Dr. Bruce Garver: Czech Art and Architecture
Wednesday, October 24 • 2:00 p.m.
Olga Folda Štěpánek was the granddaughter of Czech immigrants, a creator of works of art, author of short stories, founder in 1960 and director until 1975 of the University of Nebraska English as a Second Language Program in Lincoln, and facilitator of her husband’s teaching of the Czech language at the University from 1924 until his death in 1955.

Bruce Garver earned a Ph.D. in History in 1971 from Yale University where he taught before coming to the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1976 to teach such courses as the Renaissance in Italy, Age of Enlightenment, the Risorgimento, transport history, and the two World Wars. In eight semesters from 1982 to 1990, he also taught Czech immigrant history at the Lincoln campus. He was an exchange student in Prague for 10 months in 1967 and returned to do research in 1971, 1973, and eight times since 1989.

Presented In conjunction with Spotlight On: Olga Štěpánek, July 31 – November 4, 2018.

Humanities Nebraska provides major funding for this program. HN receives support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Nebraska State Legislature, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and private donations.

Peggy Jones: The Freedom to Create: Past, Present, and Future
Wednesday, November 28 • 12:30 p.m. (note time)
Today, while there are seemingly infinite ways to express creativity and share that expression in largely unmediated venues, not all populations are routinely granted creative freedom. This presentation explores how creative expression by some groups has been and continues to be challenged and how these restrictions can be universally restrictive if awareness and action is not taken.

Peggy Jones, who received her M.F.A. degree in Painting and Printmaking from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1993, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Black Studies and Associate Director of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her creative and research interests include intersections between race, gender, and language. She is an artist and playwright who has won awards for both her visual art and writing. She received an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Nebraska Arts Council for her play, The Journey, about Aaron Douglas, the first black graduate from the Art Department at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln in 1922.

Presented in conjunction with Adornment, September 29, 2018 – February 3, 2019.

Jeanne Ross, Dorothy Miller, and Jerry Gronewald: Docent Anecdotes
Wednesday, December 19 • 2:00 p.m.
The word “docent” originates from docere, which in Latin means to “teach.” As actual learning involves active participation, MONA’s docents don’t teach, lecture, or instruct. What they do is greet visitors warmly, engage them in conversation, and listen to diverse interpretations and ideas. They are there to encourage enthusiastic participation. Strong community relationships and a sense of pride in Nebraska’s rich cultural heritage lie at the heart of the MONA docent volunteer program. The docents have many heartening stories to share about what they have learned, and how their lives have been enhanced through their engagement with our MONA visitors and their own continuing personal relationship with MONA’s remarkable collection of Nebraska art. Please stay after the program for some festive refreshments!