28th Annual Helen Clark Berlind Symposium will bring esteemed visual storytellers to campus

This weekend, the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College will host the 28th Annual Helen Clark Berlind Symposium. All events on Saturday, Oct. 12, are free and open to the public.

Symposium events are held in conjunction with the 108th Annual Exhibition, Children’s Book Illustrations: Visual Storytelling (on view through Dec. 15), which features illustrations by children’s book artists Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Larry Day, Douglas Florian, E.B. Lewis, and Jerry Pinkney, as well as a retrospective of illustrations by the current 2019 Caldecott Medal winner, Sophie Blackall.

The Berlind Symposium was established on the occasion of the Maier’s 80th Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Art by friends and family of Helen Clark Berlind ’58 to honor her memory. The event has expanded the educational impact of the Annual Exhibition every year since, hosting scholars and artists to discuss issues relevant to each Exhibition.

The schedule for Saturday is as follows:

Artist Talk: Larry Day

10 a.m.

Larry Day is an award-winning illustrator of both fiction and non-fiction books. He received an associate’s degree in commercial art, and worked as a staff artist for pinball and video games before becoming a storyboard artist and picture book illustrator. He has received numerous awards and praise for his books. In 2006, Day was awarded the Golden Kite Award for Not Afraid of Dogs, written by Suzanne Pitzer. His 2014 illustrations for Lion Lion, by Miriam Busch, garnered NPR’s Best Books for 2014 designation, a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year award, and was a Junior Library Guild selection. His complete illustrations for Found, by Jeff Newman, published in 2018 are included in the exhibition.

Documentary Screening: Library of the Early Mind

11 a.m.

The authors, illustrators, and editors of some of the finest works of children’s literature share their stories in this examination of the deeper side of the art. From the stories we hear as children to those we tell our own, the work of these storytellers often comes from a profound place and has more profound effects than we might imagine.

The film features the following people: Chris Van Allsburg, Lois Lowry, R.L. Stine, Norton Juster, Natalie Babbitt, Brian Selznick, David Small, Mo Willems, Jarrett J. Krosockza, Jeff Kinney, Anita Silvey, Adam Gopnik, Nancy Garden, Lesléa Newman, Jerry Pinkney, Gregory Maguire, Brian Pinkney, Arthur A. Levine, Mary Jane Begin, Jack Gantos, Leonard S. Marcus, Peter H. Reynolds, Daniel Handler, and Richard Michelson.

A Conversation with Larry Day & Charles Vess

1:30 p.m.

A lively interview with illustrators Larry Day and Charles Vess, led by Kathy Muehlemann, curator of the 108th Annual Exhibition, Children’s Book Illustrations: Visual Storytelling and chair of Randolph College’s art department.

Reception and Book Signing by Larry Day

2:30 p.m.

There will be a limited number of copies of the book Found, illustrated by Larry Day, available for sale in the Maier’s gift shop.

***We recommend bringing a book with you for signing.

The 28th Berlind Symposium is supported by the Helen Clark Berlind Symposium Fund, as well as Maier Members Julie Johnson McGowen ’69, Allison Gulick Muller ’71, and Dana Davidson Redmond ’60.