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Parsons School of Design exhibitions and public programs collection

 Collection
Identifier: PC-05-02-01

Abstract

This collection primarily contains printed material—invitations, announcements, catalogs—advertising and documenting exhibitions and public programming sponsored by Parsons School of Design. The collection includes three audiovisual recordings and one set of digital photographs.

Dates

  • 1963-2015

Creator

Extent

2.2 Cubic Feet (2 boxes, 4 folders, 2 audio cassettes, 1 VHS cassette, 1 U-matic tape, 1 DVD)

Language of Materials

English

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of printed materials related to exhibitions and events held at, sponsored by, or produced in cooperation with Parsons School of Design. Materials include catalogs, invitations, and announcements. Although the series includes documentation on exhibitions held in the 1960s and 1970s, the bulk of materials relates to events from the 1980s onward.

The exhibitions documented in this collected are largely those sponsored by the college or an entity serving the entire college, such as the Parsons Exhibition Center or Gimbel Art and Design Library. For exhibitions sponsored by a specific academic department, please consult departmental records.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use. Please contact archivist@newschool.edu for appointment.

Conditions Governing Use

To publish material from this collection, permission must be obtained in writing from the New School Archives and Special Collections. Please contact: archivist@newschool.edu.

Historical note

The Parsons Exhibition Center opened at 2 West 13th Street in October of 1976. The first exhibition inaugurating the space was In Praise of Space/The Landscape in American Art. The original plan was for the Center, also known as the Parsons Gallery, to exhibit travelling exhibitions and contemporary artists and designers shows during the fall semester, and the spring semester would be dedicated to faculty and student exhibitions. (Parsons School of Design News Letter, January 1977 issue, page 4).

Arrangement

Series 2 is arranged in chronological order.

Custodial History

New School Archives staff removed the items in this collection from a broader collection of New School exhibitions and public programs ephemera.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

New School Archives staff established this collection as a discrete collection in 2026. They compiled the materials in this collection from multiple sources, many without recorded provenance.

Related Materials

Many of the exhibition materials in this series have a poster component in the Parsons Scohol of Design poster collection (PC.05.07.01). The Parsons School of Design Alumni Association records (PC.03.02.01) document earlier exhibitions and public programming hosted or sponsored by Parsons School of Design and its alumni association, which ceased to exist in 1970 when Parsons merged with The New School for Social Research.

Illustrations featured in the Carl Erickson and the Rene Bouche exhibits are present in the Kellen Design Archives collections of those artists' works.

Title
Guide to the Parsons School of Design exhibitions and public programs collection
Status
In Process
Author
New School Archives and Special Collections Staff
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin