On Soul of a Nation's opening day, The Broad will present a day of enriching conversations, artist talks and poetry, organized by UC Irvine professors Bridget R. Cooks (associate professor, Department of African American Studies and Art History, UC Irvine) and Frank B. Wilderson III (professor and chair of African American Studies, UC Irvine). The event will include compelling conversations between artists featured in the exhibition, such as artists Jae and Wadsworth Jarrell and Gerald Williams with Vida L. Brown (visual arts curator, California African American Museum), among others, as well as renowned art historians and curators like Thelma Golden (director and chief curator, The Studio Museum), Phyllis J. Jackson (associate professor, art history, Pomona College), Kellie Jones (professor, art history and archaeology and the Institute for Research in African American Studies, Columbia University), and Naima J. Keith (deputy director and chief curator, California African American Museum).
A reading will be given by distinguished poet Kamau Daáood, author of The Language of Saxophones: Selected Poems of Kamau Daáood and the critically acclaimed album, Leimert Park. Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, will speak in conversation with Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay.
Tickets ($20; $15 student) include one-time, anytime access to Soul of A Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983 and are available here.
SCHEDULE:
10:05-10:30AM
Introductory Remarks
10:05-10:10AM- Welcome, Joanne Heyler, Founding Director, The Broad
10:10-10:20AM- Mark Godfrey and Zoe Whitley, Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983 Organizing Curators
10:20-10:30AM- Bridget R. Cooks and Frank B. Wilderson III: Introduction to the Symposium
10:35AM-11:50AM (1 hour conversation / 15 min Q&A)
Panel 1: The Politics of Black Exhibitions
Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator, The Studio Museum in Harlem
Kellie Jones, Professor, Art and Archaeology and the Institute for Research in African American Studies, Columbia University
Naima J. Keith, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, California African American Museum
Facilitator: Bridget R. Cooks, Associate Professor, African American Studies and Art History, UC Irvine
11:55AM-12:40PM
Panel 2: AfriCOBRA Artists
Soul of a Nation artists Jae Jarrell, Wadsworth Jarrell, and Gerald Williams
Vida L. Brown, Visual Arts Curator, California African American Museum
12:40-2:10PM
Lunch
2:10-3:00PM
Conversation
Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation
Ava DuVernay, Director and Filmmaker
3:05-3:50PM
Conversation
Mel Edwards, Soul of a Nation artist
Dale Davis, Artist and Co-Founder, Brockman Gallery
3:55-4:55PM (45 min conversation / 15 min Q&A)
Panel 3: Black Power and Politics
Frank B. Wilderson III, Professor and Chair of African American Studies, UC Irvine
Phyllis J. Jackson, Professor, Art History, Pomona College
5:00-5:20PM
Poetry Reading
Kamau Daáood, Performance poet, artist, and community activist
5:25-5:30PM
Closing Remarks
Bridget R. Cooks and Frank B. Wilderson III