Huntington Library: Feb. – April 2020 Public Programs and Exhibitions

PUBLIC PROGRAMS AND EXHIBITIONS AT THE HUNTINGTON

February – April 2020

PUBLIC PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
More public programs are added regularly; check huntington.org for updates

 

—FEB—

Chinese New Year Festival
Feb. 1–2 (Saturday–Sunday) 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Celebrate the Lunar New Year at The Huntington as the Year of the Rat begins. The festivities will include lion dancers, mask-changing performances, martial arts, Chinese music and dance, painting and calligraphy demonstrations, children’s activities, and more. General admission.
Free Metro Shuttle (Feb. 1-2): As a special offer during the festival weekend only, The Huntington will offer free shuttle service from the Metro Gold Line station at Sierra Madre Villa in Pasadena. (Free parking is available at the station for those who’d prefer to drive, cycle, or walk to Sierra Madre Villa instead of taking the Metro.) Shuttle riders will receive a discount coupon for $5 off Huntington admission (Adult, Senior, or Student tickets) OR $5 off food purchases in The Huntington’s 1919 Cafe, Red Car Coffee Shop, Freshwater Dumpling and Noodle House, or Rose Garden Tea Room. Shuttles will run every 15 minutes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days of the event.

Why It Matters
Karen R. Lawrence In Conversation with Carla Hayden 

Feb. 6 (Thursday) 7:30 p.m.
For the debut of the new Centennial lecture series “Why It Matters,” Huntington President Karen R. Lawrence speaks with Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, about why archives and libraries exist and why the work they do continues to be important. Free; reservations required. Reservations: huntington.org/calendar. Rothenberg Hall

Children’s Workshop
Chinese Brush Painting: Year of the Rat

Feb. 8 (Saturday) 10 a.m.–noon
Celebrate the Lunar New Year by learning traditional Chinese brush painting techniques with artist Peifang Liang and create your own lucky new year painting to mark the Year of the Rat.  Ages 7 and up. (Fee includes one child and one accompanying adult.) Members: $35. Non-Members: $45. Registration: huntington.org/calendar.

Family Drop-in Program
Valentine Making

Feb. 8 (Saturday)10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Make your own valentines for friends and family, inspired by tokens of affection from centuries past. This drop-in activity will highlight examples of vintage greeting cards from the Nancy and Henry Rosin Collection of Valentine, Friendship and Devotional Ephemera. All ages welcome. General admission; no registration required. Huntington Art Gallery Loggia

48th Annual Camellia Show and Sale
Feb. 8–9
Saturday: 1–5 p.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Hundreds of gorgeous blooms will compete for top honors at The Huntington’s 48th annual Camellia Show, co-sponsored by the Southern California Camellia Society. View the exhibits, shop for camellia plants to grow at home, and get some expert tips on care and cultivation. Make a day of it by exploring acres of blooming camellias in the gardens. General admission. Brody Botanical Center  

Art Lecture Series 
The Art of the West

Feb. 12, 19, & 26 (Wednesdays) 10 a.m.–noon
The American West, with its vast plains and towering mountains, has caught the public imagination for generations. Artists were among the first adventurers to explore its wonders, and they helped define the West and introduce it to the nation. Join Roy Ritchie, senior research associate at The Huntington, for a series of lectures that examine a number of themes in the art of the West. Members: $75. Non-Members: $90. Registration: huntington.org/calendar.

Zeidberg Lecture 
The Materiality of Love: Elizabeth Barrett Barrett (later Browning) and Letter-Writing

Feb. 12 (Wednesday) 7:30 p.m.
Peter Stallybrass, professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, focuses on a single letter that Elizabeth Barrett Barrett wrote to Hugh Stuart Boyd, a scholar with whom she was passionately in love long before she met her fellow poet and future husband, Robert Browning. Much can be learned by examining the letter’s details, says Stallybrass, including the conflicting emotions those details reveal. Free; reservations required. Reservations: huntington.org/calendar. Rothenberg Hall

Garden Talk & Plant Sale
Designing a Desert Moonlight Garden

Feb. 13 (Thursday) 2:30 p.m.
Horticulturist Jason Wiley of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum will discuss how to design a “moonlight garden” featuring drought-tolerant, night-blooming plants and other features that lend magic to the landscape after dark. A well-designed moonlight garden, says Wiley, engages all five senses—sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste—to create a fully immersive experience.  He will also discuss design elements such as water, fire, lighting, and creating gathering spaces. A plant sale follows the talk. Free; no reservations required. Ahmanson Classroom, Brody Botanical Center

Music Program 
We Look to the Stars 

Feb. 13 (Thursday) 7:30 p.m.
Across history, culture, time, and space—transcending every division and divide—humans all share a connection to the stars. Journey through the night sky in song with the world premiere of We Look to the Stars by Juhi Bansal. The performance, featuring artists from LA Opera plus students and faculty from Pasadena City College and Caltech, draws on myths and writings from different cultures and is part of LA Opera’s county-wide festival celebrating its new opera, Eurydice. $10. Tickets: huntington.org/calendar. Rothenberg Hall

Family Drop-In Program
Garden Party: Spot the “Strange Creature”

Feb. 15 (Saturday) 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Stop by the Chinese Garden for the latest program in our “Garden Party” series. Enjoy stories about mythological monsters while keeping an eye out for artist Nina Katchadourian’s “Strange Creature,” a kinetic sculpture temporarily installed in the lake as part of the exhibition “Beside the Edge of the World.” All ages welcome. General admission; no reservations required. Chinese Garden

Historia Plantarum
Feb. 20 (Thursday) 4:30–6:30 p.m.
Alain Touwaide, historian of botany, medicine, and medicinal plants, explores related topics in a four-part seminar series. The theme for the 2020 season is Reading Historical Gardens, with monthly sessions focusing on gardens in ancient Rome and Pompeii, Byzantium and the Arabic world, and Europe in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.  (Upcoming dates in the series: March 12, April 16, and May 21.) Touwaide is the author of multiple publications on these topics and teaches at UCLA. Free; no reservations required. Auditorium, Brody Botanical Center

East Asian Garden Lecture Series
The Making of a Medium: Borrowing Views from Painting and Fiction in Early Modern Chinese Garden Design

Feb. 20 (Thursday) 7:30 p.m.
S.E. Kile, assistant professor of Chinese literature at the University of Michigan, will examine the first two Chinese works that considered garden design as an art: Ji Cheng’s Yuanye (Fashioning Gardens, 1631–34) and Li Yu’s Xianqing ouji (Leisure Notes, 1671). By excavating the garden’s relationship to other art forms, Kile will present an account of the garden as a medium of artistic expression in early modern China. Free; no reservations required. Rothenberg Hall

Bonsai Workshop 
Feb. 22 (Saturday) 9 a.m.–noon
Learn the ancient art of growing and shaping miniature trees in this hands-on workshop presented in conjunction with the weekend’s Bonsai-a-Thon event. Each participant will receive a small tree to grow at home, with instructions for care and maintenance. Members: $45. Non-Members: $55. Registration: huntington.org/calendar.

Children’s Workshop
Bonsai Builders

Feb. 22 (Saturday) 9–11:30 a.m.
Join the fun of this weekend’s Bonsai-a-Thon in a hands-on workshop with the pros, then take home your own miniature tree to grow at home. Ages 7 and up. (Fee includes one child and accompanying adult.) Member: $35. Non-Members: $45. Registration: huntington.org/calendar.

Bonsai-a-Thon
Feb. 22–23 (Saturday–Sunday) 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Southern California bonsai masters will share their passion for the art form in this annual event that includes exhibits, demonstrations, prize drawings, a “bonsai bazaar,” and a live auction at 3 p.m. each day. Proceeds from the event support the Golden State Bonsai Collection at The Huntington. General admission. Brody Botanical Center 

Founder’s Day Talk
Making History: How Historians and Librarians
Have Changed Our Understanding of the Civil War

Feb. 27 (Thursday) 3 p.m.
In recent decades, historical writing on the American Civil War has extended our understanding beyond the worlds of generals and statesmen and has overturned many long-held assumptions about the war’s causes, motivations, and consequences. In this lecture, Drew Gilpin Faust, president emerita of Harvard, will explore some of the ways in which The Huntington’s collections have enabled a new history of the conflict. Reserve free tickets (limit two) at huntington.org/calendar. Rothenberg Hall

Why It Matters
Karen R. Lawrence In Conversation with Drew Gilpin Faust

Feb. 27 (Thursday) 7:30 p.m.
Huntington President Karen R. Lawrence speaks with Drew Gilpin Faust, Civil War scholar and former president of Harvard, about the importance of the humanities. The presentation is part of the special Centennial series “Why It Matters.” Free; reservations required. Reservations: huntington.org/calendar. Rothenberg Hall

Symposium
“Unscholarly” Gardens: Rethinking the Gardens of China

Feb. 29 (Saturday) 8:30 a.m.– 5 p.m.
The image of a “Chinese garden” that most often comes to mind is that of the white-walled, gray-tiled gardens built by scholar-officials and merchants in the city of Suzhou during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Despite its iconic status in the contemporary imagination, the Suzhou-style scholar’s garden is only one type among many. Exploring “unscholarly” spaces such as monastic gardens, merchant gardens, medicinal gardens, and market gardens, this symposium will challenge common assumptions about what makes a garden in China. $15. (An optional lunch can be pre-ordered for an additional cost.) Registration: huntington.org/calendar. Rothenberg Hall.

Family Drop-In Program
Gallery Party: Strike a Pose

Feb. 29 (Saturday) 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Get up close and personal with figures depicted in works of art this hands-on “Gallery Party” that will make you want to strike a pose. Explore Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s paintings of fictional characters, on view in a special exhibition, and make your own portraits—fictional or otherwise—to take home. All ages welcome. Free; no registration required. Huntington Art Gallery Loggia

Music in the Chinese Garden
Every Wednesday, 1–3 p.m.
Enjoy traditional Chinese music every Wednesday afternoon in the Garden of Flowing Fragrance. A different solo musician performs each week in the Love for the Lotus Pavilion, adding to the garden’s ambience with the sounds of the pipa (lute), erhu (two-stringed fiddle) dizi (flute), yangqin (dulcimer), or guzheng (zither). General admission. Cancelled in the event of rain. Chinese Garden

Ranch Open House
Every Saturday, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Stop by The Huntington’s urban agriculture site during its weekly open hours and pick up some fresh ideas for sustainable gardening. Volunteers from the L.A. Master Gardener program are on hand to answer questions and offer seasonal tips. From the Teaching Greenhouse, follow signs to the site. Cancelled in the event of rain. General admission. Ranch Garden

—MAR—

Talk and Book Signing: 
Parable of the Sower, A Graphic Novel Adaptation

March 5 (Thursday) 7:30 p.m.
Damian Duffy and John Jennings, the award-winning team behind the bestseller Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, will discuss their new graphic adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower. This event will be moderated by author Nalo Hopkinson and will be followed by a book signing. Free; reservations required. Reservations: huntington.org/calendar. Rothenberg Hall

Family Curator Tour of “Lifelines/Timelines”
March 14 (Saturday) 10 a.m.–noon
Bonsai master and exhibition curator Ted Matson, who oversees The Huntington’s bonsai collection, will lead a family tour of the “Lifelines/Timelines” exhibition on opening day, exploring some of the connections the five installations make across the art, library, and botanical holdings. The program will also include a demonstration of bonsai wiring techniques, providing an inside look at how these living masterpieces are created.  Ages 7 and up. (Fee includes one child and one accompanying adult.) Members: $15. Non-Members: $20. Advance registration is required. Registration: huntington.org/calendar. (Registration opens Feb. 14.)

The Ted and the Black: Hilton Als on Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s Painterly Universe
March 17, 2020, 7:30 p.m.
Join Hilton Als, Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker magazine critic and curator of the current exhibition “The Hilton Als Series: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye” in an epistolary-form talk exploring the artist’s unique subject matter. Free; reservations required. huntington.org/calendar. Rothenberg Hall

63rd Annual Bonsai Show
March 21–22 (Saturday–Sunday) 10:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
Discover the timeless appeal of an ancient horticultural art form as the California Bonsai Society presents its 63rd annual show, featuring dozens of beautiful specimens created by bonsai masters. Additional examples can be seen in the permanent display in the Japanese Garden’s Bonsai Courts. Bonsai fans will also won’t want to the new exhibition “Lifelines/Timelines: Exploring The Huntington’s Collections Through Bonsai” (March 14–June 22). Thematically linking works across The Huntington’s collections, the exhibition traces the march of time by comparing the age of selected bonsai trees to significant works on view in the library and art galleries. “Lifelines/Timelines” is displayed in five outdoor installations at gallery entrances. General admission. Bonsai show location: Brody Botanical Center. 

Clivia Show & Sale
March 14–15 (Saturday–Sunday) 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
More than 200 beautiful plants and floral displays will be on view during the annual Clivia Show and Sale. Visitors can enjoy prize-winning exhibits; watch how-to demonstrations on clivia care, repotting, and flower arranging; browse through the sale area for unusual varieties to take home; and cast their votes for the “People’s Choice” award. The event is presented by the Southern California Chapter of the North American Clivia Society. General admission. Brody Botanical Center

Music in the Chinese Garden
Every Wednesday, 1–3 p.m.
Enjoy traditional Chinese music every Wednesday afternoon in the Garden of Flowing Fragrance. A different solo musician performs each week in the Love for the Lotus Pavilion, adding to the garden’s ambience with the sounds of the pipa (lute), erhu (two-stringed fiddle) dizi (flute), yangqin (dulcimer), or guzheng (zither). General admission. Cancelled in the event of rain. Chinese Garden

Ranch Open House
Every Saturday, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Stop by The Huntington’s urban agriculture site during its weekly open hours and pick up some fresh ideas for sustainable gardening. Volunteers from the L.A. Master Gardener program are on hand to answer questions and offer seasonal tips. From the Teaching Greenhouse, follow signs to the site. Cancelled in the event of rain. General admission. Ranch Garden

—APR—

Family Event
Shakespeare Day

April 4 (Saturday), 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Shakespeare is fun for everyone! Experience the works of the Bard throughout the gardens in this interactive day filled with family-friendly performances by members of LA Opera, the Independent Shakespeare Co., and the Guild of St. George, plus pop-up writing stations and other activities. All The Huntington’s a stage—and it’s time to shake it up! No advance registration required; free with general admission. Information: huntington.org.

Isherwood-Bachardy Centennial Lecture
Auden and Isherwood: Their Religious Wars and Their Secular Harmonies

April 22 (Wednesday) 7:30 p.m.
In the 1930s, before W. H. Auden returned to the Anglicanism of his childhood and before Christopher Isherwood became a Vedantist, the two writers already differed in their views of religion, and those differences helped shape the plays they wrote in collaboration with each other. This lecture, given by Edward Mendelson of Columbia University, will explore the ways in which Auden and Isherwood insisted on disagreeing over religion while preserving their affection and admiration for each other as writers and as friends. Free; reservations required. Reservations: huntington.org/calendar. Rothenberg Hall

46th Annual Spring Plant Sale
April 24–26 (Friday–Sunday) 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Give your garden a fresh look for spring! Inspiring ideas and thousands of great plants will abound at The Huntington’s popular annual sale. The event’s extensive selection includes many water-wise Southwestern, native Californian, and Australian plants—ceanothus, tecoma, manzanita, and westrigia, among others—that will bring abundant color and texture to your garden without using a lot of water. Cacti and succulents make a bold statement in the landscape, and there will be a wide variety to choose from. Shoppers will also find a great assortment of tomato plants, vegetable seedlings, fruit trees, herbs, and other edibles—plus much more! Members shop early: The sale is open to Members only on Friday (all day) and on Saturday until 1 p.m.; open to all Huntington visitors on Saturday afternoon and on Sunday (all day). General admission. Brody Botanical Center

Enrique Martínez Celaya: 
The Sea: Exile, Art and Poetry 

April 29 (Wednesday) 7:30 p.m.
Join us for an evening with Enrique Martínez Celaya, the first Visual Arts Fellow at The Huntington. Martínez Celaya is an award-winning artist, author, and former scientist whose work has been exhibited and collected by major institutions around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Moderna Museet in Stockholm. In this lecture, Martínez Celaya will discuss his work and reflect on the relationship between poetry and ¬exile, using the sea as context and metaphor. Free; reservations required. Reservations: huntington.org/calendar. Rothenberg Hall

Music in the Chinese Garden
Every Wednesday, 1–3 p.m.
Enjoy traditional Chinese music every Wednesday afternoon in the Garden of Flowing Fragrance. A different solo musician performs each week in the Love for the Lotus Pavilion, adding to the garden’s ambience with the sounds of the pipa (lute), erhu (two-stringed fiddle) dizi (flute), yangqin (dulcimer), or guzheng (zither). General admission. Cancelled in the event of rain. Chinese Garden

Ranch Open House
Every Saturday, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Stop by The Huntington’s urban agriculture site during its weekly open hours and pick up some fresh ideas for sustainable gardening. Volunteers from the L.A. Master Gardener program are on hand to answer questions and offer seasonal tips. From the Teaching Greenhouse, follow signs to the site. Cancelled in the event of rain. General admission. Ranch Garden