Public Programs

public programs

ongoing programs

Guided Docent Tours of Bedford Gallery Exhibitions
Free docent-led tours for individuals every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. Group tours are available by appointment for $35 for groups with fewer than 15 people or $70 for groups of 15-30. Tour fees include gallery admission.
See Theme and Project descriptions for school tours.

See Jane Run: Contemporary Art about Childhood (and Other Cozy Things) April 30 - June 25, 2006
Theme of tour: Explore the rich and multifaceted world of childhood through the work of contemporary artists.
Project: Show us who you are. Using photographs, personal items, found objects, and glue, make a collage that reveals your unique personality or reveals a favorite childhood memory.

By the Hand: A National Juried Exhibition of Traditional and Innovative Craft July 9 - September 10, 2005
Theme of Tour: Students are exposed to the many forms of traditional craft. Investigate the connection between creativity and handiwork.
Project: Get in "touch" with your senses: make a small clay sculpture blindfolded! Emphasis is on how you can "see" using just your hands. The sculpture material used can be taken home, baked in an oven and painted.

Embroidered Stories / Knitted Tales September 24 – November 12, 2006
Embroidery, knitting and crocheting are probably the last thing you’d expect to see in an art gallery today. However, contemporary artists have fully embraced Yarn Art creating artworks that collapse the presumption that these traditional practices are for conventional use only. This medium-specific exhibition demonstrates the rich cross-fertilization between crafts (personal hobbies) and contemporary art. The sculpture—abstract, surreal and conceptual—will focus on the multifaceted connotations of domesticity, handicraft, social statement and machine-produced art.
Theme of Tour: Explore the historic roots of both knitting and embroidery, used in contemporary art.
Art Project: Use “Yarn Art” concepts to transform a flat piece of textile into a shape or pattern.

Anatomy of a Hot Rod November 19, 2006-February 11, 2007
Anatomy of a Hot Rod will present a selection of magnificent hot rods culled by Phil Linhares, chief curator at the Oakland Museum of California (and Hot Rod owner and enthusiast). As in several past exhibitions, Bedford Gallery is exploring design and its intimate relationship with art. In every detail, from the shape of a headlight or fender to the contour of its body, each of these hot rods demonstrates a concern for both beauty and performance.
Theme of Tour: Look at the role of aesthetics in industrial design throughout automotive history.
Art Project: Use recycled materials to build your own hot rod.

Space is the Place March 4-May 27, 2007
A national traveling exhibition from Independent Curators International (ICI), Space is the Place features an international group of artists working with the theme of space exploration—its infinite potential, as well as its historical successes and failures. Concepts and images of nostalgia, fantasy and technological naiveté run rampant in works by artists Lori Anderson, Julian LaVerdiere, and Katy Schimert, among others.
Theme of Tour: Demonstrate how the mystique and history of space travel have inspired modern artists.
Art Project: Make a space scenario of alien invasion or intrepid exploration.