Join the Lunder Institute @ the deYoung Museum

in

Examine the state of American art through the lens of radical imagining and collective care. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, in collaboration with the Colby College Museum of Art’s Lunder Institute for American Art, present Making America: Conversations on Creative Work + Freedom of Expression, an afternoon of discussion featuring artists, curators, and interpretation specialists. Together, participants will explore the responsibility of art workers in the face of censorship, the aftermath of the reversal of affirmative action, and ongoing assaults on education and freedom of expression. Moving beyond the buzzwords of diversity, equity, access, and inclusion, these discussions will challenge both speakers and visitors to reassess the possibilities of creative work in shaping American life and discourse.

Making America: Conversations on Creative Work + Freedom of Expression

Saturday, February 10, 11:30 am–3:15 pm

Koret Auditorium, deYoung Museum
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, California

Schedule:

11:30 am \ A Conversation on Interpreting American Art

Livestream here.

This conversation considers the role of art museum interpretation professionals in shaping the narrative of American art within the current socio-political climate.

Featured speakers:

  • Lisa Silberstein (she/her), manager of learning, experience, and programming in the area of experience development at the Oakland Museum of California
  • Erica Gangsei (she/they), director of interpretive media at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Moderator:

Abram Jackson, director of interpretation at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

2 pm \ A Conversation on Creativity and Defiance in American Art

Livestream here.

This conversation explores the role of the artist, producing creative work, and meaning-making in the face of threats to freedom of expression.

Featured speakers:

  • American Artist
  • Diedrick Brackens
  • Rashaad Newsome

Moderator:

Devin Malone, director of public programs and community engagement at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

This program is part of Lunder Institute @, an initiative of the Colby College Museum of Art’s Lunder Institute for American Art. Lunder Institute @ programs invite thought leaders at the nation’s most prominent art institutions to engage publicly with a single question: What is the state of American art? These convenings promote discourse leading toward innovation, new areas of exploration, and possible answers to questions around what American art is and what impacts its production, scholarship, and research.

This event is free and open to all. Seating is limited and unassigned. Tickets will be distributed in front of the Koret Auditorium starting one hour before the program begins. Program admission does not include admission to the museum.

IMAGE: Rashaad Newsome, Thirst Trap (detail), 2020. Collage on paper in custom mahogany and resin artist frame with automotive paint, 45 1/4 x 43 11/16 x 4 1/2 in. (114.935 x 110.966 x 11.43 cm). Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, a gift from the Svane Family Foundation, 2022.26.24a-b. Courtesy of the artist and Jessica Silverman, San Francisco. Photograph by Randy Dodson