Cunning Folk: Witchcraft, Magic, and Occult Knowledge Curator Talk at Stanford

HALLOWEEN EVENT at STANFORD MUSEUM

Cunning Folk: Witchcraft, Magic, and Occult Knowledge Curator Talk

Join Sara Lent Frier, Burton and Deedee McMurtry Assistant Curator, Prints, Drawings, and Academic Engagement, on this special highlights tour of Cunning Folk: Witchcraft, Magic, and Occult Knowledge exhibit at the museum.

Wednesday, October 29, 2025 at 12pm to 1pm PT

Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

FREE

RSVP for curator talk: https://events.stanford.edu/event/lunchtime-curator-talk-cunning-folk-witchcraft-magic-and-occult-knowledge

Cunning Folk museum exhibit: October 15, 2025–February 22, 2026
https://museum.stanford.edu/exhibitions/cunning-folk


CUNNING FOLK EXHIBIT

Cunning Folk considers magical practice, practitioners, and their persecution in early modern European artwork and material culture (c.1500–1750). The term “cunning folk” typically describes wise people who knew traditional spells and remedies believed to cure and protect. The works on paper, painting, and personal items on view in this intimate, single gallery exhibition more broadly explore the historical concept of “cunning” in connection to many forms of secret magical rites and knowledge, from folk charms to occult natural philosophy to diabolic witchcraft. Early modern artists also helped construct the idea of magical figures as a threat to the prevailing social order–particularly through the rise of print culture–and here, a selection of American contemporary artworks reconjure these histories.

All public programs at the Cantor Arts Center are always free! Space for this program is limited; advance registration is recommended.

Image: Dominique Viviant Denon (French, 1747–1825), A Coven of Witches (detail), 18th century. Etching. Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, gift of William Drummond

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Parking

Paid visitor parking is available along Lomita Drive as well as on the first floor of the Roth Way Garage Structure, located at the corner of Campus Drive West and Roth Way at 345 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305. From the Palo Alto Caltrain station, the Cantor Arts Center is about a 20-minute walk or there the free Marguerite shuttle will bring you to campus via the Y or X lines.

Disability parking is located along Lomita Drive near the main entrance of the Cantor Arts Center. Additional disability parking is located on Museum Way and in Parking Structure 1 (Roth Way & Campus Drive). Please click here to view the disability parking and access points.


Accessibility Information or Requests

Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University is committed to ensuring our programs are accessible to everyone. To request access information and/or accommodations for this event, please complete this form at least one week prior to the event: museum.stanford.edu/access. For questions, please contact disability.access [at] stanford.edu