Unique multi-media event coming up at the Museum of Natural History at Roger Williams Park.
Dovetailing with the current Curiouser exhibit, the Museum of Natural History and the exhibit’s curators will partner with Magic Lantern Cinema (MLC) to stage two multi-media performances based around the museum’s extensive collection of antique glass magic lantern slides. Glass lantern slides were highly popular in the late 19th century, offering Victorians vicarious, often romanticized, views of the world beyond their door. The museum’s collection, which dates back to the late 1900’s, includes over 4,800 slides covering subjects ranging from astronomy to zoology as well as historic images of Roger Williams Park. ‘Curious Magic’ will mark the first showing of the collection in nearly half a century.
For these events, MLC curators Josh Guilford and Colleen Doyle will use the museum’s antique slide archive as well as 16mm films and the planetarium’s Zeiss star projector to create two live screenings that bring together the arts, sciences and humanities. MLC has gained a reputation for its monthly screenings of contemporary and archival experimental film and video into their thematically curated programs. (Though MLC is named after the Victorian magic lantern, this is the first time the group has had the opportunity to work with the actual antique glass slides.)
Each performance will begin at 7:30pm in the domed room of the museum’s Cormack Planetarium and last approximately one hour. Live audio accompaniment will be provided by Blevin Blectum and Alexander Dupuis. Doors open and tickets go on sale at 7pm; seating for each performance is limited to 65 people.
$3, Thursday April 12, Friday April 13, Museum of Natural History, 1000 Elmwood Avenue