FORUM: Theaster Gates, Vera List Center Biennial Prize Winner

Theaster Gates at the Dorchester Project, Chicago 2012. Photo via theartnewspaper.com. 

Theaster Gates: A Way of Working

Forum, Lecture, and Gallery Presentation at the New School

Forum

Wednesday, September 18th, 10am–2:30pm

Thursday, September 19th, 10am–12pm

The New School, Theresa Lang Community and Student Center

55 West 13th Street, 2nd Floor, New York

Artist lecture and Prize presentation

Wednesday, September 18th, 7pm

The New School, Tishman Auditorium

66 West 12th Street, New York

Gallery Presentation

Wednesday, September 18th–October 5th, 2013

Opening: September 18th, 5–6:30pm

The Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries

Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons The New School for Design

66 Fifth Avenue, New York

Hours: Daily noon–6pm, Thursdays noon–8pm

In tribute to Theaster Gates, recipient of the inaugural Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics, the Vera List Center for Art and Politics presents a conference, artist lecture and a gallery installation collectively entitled Theaster Gates: A Way of Working.

These programs are the culmination of The New School's 18-month engagement with the artist and his work, and takes place alongside numerous courses across the university. Theaster Gates: A Way of Working offers a view into how the artist develops synergies within his far-reaching work, and examines the complex ways of creating and maintaining an expanded studio practice rooted in institutional engagement, object making, and the production of space. Gates is globally renowned for his genre-defying explorations of community, history, race, and politics.

The two-day public forum (September 18–19) explores Gates' prize-winning Dorchester Projects and issues arising from the work such as migration, belief and ecologies of organizing. Voices from fields such as art, urban policy, economics, jazz, political science, and religious studies from The New School and beyond illuminate the multifaceted and ongoing project, and ultimately call for new notions of social justice brought about by aesthetic practices. Speakers include Jane Bennett (Johns Hopkins) and Shannon Jackson (UC Berkeley) as well as The New School faculty members Katayoun Chamany, Andrea Geyer, Richard Harper, Lydia Matthews, Jasmine Rault, Radhika Subramaniam, and others.

Dedicated to the artist's prize-winning work Dorchester Projects, the conference is anchored by a lecture by Theaster Gates and the presentation of the award, designed by Yoko Ono, on September 18 at 7pm. It is preceded by the opening celebration of the gallery installation at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center (SJDC) at Parsons The New School for Design from 5–6:30pm.

The gallery presentation of Theaster Gates: A Way of Working, organized to accompany the forum and spark ongoing conversation, includes excerpts of works and project series from Gates' studio. Rather than explore the chronological development of Gates' work, the presentation focuses on the uniquely non-linear nature of his methods of working, thinking, and creating. Project elements include a rickshaw inspired by recent visits to Haiti and Mexico; drawings and studies; videos; and a large-scale organizational chart mapping elements of the artist's way of working.

Launched to celebrate the VLC's 20th anniversary, the Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics honors an artist or group of artists who engage political themes and take personal risks to advance social justice in profound and visionary ways. International in scope, the biennial prize is awarded for a particular project's long-term impact, boldness, and artistic excellence. Following an extensive research and evaluation process that enlisted the advice of a jury and a nominator's council of leading artists, art historians, and curators worldwide, Theaster Gates was named inaugural recipient of the prize for his Dorchester Projects. More than a single moment of recognition, the prize represents a long-term commitment to the question of how the arts advance social justice, how we speak of, evaluate, and teach such work.

Admission to all events is free. 

For more details, visit the Vera List Center website.

Theaster Gates: Dorchester Projects from Smart Museum of Art on Vimeo.

CONFERENCE: Black Portraiture[s]: The Black Body in the West

Photo: The Merchant of Venice, 2010, Kiluanji Kia Henda

January 17, 2013 - January 20, 2013

École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts
Paris 7 University, Amphitheater
Musée du quai Branly

Paris, France

Conference organizers:

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Deborah Willis, Awam Amkpa, Manthia Diawara, Lydie Diakhaté, Cheryl Finley, Thelma Golden, Anne-Christine Taylor-Descola, Anna Laban, Christine Barthe, Jean-Paul Colleyn, Caroline Montel-Glénisson, and Raissa Lahcine

Event details: 

Paris. an internationally key and highly influential Western space in all things concerning the arts and modernity, is the perfect stage for Black Portraiture[s]: The Black Body in the West, the fifth in a series of conferences organized by Harvard University and NYU since 2004. Black Portraiture[s} explores ideas of the production of self-representation, desire, and the exchange of the gaze from the 19th century to the present day in fashion, film, art, and the archives. How do these images, both positive and negative, define, replicate, and transform the black body? Why and how does the black body become a commodity in the global marketplace and what are its legacies? Also, importantly, what are the responses and implications? How can performing blackness be liberating for performer and audience? How the black body has been imagined in the West has always been a rich site for global examination and contestation. The depiction of black peoples often has been governed by prevailing attitudes about race and sexuality. The conference will draw on the ideas and works of leading and emerging writers, photographers, scholars, artists, curators and filmmakers of our time and will include a broader discussion of Africa in the popular imagination.

Click here for event schedule and more information.

ALLIANCE CONFERENCE 2012: The Saint Louis Art Museum / July 12-15

Broad range of art experts and connoisseurs brought together for the 12th National Alliance of African and African American Art Support Groups 

The Saint Louis Art Museum will play host to “Navigating the Mainstream: Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future,” the 2012 convention of the National Alliance of African and African American Art Support Groups, on July 12-15.  

Over three days, more than 25 prominent artists and scholars will discuss the rich history and development of African and African American arts. Conference panels and presentations will also address the best practices regarding the collection and preservation of these works as well as their presentation and interpretation, especially in mainstream museums. 

In one such panel, distinguished scholar Dr. David Driskell, professor emeritus of the University of Maryland, will discuss his role in assisting many organizations and individuals in assembling art collections, most notably the Camille and Bill Cosby Collection and the Driskell collection. In 1995, Dr. Driskell supervised the White House’s first purchase of a work of art by an African American artist. 

In addition to engaging in critical discussion and reflection, conference participants will explore surrounding arts organizations such as Theaster Gates’s Rebuild Foundation, located and active in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Rebuild Foundation brings together artists, architects, developers, educators, and community activists throughout the Midwest to affect creative community change. 

The conference will also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Saint Louis Art Museum’s Romare Bearden Graduate Minority Museum Fellowship. The fellowship was named for African American artist Romare Bearden, who supported young and emergent artists throughout his life, with the goal of preparing minority graduate students for careers in arts and cultural institutions.   

The National Alliance Conference coincides with the summer exhibition of renowned print artist Kara Walker’s Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated) by KaraWalker. Featured in Gallery 321 until August 26, 2012, Walker’s prints explore historical and contemporary views of the Civil War through parataxis.  This exhibition was co-curated by the 2011-2012 Romare Bearden Graduate Minority Fellow.  

For more information on the conference, including schedules, guest speakers and registration, visit slam.org/bearden2012. Follow the conference on Twitter at @Bearden2012. 

The Saint Louis Art Museum is one of the nation’s leading comprehensive art museums with collections that include works of art of exceptional quality from virtually every culture and time period. Areas of notable depth include Oceanic art, pre-Columbian art, ancient Chinese bronzes and European and American art of the late 19th and 20th centuries, with particular strength in 20th-century German art. The Museum offers a full range of exhibitions and educational programming generated independently and in collaboration with local, national and international partners.  Admission to the Saint Louis Art Museum is free to all every day. For more information about the Saint Louis Art Museum, call 314.721.0072 or visit  slam.org.

ATLANTA: ONYX CON 3 / Southwest Arts Center / August 19 - 20, 2011

ILLUSTRATION: Khadeshia Beam by Mshindo I. Kuumba

EVENT LOCATION:

SOUTHWEST ARTS CENTER

915 New Hope Road

Atlanta, GA 30331

EVENT SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2011  

ONYXCON INSTITUTE  - 9AM TIL 4PM 

$35 general admission

$25 with proper High School or College ID
EARLY ARRIVAL SUGGESTED!

The ONYXCON INSTITUTE will feature tutorials/workshops by professional Artist in 2D and 3D techniques common in today's comic book, animation, and film industries. There will also be presentations in writing techniques. A panel discussion on SEX & VIOLENCE in The Popular Arts and how the subject matter of each one is approached, analyzed, challenged, embraced, and the impact on African Diaspora's creators and consumers of Popular Arts. THIS PANEL WILL CONTAIN LANGUAGE, SUBJECT MATTER, IMAGES, AUDIO, AND DISCUSSIONS FOR A MATURE AUDIENCE! PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

Only individuals who are 16 years and older with proper ID will be admitted to the Onyxcon Institute. Parent or Guardian must accompany anyone under 16. 18 and older are admitted to the Sex & Violence Panel. Anyone younger must present the approval of a guardian for attendance. To RSVP or for more information e-mail: onyxcon@gmail.com

THE ONYXCON OFFICIAL ART EXHIBITION - 6PM - 9PM

Entry to exhibition is free and open to the public. The exhibit will honor the late great writer of Popular Arts fiction, Mr. Dwayne McDuffie. See http://www.dwaynemcduffie.com/ for more info on this legend.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2011

ONYXCON - The CONVENTION - 11AM - 7PM

$10 General Admission

$3 for children 6-12 years old 

Free admission for children 5 years and under

Experience vendors showcasing unique comic books/graphic novels, novels, video games, toys, promotional clothing (T-shirts, etc.), the Arcade, activities, games, displays, the Art Show, book signings, cosplay/masquerades, music vibes and performances.

 

Onyxcon.com

CONFERENCE: "Re-Mixed and Re-Mastered: Defining and Distributing the Black Image in the Era of Globalization" / The New School / New York / April 8 - 10, 2011

From Friday, April 8 through Sunday, April 10, this three-day conference examines the largely overlooked impact that different modes of distribution have on content creation and format of works by and for the African American community. The failures of top-down distribution models and the advent of multi-directional communication continue to alter the evolving landscape of available content and its mediums. Central to the conference is the question of how to continue to create and distribute content that challenges the dominant narrative but that maintains its cultural relevancy. The Re-Mixed and Re-Mastered (R2) conference brings media makers, industry professionals, students and scholars of media, and film enthusiasts into a dialogue on increasing and diversifying the global distribution opportunities for media makers of color. This conference is intended to foster and strengthen a networked community committed to enhancing the visibility of high quality, independently produced media from around the world. The weekend will include screenings, panels, and workshops with media makers, cultural critics, and scholars from across the globe, as well as major industry decision makers and artists whose work speaks to issues both inside and outside the mainstream. We will present screenings of recently completed works and works-in-progress across formats, case studies, and DIY distribution techniques, including both firsthand information and alternative representations. Confirmed guest panelists include: Jill Nelson (U.S.), renowned author and former Washington Post journalist; Frances Anne Solomon (Trinidad/Canada) of Caribbean Tales Worldwide Distribution; Ava DuVernay (U.S.), director/filmmaker, I Will Follow;Tambay Obenson (Nigeria/U.S.) of Shadow and Act: On Cinema of the African Diaspora; and Hlonipha Mokoena (South Africa/U.S.), assistant professor of anthropology at Columbia University, among others. Featured New School faculty members include Sean Jacobs, Michelle Materre,Fabio Parasecoli, Rafael Parra and Tracyann Williams; participants also include New School alumni working in media, including Jennifer Carr MacArthur and Rucyl Mills. For updates, visit this site. The R2 conference’s sponsors include the Office of the Executive Dean, New School for General Studies; the New School Bachelor’s Program; the New School Department of Media Studies and Film; the New School Graduate Program in International Affairs. The event is co-sponsored by Creatively Speaking and Borderline Media.

Dates: Friday, April 08, 2011 - 6:00pm to 10:00pm Saturday, April 9, 2011 - 11:00am to 10:00pm Location: Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor Admission: Early registration: $50 before April 1; after April 1, $35 per day; $60 for two days; $75 for 3 days Free admission for all students with ID; free admission for New School faculty, staff and alumni with ID; $25 flat rate for other university faculty with ID  Box Office Information: In person purchases can be made at The New School Box Office at 66 West 12th Street, main floor, Monday-Thursday 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., and Friday 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. The box office opens the first day of classes and closes after the last paid event of each semester. Reservations and inquiries can be made by emailing mailto:boxoffice@newschool.edu?Subject=Reservations/Inquiry or calling 212.229.5488 For events scheduled during the summer term, the box office will open one hour before each event. During this period only, reservations can be made using the above contact information.

info link:

http://www.newschool.edu/eventDetail.aspx?id=53655

original source link: 

http://africasacountry.com/2011/03/12/the-black-image-in-an-era-of-globalization/