Materials Lab Workshop: Casting Connections—Molds, Replicas, and Questions of Authorship

Join research curator Francesca Bewer for a hands-on workshop examining the relationships among models, molds, and casts. Participants will explore how molding and casting have been used to create, reproduce, preserve, and study three-dimensional objects, while considering how those processes reflect skill, technology, and value.

Using clay, plaster, wax, alginate, and silicone putty, the group will experiment with several molding and casting techniques. The workshop also introduces scientific tools for identifying traces of process and change. Discussions and comparisons with historical plaster casts, wax models, and other surrogates in the Harvard Art Museums collections will consider when a replica may be viewed as fake, genuine, or somewhere in between, as well as how copies support museum research, teaching, and conservation.

When: Friday, November 20, 2026

Showtimes: 1:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m.

Format: In-person workshop

Instructor: Francesca Bewer, research curator

Venue: Harvard Art Museums, Materials Lab, Lower Level, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Tickets: $75, paid at registration; $60 for current Fellows, Friends, and Partners, paid at registration

Registration: Advance registration is required. Materials are included.

Ages: 14 and older

Accessibility: To request accommodations, contact Visitor Services at am_register@harvard.edu or 617-495-9400. Additional information is available through the museums’ accessibility resources.

Note: The workshop is part of a fall series exploring different media through the lens of art and science.