This event is now sold out.

A portion of the symposium will be available for viewing on Livestream.

Celebrate the opening of the special exhibition Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power with art and conversation exploring the broad spectrum of Black artistic practice between 1963 and 1983. Learn about the groundbreaking work on view in a behind-the-scenes tour with Ashley James, Assistant Curator, Contemporary Art. Then, join us for a daylong symposium including a keynote by scholar Margo N. Crawford and conversations with pioneering artists in the exhibition, including David Driskell, Sam Gilliam, and Faith Ringgold, and writers such as Elizabeth Alexander, Hilton Als, and Deb Willis. (Join us later in the evening for a dance party celebrating Soul of a Nation.)

Schedule:

• 10:30–11:30 am Tour with Ashley James, Assistant Curator, Contemporary Art (Schapiro Wing, 4th and 5th Floors)
• 11 am Welcome performance by Brooklyn-based dance company March Movements (Front Lawn on Eastern Parkway)

Symposium (Cantor Auditorium, 3rd Floor):

• 12–12:10 pm Welcome by poet Evie Shockley
• 12:10–12:20 pm Opening by Anne Pasternak, Shelby White and Leon Levy Director, Brooklyn Museum
• 12:20–12:40 pm Keynote by scholar Margo N. Crawford

Session One: Imaging the Self

• 12:40–12:45 pm Introduction by Zoe Whitley, Curator, International Art, Tate Modern, and co-curator of Soul of a Nation at Tate Modern
• 12:45–1:15 pm Photographers Beuford Smith, Ming Smith, and Herb Robinson in conversation with art historian Deb Willis

Session Two: Art as Activism?

• 1:15–1:20 pm Introduction by Mark Godfrey, Senior Curator, International Art, Tate Modern, and co-curator of Soul of a Nation at Tate Modern
• 1:20–1:50 pm Artist Faith Ringgold in conversation with her daughter, art critic Michele Wallace
• 1:50–2:20 pm Artists Jae and Wadsworth Jarrell in conversation with artist Kameelah Janan Rasheed
• 2:20–2:50 pm Break featuring a performance by March Movements

Session Three: Representing the Nation

• 2:55–3 pm Introduction by Ashley James, Assistant Curator, Contemporary Art, Brooklyn Museum, and curator of the Brooklyn presentation of Soul of a Nation
• 3–3:30 pm Artist David Driskell in conversation with Elizabeth Alexander, President, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
• 3:30–4 pm Artist Sam Gilliam in conversation with Ashley James

Closing: A Call to Action

• 4–4:45 pm Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation, in conversation with writer and theater critic Hilton Als
• 4:45 pm Closing

To request accommodations such as assistive listening devices and ASL interpretation, email us at access@brooklynmuseum.org.