Virtual Events   

Controversial and iconic, Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1959 Guggenheim Museum stands as one of the twentieth century’s most important buildings and a New York City landmark. Its nearly two-decade gestation and contentious design process form a notorious narrative that encapsulates the unconventional life and career of this iconoclastic, quintessentially American architect. More than half a century since its opening, both New Yorkers and visitors have engaged in ongoing debates about its meaning and merits as a museum. As Wright once expressed in a letter regarding the design, “The whole thing will either throw you off your guard entirely or be just about what you have been dreaming about.”

Our presenter for this virtual tour is John Kriskiewicz, a native New Yorker with a degree in architecture from Pratt Institute. He has taught courses focusing on architectural and city planning history at Parsons School of Design, The Cooper Union, Fashion Institute of Technology, Stern College for Women, and Manhattan College. John has designed travel programs and lectures for many of New York City’s institutions and corporations including Road Scholar/Explore New York. He admits to a special affinity for New York’s extensive infrastructure as well as its Mid-Century Modern heritage. His published writings include articles in The New York Times, Architectural Record, and Yale School of Architecture’s publication Constructs.

The end of the road on any continent is a bucket list item for many travelers. This is especially true for motorcyclists. The ride to Nordkap on the arctic Barents Sea takes one through the Baltic States, Lapland’s Rovaneimi - the alleged hometown of Santa, and to the northern most point in Europe. A great way to return is island-hopping along the Norwegian coast, with spectacular scenery, scores of bridges, ferries and tunnels up to 27 km long. It can also be staggeringly expensive unless you learn to cook and sleep on the ground. John spent 6 weeks making a big circle around Scandinavia on a 25 year old motorcycle. In a land where a gallon of gasoline and a pint of beer both cost $12, John ate plenty of reindeer stew and ramen noodles cooked up beside the road. He got a little cold, a little wet, and forever seduced by Scandinavia’s fjords, islands, and mountain passes. Find out what you may be missing as our OLLI group joins John Deikis on this exploration of Finland.

John Deikis, our presenter, caught the travel bug working on an ocean-going ship in the 1960’s. He later spent a year wandering to the southern tip of South America, Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, the North Cape of arctic Europe, and the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. Interrupted by an unexpected adulthood, John returned to traveling when he retired from a career as a clinical psychologist 10 years ago. His preferred mode of travel now is by motorcycle and he has ridden in every state and Canadian province, most European countries, Latin America and Egypt.

Join a docent-led tour of the 2024 special exhibition Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings, featuring artworks excavated from the capital of the ancient Shang Dynasty (ca. 1250 BCE–ca. 1050 BCE), the source of China’s earliest surviving written records and the birthplace of Chinese archaeology. This exhibit of remarkable artifacts includes jade ornaments, ceremonial weapons, bells, chariot fittings and bronze vessels. Learn about the advanced technology of bronze casting, explore intricate and sophisticated designs of ritual objects, and discover famous “oracle bones.”

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art is home to more than 46,000 objects from the Islamic world; the ancient Near East; South, East, and Southeast Asia; and the United States. Located in Washington DC, the Smithsonian institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex with twentyone museums and the National Zoo. The institution was founded in 1846 with funds from the Englishman, James Smithson (1765-1829) according to his wishes “under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” As the first art museum of the Smithsonian, the Freer Gallery of Art, combined with the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, has a hundred-year legacy of preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting exemplary works as the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.

Experience the magic of A Longwood Christmas! During this festive season, prepare to be amazed as our OLLI group is extended an invitation to ‘virtually’ explore the wondrous spaces of Longwood Gardens at its holiday best. Our group will experience many decorated spaces… marvel at ‘select’ how-didthey-do-that displays … and enjoy spectacular beauty at every turn.

A living & expanding expression of its 1920’s founder, Pierre S. du Pont, Longwood Gardens covers 200 plus acres located about an hour west of Philadelphia. At its’ beginning in the early 1960s, the holiday display included a modest 1,000 poinsettias indoors and a small Christmas Tree Lane in the parking lot. Nothing compares to the growth of Longwood’s Christmas display. On site attendance soared as more features were added and by 1984 there were 81 trees outdoors with 60,000 lights. Today, as many as 300,000 guests enjoy an extravaganza of 400,000 lights, 200 concerts, dancing fountains, and superb floral displays – just the sort of spectacle that Mr. du Pont loved.

Our virtual stroll will be led by Jim Sutton, Associate Director, Display Design as our group is guided through paths outside decorated with hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights and the historic Main Conservatory, where magnificently decorated trees, thousands of poinsettias, and fragrant flowers transform Pierre S. du Pont’s fabled glass house into a holiday wonderland. Our discussion will be facilitated by Timothy Gould, Director of Continuing Education, Longwood Gardens.