November 29, 2022
This is a week that encapsulates just about everything exciting that’s happening at the Leventhal Center. On Monday, we had a group of excited seventh graders visiting for a lesson on Boston Over Time. On Wednesday, we’ll be presenting at MIT about how street-scale maps open up new avenues of study for urban historians. On Thursday, the Soft City pop-up exhibition opens in our free gallery at the Central Library. On Friday, our popular From the Vault drop-in series returns with a feature on textile maps. And on Saturday, we’re welcoming Dr. Carolyn Finney for a free public discussion about her book Black Faces, White Spaces.
But what about today—Tuesday? Well, that’s your day, and we hope you’ll participate in this year’s Giving Tuesday by supporting our mission with a gift of any size.
Coming Soon: Soft City, Dec 1-28
Join us for a special pop-up as part of our current exhibition More or Less in Common. From December 1-2828, we’re will be displaying Soft City, recent work from Amanda Ugorji and Sophie Weston Chien of local design collaborative just practice. According to the artists, “Soft City is a large-scale textile series that maps the urban fabric of Black neighborhoods in the Boston area. The tapestries map historic (redlined) and contemporary Black neighborhoods, including Roxbury, Dorchester, and East Cambridge. The information mapped tells the story of the past, present and future of Black residents, and the ecological resilience of the neighborhoods they live in.”
In-Person: From The Vault — Textile Maps · Dec 2, 2:00pm ET
For this edition of From The Vault, we’re taking a look at textile maps from our collections—embroidered, sewn, needlepoint, and more. Why textile maps? We’re celebrating the 12/01 opening of Soft City, a pop-up exhibition of large-scale textiles that map the urban fabric of Boston. Soft City will be on display in our gallery for the month of December to accompany our ongoing exhibition, More or Less in Common: Environment and Justice in the Human Landscape.
Hybrid: Author Talk with Dr. Carolyn Finney · Dec 3, 2:00pm ET
Why are African Americans so underrepresented when it comes to interest in nature, outdoor recreation, and environmentalism? Join storyteller, cultural geographer, and accidental environmentalist Carolyn Finney, PhD for a discussion that moves beyond the discourse of the environmental justice movement to examine how the natural environment has been understood, commodified, and represented by both white and black Americans. Dr. Finney and Boston Public Library President David Leonard will discuss Dr. Finney’s book Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors (2014). After the conversation, there will be time for audience Q&A.
This program will happen both in-person in the Rabb Lecture Hall at the Central Library in Copley Square as well as online over Zoom webinar.
The Leventhal Map & Education Center is an independent nonprofit. We rely on the contributions of donors like you to support our mission of preserving the past and advancing the future of maps and geography.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library
617.859.2387 · info@leventhalmap.org
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