This year’s Virginia Woolf conference is coming up soon. And organizers continue to make additions to the program.
The most recent is a staged reading called “Life in the Country: A Dramatic Reading for Five Voices,” by Roberta Palumbo of Holy Names University.
The 50-minute chamber play features dialogue created from the letters, diaries, and memoirs of Virginia Woolf, Leonard Woolf, Vanessa Bell, Dr. Octavia Wilberforce and Louie Mayer.
It will be performed by professional actors from Lexington, Ky., and is scheduled to follow Thursday’s opening reception. It will be on stage at Georgetown’s Lab Theatre, right across the street from the Art Gallery, where the reception will be held.
The exhibit is free and open to the public. Hours areMonday through Friday, noon-4:30 p.m. and by appointment. Special hours during the conference weekend are June 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m.; June 4 and 5, noon-5 p.m.; and June 6, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. For an appointment, contact the gallery via e-mail at galleries@georgetowncollege.edu or by phone at 502-863-8173.
The exhibition of fine art, rare books and other printed material has been curated by Dr. Juilee Decker, chair of the art department at Georgetown College. The juried show features 32 pieces, many for sale, by regional, national and international artists.
Free exhibition events include:
Opening reception on June 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Closing reception and keynote address by Diana Swanson of Northern Illinois University on June 6, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
The art on exhibit
Virginia Woolf bust by Valentina Mazzei
A range of works include representations of Woolf in the following media:
a drawing of the author created in one sitting and using more than 20 pencils
a digital print from several perspectives
an oil on panel.
Artwork responding to Woolf’s writing and the conference theme include:
a visual tribute to The Waves
abstract and representational mixed media on panel
acrylic and graphite on paper
watercolor landscapes
digital prints that blend word and image
several finely woven works that incorporate white oak, reed, maple, macaw and copper
a six-foot wide installation of carved wooden leaf-like forms arranged in a circle on the floor with a 12-inch opening in the center that subtly suggests the void from where a tree trunk might emerge.
The artists
Artists whose work was selected for the exhibition are: Bill Andrus (Lexington, Ky.), Jennifer Barnett Hensel (Altadena, Calif.), Ashley Bell (Baton Rouge, La.), Diana S. Brennan (Greenville, R.I.), Herb Goodman (Richmond, Ky.), Mille Guldbeck (Bowling Green, Ohio), John Higdon (Pensacola, Fla.), Cynthia Kukla (Bloomington, Ill.), Lauren Garber Lake (Gainsville, Fla.), Liz Lee (Fredonia, N.Y.), George Lorio (Brownsville, Texas), Valentina Mazzei (Rome, Italy), Linda Stein (New York, N.Y.), and Kim Rae Taylor (Cincinnati, Ohio).
In addition, two works by Isota Tucker Epes (1918-2009) have been lent from the collection of J. J. Wilson.
The printed work on display
The Hogarth Press housed at Sissinghurst
Printed material will be on view from private and public collections, including the Special Collections Library at the University of Kentucky, the Ekstrom Library at the University of Louisville and the Cincinnati Public Library.
First editions published in London and New York will be displayed, including a number of works printed by the Woolfs and at the Hogarth Press:
Woolf’s Common Reader (Hogarth Press, 1925)
Monday or Tuesday with woodcuts by Vanessa Bell (Hogarth Press, 1921)
the sketch of Kew Gardens, number 12 in an edition of 500 copies decorated by Vanessa Bell.
The publications disclose, further, the range of activity printed by the Woolfs on behalf of the Bloomsbury Group, including Roger Fry (The Artist and Psycho-Analysis, 1924). Works by a larger circle of intellectuals will be included in this exhibition. Included are the work of John Carl Flugel, whose The Psychology of Clothes was published by the Institute of Psycho-Analysis in 1930.
Of special mention is the collection of Victorian photographs taken by Julia Margaret Cameron and printed by Leonard and Virginia Woolf at their press in 1926.
Noted scholars Bonnie Kime Scott of San Diego State University, Carrie Rohman of Lafayette College and Christina Alt of the University of Ottawa will offer keynote addresses.
The deadline for advance registration is April 25. After that date, the registration fee will increase $30. Individuals interested in hearing conference talks may take advantage of daily, on-site registration at $55 per day.
The Virginia Woolf Collection includes tanzanite and garnet Swarovski crystals, with tanzanite representing Woolf’s favorite colored ink and garnet symbolizing friendship, wholeness and success, according to Nash.
The idea for the jewelry collection started with Kristin Czarnecki, organizer of this year’s conference at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky, whose theme is “Woolf and the Natural Word.” She said Nash asked many questions about Woolf and read To the Lighthouse before designing the necklace, bracelet and earrings in Woolf’s honor.
“Cindy’s Virginia Woolf jewelry is a lovely, lasting memento of Woolf’s significance in our lives and the fellowship we enjoy at each year’s conference,” Czarnecki said.
Orders placed by May 10 receive a 10 percent pre-conference discount. To get the discount, use the code vwoolf at checkout. Conference attendees will also save the customary $8 shipping fee, as they can pick up their orders when they arrive at the conference. Pieces from the collection will also be available for sale at the conference.
Write quickly. You have less than a week to submit your piece on “Woolf and the Natural World” for the Fall 2010 issue of the Virginia Woolf Miscellany.
The Miscellany is seeking articles examining the natural world–gardens, landscapes, animals, ecology, etc.–in Woolf’s life and writing. Articles addressing teaching Woolf and nature are also welcome.
According to the Miscellany’s Web site, the publication was founded by Dr. J. J. Wilson, now emerita professor of English at Sonoma State University in California. The first issue was published in fall 1973. The publication now resides at Southern Connecticut State University.
