2023 Annual Distinguished Lecture in the Visual Arts in Honor of David C. Driskell Series
March 24, 2023
Dr. Saggese 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 27, 2023
Contact: Mrs. Ella Castleberry-Kapote
Title: Program Administrative Specialist
Phone: 301-314-2615 Email: ecastleb@umd.edu
THE DAVID C. DRISKELL CENTER PRESENTS:
THE 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 2023 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 series will take place on Thursday, April 13th 2023, starting at 6 pm EDT. Click here to register
This is not a Drill: Performance, Endurance, and the Black Body in Public Space
Click here for additional information and registration for events related to the 33rd Annual James A. Porter Colloquium.
Jordana Moore Saggese (she/her) is Professor modern and contemporary American Art the University of Maryland, College Park and the former Editor-in-Chief for the College Art Association's Art Journal. Trained as an art historian, Saggese's work focuses on modern and contemporary American art, with an emphasis on expressions of Blackness. She is an internationally-recognized expert on the work of the American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-88), and has published two books on his life and work: Reading Basquiat: Exploring Ambivalence in American Art (UC Press, 2014) and The Jean-Michel Basquiat Reader: Writings, Interviews and Critical Responses (UC Press, 2021). Her forthcoming book Heavyweight: Black Boxers and the Fight for Representation is forthcoming from Duke University Press.
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. Julie L. McGee, Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Art History, and Director of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center at the University of Delaware; 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.
