Materialities

The materialities of objects and architectural features can link past to present histories in original and compelling ways. They connect different cultures and define cultural boundaries. Never inert, materials are inherently political. They are active participants in the ongoing negotiations that build our present and define our futures. There is a new prominence of materiality in art and it is a clear manifestation of our growing awareness that humans no longer are the undisputed centers of everything and that our world is the result of collaborative processes with other living and non-living, human and more-than-human agents.        

Materialities  invited artists to select a specific material from the Driehaus Museum to engage in a new materialist dialogue with it. In conversation with guest curator Dr. Giovanni Aloi, the artists researched the histories of their chosen material to produce an engaged, critically aware, integrated response designed to uncover hidden cultural, historical, and ecological networks that bind the very fabric of the house to distant shores, peoples, skill sets, traditions, ideologies, and economic forces.  

While the unique design and architecture of the Mansion have been documented and studied, A Tale of Today: Materialities  proposes to investigate more deeply the materials that comprise the very fabric of the building.   

In 2019, the Driehaus Museum launched a pilot project under the title A Tale of Today. The project is comprised of two new initiatives. The first is a series of exhibitions that present work by leading contemporary artists to expand the immersive experience in art, architecture, design, and history of the Nickerson Mansion, the Museum's home. The second offers allied programs tied to these contemporary exhibitions including a six-month Fellowship opportunity that creates an artistic community of established and emerging artists as well as museum and art professionals.