April 9, 2021 -- Cultural Content
Dear Friends,

As one aspect of SLEEP MODE: a virtual exhibition, related events, and an invitation to dream, we’re considering states of dormancy and anticipation, periods of almost imperceptibly slow evolution towards an unseen future.

This year, spring’s restless indecision – sunny and flowery one day, rainy and wind-whipped the next – seems acutely expressive, as we vacillate between eagerness for a return to easy sociability, anxiety about COVID’s uncertain course, and acknowledgment of our incomprehensible losses. This moment of being in-between can be exciting, but also excruciating: what happens next? And are we already a bit nostalgic for what we couldn’t wait to leave behind?
To help us navigate our feelings during this period of anticipation and ambivalence, we’ve called in an expert. Dr. Mark B. Kelley, Assistant Professor of Early American Literature at Florida International University, has researched the feelings of 19th century sailors as they negotiated their emotional lives aboard ships and on land, often separated from those they loved for months and years, often imagining and longing to be in the place that they were not. Join us virtually on Monday, April 12 at 7 pm for Mark’s talk and workshop, “A Long Cruise: Exploring Quarantine Feeling with Nineteenth-Century Sailors.” Mark’s scholarship has included many days ensconced in PPL’s Nicholson Whaling Collection; some of the images he found at PPL, including the scrimshaw at left, will be featured in his presentation. You can also read more about his explorations and excavations at PPL here and here. The program is free, registration is required, sign up here!
 
And don’t forget to subscribe to SLEEP MODE virtual exhibition curator Angela DiVeglia’s audio essays, and register for her Curators Conversations! Read more about the essays, Conversations, and other SLEEP MODE events and activities here.
“Life meanders like a path through the woods. We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.” * 

One of the things we in Programs and Exhibitions thought about with Angela was the idea of fallowness and the pandemic. During our lockdowns and our New England winter, life had the quality of a garden waiting – and silently, invisibly, changing – through the cold season before blossoming into the spring. Now, as the weather warms, we’re excited to debut a program series that celebrates the growing and blossoming in our world right now: Earth to PPL! Initially conceived as a set of events the week between Earth Day and Arbor Day, the series of programs and activities is still growing, vine-like – all the way into May and June. While enjoying the dreamlike quality and thoughtful introspection of SLEEP MODE, we can also take the time to clean and improve our communities, nurture our gardens and greenspaces, and meet a garden friend or two on the way. 
 
We hope to see you soon!
 
In gratitude,
 
Christina Bevilacqua                                     Janaya Kizzie
Programs & Exhibitions Director                   Events Coordinator

* Quote is from Katherine May, in her 2020 book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, which was a source in the conceptualization of SLEEP MODE.

p.s. -- Mark your calendars! The Rhode Island Black Film Festival is running April 22 - 25; free film passes available here!