October 6, 2025 - Fritz Scholder's "Bicentennial Indian," Jill Lepore, and Projecting Protest

We continue our “Countdown to 2026”  series with the Museum of Fine Arts to look at the art  reframing  our understanding of the American Revolution. Ahead of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we zoom in on Fritz Scholder’s “Bicentennial Indian.”  Ethan Lasser, John Moors Cabot Chair, Art of the Americas and Marina Tyquiengco, Ellyn McColgan Associate Curator of Native American Art, lead the conversation.From there, Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore examines whether the U.S. Constitution still functions as a living document. Drawing on The Amendments Project—a vast archive of thousands of failed amendment proposals—Lepore argues that structural and political barriers have made constitutional change nearly impossible. In her new book, “We the People,” she traces how that paralysis has shifted the power to interpret and reshape democracy from citizens and lawmakers to the courts. You can catch Jill Lepore tonight at the First Parish Church at 7:00. The event is hosted by Harvard Book Store. To learn more go here.Finally filmmaker Tom Clement turns his lens on a new form of activism: light projections as protest. His documentary “Projecting Protest” follows artists and activists using buildings as canvases for messages that illuminate the ongoing battle between free expression, property rights, and public space. You can catch him tonight for a free screening at MassArt. The event is at 6:00. To learn more go here.