Art, Roots and the Abstract Truth: Symposium
Join Turner Contemporary for a one-day symposium alongside the exhibition We Will Walk - Art and Resistance in the American South, with contributions from curators, artists and writers from the UK and U.S.
‘We abstracted our experience, we abstracted our life, it is an act of great artistry and genius and it is how we saved ourselves.’ – Bonnie Greer on We Will Walk: Art and Resistance in the American South.
Join Turner Contemporary for a one-day symposium alongside the exhibition We Will Walk: Art and Resistance in the American South, with contributions from curators, artists and writers from the U.K. and the U.S.
The blues, jazz and gospel music traditions emanating from the American South are well-known throughout the world. This symposium will focus on the little-known visual art traditions of the African American South which have only recently begun to receive scholarly attention.
From quilt-making to assemblages, paintings, sculptures and outdoor environments, the symposium will consider how cultural forces, including music, shaped this art as well as asking, how can art respond to racial trauma and injustice? What role did the historical context of Civil Rights struggles play in the development of previously hidden art practices in the South? How do these works challenge dominant narratives of 20th century American art and modernism?
Speakers include civil rights activist and photographer Doris Derby; writer and critic Greg Tate; curator Raina Lampkins-Fielder; artist Steffani Jemison and We Will Walk co-curators Hannah Collins and Paul Goodwin. Supported by University of the Arts London.
Book your ticket below.
Schedule - Thursday 5th March 2020
10:00
Registration and opportunity to view the exhibition in the first-floor galleries.
11:00
Welcome and Introduction to the day.
11:15 – 11:45
Curating We Will Walk
Hannah Collins and Paul Goodwin: an introduction to the exhibition by the co-curators.
Hannah Collins is an artist known for her work expanding the fields of photography and film, and co-curator of We Will Walk.
Paul Goodwin is a curator, researcher and urban theorist based in London and co-curator of the exhibition, alongside Hannah Collins.
11:45 – 12:30
Greg Tate
Greg Tate is a writer, musician and cultural provocateur based in New York.
12:30 – 13:15
Raina Lampkins-Fielder
Raina Lampkins-Fielder is Curator of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation.
13:15 – 13:30
Questions
LUNCH – 13:30 – 14:15
14:15 – 14:45
Paul Goodwin: Yards and Fugitivity
14:45 – 15:30
Doris Derby in conversation
Activist and documentary photographer Dr Doris Derby will discuss her work in the exhibition.
15:30 – 16:00
Questions and Break
16:00 – 16:45
Steffani Jemison
A performative lecture by the Brooklyn-based artist.
16:45 – 17:00
Closing remarks and questions
17:00
Freedom Road: performance by Sabina Desir and Jessica Lauren
In association with POW! Thanet
17:30 CLOSE
Book your Ticket:
*Concessions are available for: Student with valid ID, Disabled person (plus 1 complimentary companion ticket if required), Job Seekers with proof of eligibility ID, Senior 60
