The Driskell Center Announces Next Year's Tentative Schedule
May 30, 2020
A year of Events and Exhibitions Honoring the Life and Legacy of Professor David C. Driskell
In response to the death of Prof. David C. Driskell on April 1, 2020, the Driskell Center is dedicating the 2020-2021 academic year to exhibitions and events celebrating Prof. Driskell’s life and legacy. However, due to COVID-19 and unknown details regarding the academic year, the following schedule is tentative and exhibitions and events might be presented online only.
FALL 2020
Click HERE to view Spring 2021 Schedule
DAVID C. DRISKELL PAPERS EXHIBITION
Friday, September 8th through Friday, November 20th
The Professor David C. Driskell Archive of African American Art, AKA the Driskell Papers, was assembled over more than six decades and consists of an estimated 50,000 objects. Among the unique objects in the Driskell Papers are lecture notes; students’ dissertations; slides from artist studios and exhibitions; magazines; and, most importantly, correspondences with nationally known artists such as Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence, Georgia O’Keeffe, and James Porter. The Fall 2020 exhibition will include unique materials from the Driskell Papers as well as drawings by Prof. Driskell from the David C. Driskell Center Art Collection.
The Driskell Center Gallery’s hours are Monday through Friday from 11AM to 4PM with extended hours on Wednesday until 6PM. The Gallery will also be open on the following Saturdays: September 26th, October 24th, and November 14th from 11AM to 4PM.
SCREENINGS OF THE LIVING LEGACY TOUR FILMS
Dates and times are yet to be determined.
In 2018 and 2019, Profs. David C. Driskell and Curlee R. Holton travelled the country on “The Living Legacy National Speaking Tour”. These conversations highlighted Professor Driskell and his legacy as an artist, scholar, and cultural historian. The conversations introduced audiences around the country to the contributions of Professor Driskell, and of African American artists, to the country’s artistic history.
Tour Locations: David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park – October 30th 2018; Columbus Museum of Art, OH – November 11th 2018; Prizm, Miami, FL – December 5th 2018 (Miami Art Week); Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa – May 16th 2019 (with Professor Keith Morrison); The National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. – September 22nd 2019; Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, MD – October 13th 2019; Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE – October 19th 2019 (with Dr. Julie L. McGee, University of Delaware); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX – December 12th 2019.
Every tour location was filmed so that future audiences could learn from these important conversations. The films will be screened bi-weekly for the extent of the exhibition. Please check driskellcenter@umd.edu for updated dates, times, and which film is being shown.
AN EVENING TO REMEMBER
Date and time are yet to be determined.
An evening of reflection about David C. Driskell’s life; slides and photos of David will be shown from the Driskell Center collections, as well as from the collections of family and friends.
DRISKELL COLLEAGUES PANEL DISCUSSION
Date and time are yet to be determined.
This panel discussion will include a selection of former colleagues of David C. Driskell. Topics covered will include: the impact of Prof. Driskell on their lives, his overall legacy, and sharing memories. Panelists: To be announced
JULIE L. MCGEE, PH.D. LECTURE
Date and time are yet to be determined.
Julie L. McGee, Ph.D. is an art historian and David C. Driskell’s biographer. McGee is an Associate Professor of Black American Studies and Art History Associate Director of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center at the University of Delaware, Newark. McGee has written and lectured extensively on African American art and contemporary art in South Africa. She is the author David C. Driskell: Artist and Scholar, published by Pomegranate Communications in 2006. Currently she is curating the David C. Driskell retrospective exhibition, organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA and the Portland Museum of Art, Maine. The David C. Driskell Retrospective traveling exhibition, curated by Julie L. McGee will open at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA, in February of 2021.
SPRING 2021
DAVID C. DRISKELL AND HIS STUDENTS EXHIBITION
Friday, February 5th through Friday, April 30th
This exhibition will focus on works by David C. Driskell’s students and how his mentorship impacted their lives and work. Professor Driskell taught at: Talladega College, Howard University, Fisk University, and in the Departments of Art and Art History and Archeology at the University of Maryland, College Park from 1977 through 1998. Among his many students are Terry Adkins, Jeremy Austin, Art Bacon, Hans Bhalla, Gloria Brown Simmons, Starmanda Bullock, Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Adrienne Patel, Jefferson Pinder, Stephanie Pogue, Preston Sampson, Sylvia Snowden, Lou Stovall, Franklin White, and Sophia Zarambouka.
The Driskell Center Gallery’s hours are Monday through Friday from 11AM to 4PM with extended hours on Wednesday until 6PM. The Gallery will also be open on the following Saturdays: February 20th, March 20th, and April 24th from 11AM to 4PM. The Driskell Center will be closed for Spring Break March 8th through 12th.
OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday, February 4th; Time: 5:00 – 7:00PM
NINETEENTH ANNUAL DAVID C. DRISKELL CENTER DISTINGUISHED LECTURE IN THE VISUAL ARTS IN HONOR OF DAVID C. DRISKELL
Thursday, April 15th 2021
HUEY COPELAND, Ph.D. is an art historian, critic, teacher, administrator, and occasional curator based in Chicago. Currently, he is Interim Director of the Black Arts Initiative, Arthur Andersen Teaching and Research Professor, and Associate Professor of Art History at Northwestern University, where he also enjoys affiliations with African American Studies, Art Theory & Practice, Critical Theory, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Performance Studies. His research focuses on modern and contemporary transatlantic art with an emphasis on articulations of blackness in the Western visual field. In 2019, his contributions to the field were recognized by the High Museum of Art with the David C. Driskell Prize in African American Art History.
This lecture coincides with the James A. Porter Colloquium on African American Art, organized by Howard University, scheduled for April 16th through April 17th 2021.
RECEPTION: 5:30-6:00PM
LECTURE: Thursday, April 15th 2021 at 6:00PM
RSVP by Friday April 9th at driskellcenter@umd.edu or 301.314.2615
Please indicate event’s name, name(s) of the attendee(s), and contact information
DRISKELL STUDENTS PANEL DISCUSSION
Date and time are yet to be determined.
This panel discussion will include a selection of former students of David C. Driskell whose works are featured in the current exhibition. Topics covered will include: the impact of Prof. Driskell on their lives, his overall legacy, and sharing memories. Panelists: TBD; selected from the participating artists as well as Professor Driskell art history students, among them scholars such as Dr. Renée Ater, Dr. Adrienne L. Childs, and Tuliza K. Fleming.
SCREENINGS OF THE LIVING LEGACY TOUR FILMS
Dates and times are yet to be determined.
In 2018 and 2019, Profs. David C. Driskell and Curlee R. Holton travelled the country on “The Living Legacy National Speaking Tour”. These conversations highlighted Professor Driskell and his legacy as an artist, scholar, and cultural historian. The conversations introduced audiences around the country to the contributions of Professor Driskell, and of African American artists, to the country’s artistic history.
Tour Locations: David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park – October 30th 2018; Columbus Museum of Art, OH – November 11th 2018; Prizm, Miami, FL – December 5th 2018 (Miami Art Week); Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa – May 16th 2019 (with Professor Keith Morrison); The National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. – September 22nd 2019; Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, MD – October 13th 2019; Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE – October 19th 2019 (with Dr. Julie L. McGee, University of Delaware); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX – December 12th 2019.
Every tour location was filmed so that future audiences could learn from these important conversations. The films will be screened bi-weekly for the extent of the exhibition. Please check driskellcenter@umd.edu for updated dates, times, and which film is being shown.
