Fences

Fences is the sixth chapter in August Wilson’s groundbreaking ten-play cycle of the African-American experience in the 20th century. The play depicts the life of Troy Maxson, a former Negro League baseball player, thwarted in his dreams of a Major League career, who struggles to provide for his family and break free from the boundaries imposed upon him. But in 1957, his son Cory, an emerging football star, sees the world through very different eyes, and his wife Rose, yearns for an outlet for her love. With the intersection of old prejudices and changing opportunities, Fences is a powerful drama filled with passionate love and thundering rage, generous laughter and searing pain. Chances are, you will be challenged to leave the theater with your emotions in tact with this powerful play. Fences was most recently made into an Oscar nominated film starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, who took home the award for Best Supporting Actress.

Scholastics

On View March 7 – April 5, 2020

Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art Awards are the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious educational initiative supporting student achievement in the arts. Every year, students across the country in grades 7-12 are invited to enter original works of art in regional competitions. This year, over 2,500 students representing over 100 Central New York schools submitted 5,673 works of art, which was then judged by professional artists, educators, and photographers. The judges award first place (Gold Key), second place (Silver Key), honorable mentions, and special award honorees. Gold Key winners move on to compete at the national level, while a small selection of the Silver Key winners are displayed at the Everson.

Casual China: Modernist Dinnerware

On View December 21, 2019 – May 2020

Syracuse-based Iroquois China began as a manufacturer of Victorian fine china, but produced revolutionary dinnerware in the postwar era by designers like Russel Wright and Ben Seibel. Casual China showcases modernist designs produced by Iroquois China, Homer Laughlin, the Hall China Company and others.

Renegades & Reformers: American Art Pottery

On View January 25 – July 5, 2020

Since acquiring its first works by Adelaide Alsop Robineau in 1916, the Everson Museum of Art has built one of the finest collections of art pottery in the world. Renegades and Reformers revolves around two common personality types among potters: the “renegades” who embarked on highly personal artistic quests that pushed clay and glaze to their limits, and the “reformers,” whose modern designs and social attitudes pushed back against Victorian mores.