Ekene Ijeoma’s Black Mobility and Safety in the US course this fall will include a series of public guest lectures around living while Black. Tune in for the first event of the series featuring Hank Willis Thomas and Hugh Hayden on September 8 at 2pm.
Event
Black Mobility and Safety Seminar: Black Progress with Hank Willis Thomas and Hugh Hayden
Hank Willis Thomas
Hank Willis Thomas is a conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to perspective, identity, commodity, media, and popular culture. Influenced by social history and the hard-fought, perennial battle for equality in all areas of his work, Thomas co-founded For Freedoms with artist Eric Gottesman in 2016 as a platform for creative civic engagement in America. More broadly, Thomas’ projects, both personal and collaborative, explore Black progress in the 21st century, often considering overlooked historical narratives. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad including the International Center of Photography, New York; Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain; Musée du quai Branly, Paris; Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong, and the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Netherlands. Thomas received honorary doctorates from the Maryland Institute of Art, Baltimore, MD and the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts, Portland, ME in 2017.
Hugh Hayden
Hugh Hayden is an artist working primarily with themes related to history, identity, and citizenship. Through sculpture, large-scale installations, and interactive food events, his work often confronts the making of America and challenges existing narratives and potentialities. More broadly, his practice considers the anthropomorphization of the natural world as a visceral lens for exploring the human condition. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad including Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey; Lisson Gallery, New York and London; White Columns, New York; JTT, New York; Clearing, New York and Brussels; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; PPOW Gallery, New York; Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York; Postmasters Gallery, New York; MoMA PS1, Rockaway Beach, New York; Socrates Sculpture Park, New York; and Abrons Art Center, New York, among others. He is the recipient of residences at Glenfiddich in Dufftown, Scotland (2014); Abrons Art Center and Socrates Sculpture Park (both 2012), and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (2011). He holds an MFA from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University.