By Achilles’ Tomb: Elliott Hundley and Antiquity @ SBMA 

Collages of the Classical: The Hallucinatory Brilliance of Elliott Hundley

Sunday, May 31, 2026 | 11 am
Mary Craig Auditorium, SBMA, 1130 State Street

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Professor Helen Morales' presentation will address art in the exhibition By Achilles’ Tomb: Elliott Hundley and Antiquity @ SBMA  and how the artist uses Greek myth to comment on contemporary concerns. She will consider stories about the tomb of the tragic hero Achilles, and make comparisons between Hundley's art and the recent collages of Kara Walker and Lynne Huffer, which also use the classical to raise urgent contemporary questions.

Professor Morales is the Argyropoulos Professor in Hellenic Studies at UCSB, and the author of Antigone Rising: the Subversive Power of the Ancient Myths. Elliott Hundley is an LA-based artist responsible for a dynamic reinstallation of SBMA's antiquities collections in Ludington Court, which is on view until May 31, 2026.

Parallel Stories – Memory Rehearsal: Eleni Sikelianos

Thursday, March 21, 2026 | 5 – 6:30 pm
Mary Craig Auditorium, SBMA, 1130 State Street

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One of Publishers Weekly’s Most Anticipated Books for 2026 To mark the closing of Elliott Hundley’s By Achilles’ Tomb, celebrated author Eleni Sikelianos will read from her latest book, Memory Rehearsal, a genre-busting encounter between a poet and her ancestral past documenting a startling intersection of queer history, ancient theater, utopian visions, and modern poetry.

Co-sponsored by the Argyropoulos Chair in Hellenic Studies, UCSB

Book signing to follow.

Through the Lens of the Senses: Scent Studio & Dance

Sunday, August 10, 2025 | 2:30 – 5:45 pm
Front Terrace, SBMA, 1130 State Street

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By Achilles’ Tomb, a reinterpretation of the Museum’s Greco-Roman antiquities, by artist Elliott Hundley, reminds us that ancient culture can be remade and repurposed today by anyone, from anywhere, no expertise in ancient Greek required. In keeping with this spirit of playful reinterpretation experience two such explorations—one dance, and one scent.

Scent Studio

2:30 – 4:45 pm

Visitors 18 and over are invited to explore and experiment with the potions and perfumes of antiquity. Museum Teaching artists invite participants to sniff, sample, blend, and brew. Classics Professor Dorota Dutsch will link the current day to classical origins in brief interactive presentations. Come for the scents, stay for the dance.

Dance

4:45 – 5:15 pm and 5:30 – 5:45 pm

As the Museum closes, visitors will be invited to follow dancers from the galleries on to the terrace for a performance choreographed by Laura Gorenstein Miller. The State Street facing portion of the dance will be repeated at 5:30 pm. A contemporary take on the legend of the Phoenix, this sensual exploration reimagines the myth of the immortal bird extending from ancient Greece to Egypt to Israel via the Jewish tradition in the Talmud and Christian Europe in an irresistible story of regeneration and renewal, bringing life and hope. Lose yourself in this dual seduction of sight and scent.

This performance has been made possible through the generosity of Starr Siegele.