Sunday, September 15th, 2024 | 4:00pm – 6:30pm at 10553 South Road, Corning, NY
Fund for Women founders and board members – you and a guest are cordially invited to join us for a very special event, honoring the impact of legacy in our community and celebrating the 15th anniversary of Fund for Women. Space is limited for this invitation-only event.
RSVPs have closed for this event. Thank you, attendees, for letting us know you are coming – we look forward to seeing you on September 15th!
Additional information will be added to this page and emailed to all attendees as we get closer to this very special event.
A Description of the Evening
Fund for Women would like to thank Laura Grand for hosting the Legacy event at 10553 South Road in Corning, NY. Laura’s daughter, Yvonne Grand (1969-2018) purchased the home in 2010 and lovingly renovated and decorated the house. Yvonne worked for Corning Incorporated for 18 years and was the Director of Americas and Global Customer Service for Corning Environmental Technologies.
It is through Laura’s generosity and willingness to share a part of her daughter’s legacy, as well as the time of our esteemed presenters, that we are able to celebrate you, our Fund for Women Founders, and the Crystal Anniversary in this special and heartfelt home.
The evening will include the following experiences:
- Welcome: Begin the evening with drinks and hors d’oeuvres in the elegant former home of Amory Houghton Sr., offering a stunning view of the Corning Valley.
- Tour & Expert Talks: Explore the historic residence and gain insights into art, history, and legacy through presentations by notable experts:
- Amy J. Hughes, Ph.D., Assistant Curator, Corning Museum of Glass
- Dr. Edward A. Mainzer, Author and Historian
- Rick Pirozzolo, Executive Director and Curator, Arnot Art Museum
- Celebration: Join us in celebrating 15 years of success with sweet treats and champagne.
About Our Speakers and Expert Talks
Assistant Curator, Corning Museum of Glass
A Local Collection with a Global Imprint: Contextualizing Yvonne Grand’s Family Heirlooms of Vogue Costume Jewelry within mid-20th Century Art, Design and Politics
Highlighting the costume jewelry collection of former Corning Director of Americas and Global Customer Service, Yvonne Grand (1969-2018), this talk examines the NYC-based Vogue company (1930s-1970s) founded by Yvonne’s grandfather. It also identifies features of Vogue’s craftsmanship and artistry and contextualizes costume jewelry as aspirational luxury items and objects of beauty within the tumultuous political, economic and social unrest in the mid-20th century surrounding WWII.
Amy J. Hughes, Ph.D., joined the Corning Museum of Glass as Assistant Curator in October 2022 with a specialization in 19th- and 20th -century and contemporary Central European glass, sculpture, photography and visual culture. Prior to CMoG, Hughes was based in Prague, Czechia researching and completing her dissertation. Hughes holds a Ph.D. in Art History and Visual Culture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a M.A. in the History of Design, Decorative Arts and Material Culture from the Bard Graduate Center and a B.A. in French and Political Science from Marquette University. Previously, she held positions at Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Czech Academy of Sciences and the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection and has taught and lectured on art and glass history classes in the United States, France and the Czech Republic. Additionally, she has published several articles in English and Czech in both scholarly journals and in popular culture magazines and is currently working on a monograph on glass artists Stanislav Libenský (1921-2022) and Jaroslava Brychtová (1924-2020).
Author and Historian
Women as Leaders of Historic Preservation in Corning
Corning-area women have a long history of organizing to better their communities. Nationally, women were in the forefront of the earliest efforts to save the homes of America’s so-called “founding fathers,” and in the Southern Tier a half-century ago female activists spear-headed a campaign to educate their neighbors about the possibility of using historic preservation to transform Corning’s decaying downtown and celebrate its architecture heritage. So called “Glass Works wives” Ernestine King, Jean Wosinski, and Virginia Wright were leaders among a generation of women who arrived in Corning after World War II with college degrees and who along with raising families had a determination to use their considerable skills for the betterment of society. In looking back at their contributions, we are reminded of the importance of building and maintaining community support both in their time and in our own.
Edward A. Mainzer holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in history and a second masters and a doctorate in education, the latter from Teachers College, Columbia University. He held positions as a classroom teacher, building- and district-level administrator, counselor, and professor, at schools and universities in and around NYC for over three decades, with a focus on historically underserved populations, including learners with special needs and first-generation college-bound youth from communities of color. Since retiring to Corning with his husband he has served as president of the Corning-Painted Post Historical Society and on the city’s Historic Preservation Commission. In addition to founding the website, CorningArchitecture.com, he has published Architecture Patronage, Historic Preservation and Urban Renewal in Corning, NY, 1950-2000, the first full-length study to examine how those interconnected movements shaped the City of Corning and made it so unique.
Executive Director and Chief Curator, Arnot Art Museum
On Creating and Building Legacy
In 1910, the citizens of our region received an incredible gift: the testamentary bequest of the residence and art collection of Matthias Hollenback Arnot. His passion for fine art had been known internationally; the collection had a worldwide reputation; the substance of Mr. Arnot’s largesse became a unique asset to the quality of life in our communities. Through the ensuing century, many families and several generations have followed Arnot’s example, nourishing his namesake institution and demonstrating the importance of this institution in their lives. Pirozzolo will share reminiscences of several important gifts, both historic and recent, each of which has built upon Mr. Arnot’s legacy and nurtures a tradition of giving—for the institution and for its well-known benefactors.
Rick Pirozzolo has led Arnot Art Museum, the landmark institution of fine art in Elmira, New York acclaimed for its collection of European paintings and sculpture, Hudson River School landscapes and Contemporary Realist works since 2007. Pirozzolo is a member of the American Alliance of Museum’s Accreditation Visiting Committee and is currently President of the Board of Finger Lakes Wine Country. He has served on the boards of several arts organizations and human services agencies, including the Chemung County Chamber of Commerce, Southern Tier Economic Growth and Elmira College’s President’s Council. For the ARTS of the Southern Finger Lakes, Rick has chaired the review committee for the New York State Council on the Arts Grants programs and is the recipient of the Council’s Arts Partner Award. He is the founder of the Southern Finger Lakes Directors Roundtable, which works to encourage collaboration between and among not-for-profit cultural institutions. He is an accomplished theatrical director/designer and was Executive Director for Mark Twain ~ The Musical.
