12th Henry D. Green Symposium of the Decorative Arts

The 12th Henry D. Green Symposium of the Decorative Arts, “The Past Made Public: Taking Stock,” will be held February 2 and 3, 2024, at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel. There is a wealth of decorative materials in the public sphere in Georgia. These objects and these collections deserve to be better known, to be studied and to be universally enjoyed. Georgia has the largest land area of any state east of the Mississippi River and is larger than the country of England. It is geographically varied, and its history and people are diverse. Its history has produced interesting and aesthetically commanding material culture. Its universities and schools, its churches and synagogues, its public buildings and offices, its state parks and historic sites, its libraries and historical organizations, its cemeteries and gardens, its military bases and historic forts, and its craftspeople who make art in public settings exist as repositories of decorative material culture. They constitute a huge breadth of places, objects and activities that construct heritage for every Georgian. The 12th Henry D. Green Symposium of the Decorative Arts proposes to examine this public legacy and to assess its value to the people of this state. Speakers will explore the contents of museum collections large and small, public art, religious objects and government institutions. Their topics will demonstrate the many fertile points of departure for research and scholarship.