynolds (Small Editions), Karen Kelly and Barbara Schroeder (Dancing Foxes Press), and Tammy Nguyen (Passenger Pigeon Press). A conversation moderated by Sonel Breslav (Blonde Art Books) and Rachel Valinsky (Wendy’s Subway), will follow. Free with RSVP (here).