(Photo by Brendan Sostak, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
WILLIAMSBURG — The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation will host its annual Working Wood in the 18th Century Conference Jan. 23-26.
Offered both virtually and in-person, the foundation said this year’s conference will explore the ingenuity and quality reflected in pre-Revolutionary furniture belonging to people from diverse walks of life.
Colonial Williamsburg’s senior curator of furniture, Tara Chicirda, will open the conference with a keynote on how people furnished their homes in the 18th century and how museum curators decide how to furnish those spaces today, according to the foundation.
Steve Brown, renowned cabinetmaker and teacher, will lead attendees through the process of building a Virginia cabriole-leg dressing table. Author and woodworker Megan Fitzpatrick will explore the dovetails, case construction, and painted surfaces of blanket chests, it added.
Colonial Williamsburg joiners Brian Weldy and Ayinde Martin will use a variety of benches to demonstrate the sophisticated greenwood turning and joinery techniques found in seemingly humble forms, the foundation explained, and to better understand how the timber to build and furnish a town was processed, Colonial Williamsburg carpenter, Matt Sanbury, and his team will offer a glimpse into how to hew and pitsaw logs into lumber.
Colonial Williamsburg cabinetmakers Bill Pavlak and John Peeler will trace the evolution of style and construction along with economic factors as they demonstrate aspects of fall-front desks and drop-leaf dining tables. Colonial Williamsburg senior conservator of furniture Chris Swan will consider how furniture’s appearance has evolved over time by considering changing surface qualities, it added.
The foundation noted several projects featured at this conference are destined for Colonial Williamsburg’s restoration of the Williamsburg Bray School (1760-74), the oldest known building in the United States in which enslaved and free Black children were educated and the home of its middle-class teacher, Ann Wager. Executive Director of Architectural Preservation Matt Webster will discuss the building’s exciting rediscovery and restoration during the banquet’s keynote, and the conference will kick off with a short film looking at the material world of the Bray students.
To register and view the full conference agenda, visit colonialwilliamsburg.org/working-wood. The majority of conference activities will take place at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg.
A variety of exclusive pre-conference activities are available for in-person registrants, as are special room rates at Colonial Williamsburg hotel properties. In-person registration includes presentations; opening reception; continental breakfasts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday; coffee and refreshment breaks; and a conference dinner Saturday evening.
Virtual-only registration includes access to all presentations through the conference streaming platform.
Both in-person and virtual-only registration include a seven-day ticket voucher to Colonial Williamsburg’s Art Museums and Historic Area, valid for redemption through Dec. 31, 2025.
Registration and payment in full are required by Jan. 3 for in-person attendance and by Jan. 23 for virtual attendance.
Additional information is available at colonialwilliamsburg.org/learn/conferences or by calling 1-800-603-0948 toll-free or emailing educationalconferences@cwf.org.
