20th Annual Distinguished Lecture in the Visual Arts in Honor of David C. Driskell SeriesProfessor Curlee R. Holton

Professor Curlee R. Holton to speak at the Driskell Center's Annual Distinguished Lecture in the Visual Arts in Honor of David C. Driskell Series

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
Date: March 11, 2021
Contact: Ms. Dorit Yaron
Title: Deputy Director
Phone: 301-405-6835
Email: dyaron@umd.edu

THE DAVID C. DRISKELL CENTER PRESENTS:
PROFESSOR CURLEE R. HOLTON, THE TWENTIETH ANNUAL
DISTINGUISHED LECTURE IN THE VISUAL ARTS SERIES
IN HONOR OF DAVID C. DRISKELL

COLLEGE PARK, MD. — The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visuals Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland will present its 2021 Distinguished Annual Lecture in the Visual Arts Series in Honor of David C. Driskell. The Annual Distinguished Lecture Series was established to provide a forum for prominent artists and scholars to educate the public about important issues pertaining to African American art and artists. This year’s lecture will be presented by Curlee R. Holton, Director of the David C. Driskell Center, will take place on Zoom on Thursday, April 15th 2021, starting at 6 pm EDT. Holton’s lecture is entitled “What’s Next? David C. Driskell Artist/Scholar/Activist; A model for future role and practices of African American Artists.” Registration is required to attend and free of charge. Click here to register.

Curlee R. Holton has been the Executive Director of the David C. Driskell Center and Artist in Residence at the Department of Art at the University of Maryland since 2012.  The David M. and Linda Roth Professor of Art, emeritus, at Lafayette College, Easton, PA, Holton is a printmaker and painter whose work has been exhibited professionally for over twenty-five years in more than thirty one-person shows and over eighty group shows. His exhibitions have been shown in prestigious national and international venues such as the Egypt’s 7th International Biennale, Cairo; the Cleveland Museum of Art, OH; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC. His work is in many private and public collections including the Yale University Art Gallery, CA; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia; and The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Holton has had articles and reviews written about his work in more than forty different publications. As part of his research and study as an artist-scholar he has lectured and presented demonstrations throughout the United States and abroad in Europe, Mexico, the West Indies, and Costa Rica.

Holton has been an artist in residence at museums, colleges, and universities. He has presented over seventy public lectures on the subjects of his work, African American art, and contemporary printmaking and has written numerous articles and essays on art and artists that have been published in catalogues and journals.

Holton earned his M.F.A. with honors from Kent State University, OH and his B.F.A. from the Cleveland Institute of Fine Arts, OH, in Drawing and Printmaking. Since 1991, he has taught Printmaking and African American Art History at Lafayette College in Easton, PA and is also the founding director of the Experimental Printmaking Institute, also at Lafayette College.  

The lecture is presented in conjunction with the 31st Annual James A. Porter Colloquium on African American Art and Art of the African Diaspora, held on April 16th 2021. The Porter Colloquium is presented by Howard University in collaboration with the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art (CASVA, NGA). This year’s virtual program will explore the theme “Defining Diaspora: 21st Century Developments in Art of the African Diaspora.” For additional information and registration, please visit https://www.nga.gov/research/casva/meetings/porter-colloquium.html.         

ABOUT THE DAVID C. DRISKELL CENTER DISTINGUISHED LECTURES IN THE VISUAL ARTS SERIES IN HONOR OF DAVID C. DRISKELL

The Annual Distinguished Lecture Series is the most prestigious lecture the David C. Driskell Center presents. Past speakers include Dr. Wil Haygood, Visiting Distinguished Professor at Miami University, Ohio; Dr. David Brigham, CEO, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem; Dr. Richard J. Powell, the John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art and Art History, Duke University; Jock Reynolds, the Henry J. Heinz II Director, Yale University Art Gallery; Dr. Johnnetta Cole, Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art; Deborah Willis, Ph.D., University Professor and Chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University; and Professor David C. Driskell.

ABOUT THE JAMES A. PORTER & DAVID C. DRISKELL BOOK AWARD

In March 2013, the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland established the James A. Porter & David C. Driskell Book Award in African American Art History. This award, which honors Professors Driskell and Porter’s legacies in the field of African American art, was created for the purpose of encouraging original research and scholarly writing on historical subjects pertaining to African American visual culture. Previous winners of the James A. Porter & David C. Driskell book Award in African American Art History include Dr. Adrienne L. Childs for Riffs and Relations: African American Artists and the European Modernist Tradition in 2020; Wil Haygood for the exhibition catalogue I Too Sing America: The Harlem Renaissance at 100 in 2019; Dr. Shawnya Harris, the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Curator of African American and African Diasporic Art at the Georgia Museum of Art for Expanding Tradition: Selections from the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Collection in 2018; Daniel Soutif for his book The Color Line: Les artistes africains-américains et la segregation in 2017;  and Christa Clark, PhD, for her book African Art in the Barnes Foundation: The Triumph of L’Art Negre and the Harlem Renaissance in 2016.

ABOUT DAVID C. DRISKELL

Trained as a painter and art historian, David C. Driskell worked primarily in collage and mixed media. Driskell maintained an active career as a practicing artist, teacher, curator, collector, art administrator, and art consultant for more than 60 years. He lectured across the globe, and his works are included in major collections of art museums throughout the world. Professor Driskell authored five exhibition catalogues on the subject of African American art. He was the recipient of numerous fellowships, awards, and prizes, including three Rockefeller Foundation Fellowships and a Harmon Foundation Fellowship. In 2000, he received the National Humanities Medal from President Clinton. In 2005, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA established the David C. Driskell Prize, the first national award to honor contributions to the field of African American art and art history.

ABOUT THE DAVID C. DRISKELL CENTER

The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland, College Park, honors the legacy of David C. Driskell (1931-2020) - Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Art, Artist, Art Historian, Collector, Curator, and Philanthropist - by preserving the rich heritage of African American visual art and culture. Established in 2001, the Center provides an intellectual home for artists, museum professionals, art administrators, and scholars, who are interested in broadening the field of African Diasporic studies. The Driskell Center is committed to collecting, documenting, and presenting African American art as well as replenishing and expanding the field of African American art. All programs at the David C. Driskell Center are free and open to the public. For further information regarding exhibitions and activities at the Driskell Center, please call 301.314.2615 or visit www.driskellcenter.umd.edu.

The David C. Driskell Center programs are supported by grants from the Maryland States Arts Council and private donors.