History of Art & Architecture Department, Boston University

Announcing! The latest issue of SEQUITUR, issue 12.2, “with love.” For the Spring issue of SEQUITUR, we invited current and recent graduate students to explore love in all its forms. This issue includes 3 feature essays, plus a research spotlight, a visual essay, and an artist interview. We hope you will take a few moments to look through “with love” in the coming days and weeks on our website, here: https://www.bu.edu/sequitur/.

Happy last week of classes! Join us this Friday, May 1st in 303A CAS! We’ll be hosting a study break from 2-4pm and will have tea, snacks, and various crafts for people to relax with, including embroidery and coloring. We hope to see you all there taking a well-earned break from studying for finals and writing all of our final papers!

Congratulations to our second year MA students who presented their Scholarly Papers last night!

We had 11 wonderful presentations on topics ranging from antiquity to contemporary research. We are excited to see what comes next for all of them! Thank you to all of our presenters and attendees for a wonderful 2026 MA Paper Symposium!

Join us for this afternoon, April 17th from 2:30-4:30 in CAS 303A for some community and craftivism! Bring your favorite denim, textiles, or fabric scraps to learn how to embroider empowering phrases and images in anticipation of Denim Day (April 29) and in support of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. There is no prior knowledge necessary (we’ll teach you!) and all other embroidery materials will be provided. Feel free to invite BU graduate student colleagues/friends in other departments who might be interested.

📚Join us this Wednesday, April 15th in Marsh Plaza from 10am - 4pm for the bi-annual GSHAAA book sale! All proceeds go directly to supporting the HAA grad students. Come check it out and find your next read!

Today is BU Giving Day 2026!

Your gift to the History of Art Architecture Department at BU makes a visible difference. Donations directly support the in-depth research and professional development of students who are dedicated to studying artworks, visual imagery, design, and built spaces.

Donate directly to HAA. Link in Bio and today’s story!

We are delighted to cordially invite you to the 42nd Annual Mary L. Cornille (GRS ’87) Boston University Graduate Symposium in the History of Art & Architecture. The event will occur on April 10 and April 11, 2026. Below is more information on the location and specific time:

Day One - Friday, April 10, 2026
When: 5:00 - 7:00 pm
Where: Photonics Building, 8 St. Mary’s Street, Room 210

Day Two - Saturday, April 11, 2026
When: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Where: The Trustees Room, Museum of Fine Arts

The theme for this year’s symposium is “Material Ecologies: Connecting Care, Nature, and Identity.” The symposium aims to center materiality and feminist critique as lenses for environmental inquiry in art history, investigating how artists depict, consider, and collaborate with more-than-human beings to refigure humanity’s own relationships with the world around us.

Further, we are pleased to announce that the keynote speaker for this year’s symposium is Dr. Jennie Klein, Professor of Contemporary Art History at Ohio University. Her lecture, entitled, “Ecofeminism and Anti-Racist Politics in the Work of Monica Sjöö,” should be most compelling and thought provoking.

We look forward to welcoming you to the event!

Join us next Thursday, April 9, for “Stories Behind the Textiles: A Community Celebration,” a culmination for the exhibitions Textiles Tell Stories and Textiles Tell OUR Stories, hosted by the African Studies Library in collaboration with the History of Art & Architectures Department, the BU Office for the Arts, and the African Studies Center.

From 2–5:30 pm, browse a community market in the George Sherman Student Union (GSU) Link featuring vendors of Africa-inspired merchandise. Make a bracelet of Ghanaian krobo beads and try on Ghanaian fugus inside Mugar Library from 3–5 pm. And be sure to wander through the Africa textiles exhibitions open nearby!

Finally, attend our panel discussion from 4:30–5:30 pm in the Riverview Reading Room of Mugar Memorial Library to hear from local artists, entrepreneurs, and designers about the role of African textiles in their lives and work.

Wednesday, April 8 is BU Giving Day 2026, and your gift makes it all possible!

Stay tuned for more details about how to take part in and directly support the Department of History of Art & Architecture at BU.

Pictured: BU student exhibition “Reality and Imagination: Rembrandt and the Jews in the Dutch Republic,” on view at the MFA Boston through December 2026.

One week from today!

The Guest Lecture Series in the History of Art & Architecture cordially invites you to the final installment in our 2025-26 lecture series. This event is generously sponsored by the Boston University Center for the Humanities. 
 
On Tuesday, April 7th, we will welcome Stephanie Leone, Professor of Art History at Boston College. She will present a lecture entitled “Restoring Rome for the Jubilee: Pope Innocent X’s Motives, Methods, and Meaning in 1650.”

Dr. Leone’s lecture will be held in person on the Boston University campus at 725 Commonwealth Avenue (College of Arts & Sciences Building),room 132, at 6:00 p.m.

We look forward to welcoming you to this special event!