Online Interactive Tributes to David C. Driskell
September 17, 2020
Join the National Gallery of Art, the David C. Driskell Center, and Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture in events honoring David C. Driskell's life and works.
The National Gallery of Art presented several online interactive tributes to David C. Driskell, who passed away in April of this year. The complete list of events is available here, which included virtual speakers, poetry salons, and the annual John Wilmerding Symposium on American Art: A Tribute to David C. Driskell. The symposium was held in partnership with the David C. Driskell Center and Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, and honored Driskell's many contributions to African American art and scholarship.
At the John Wilmerding Symposium on American Art, introductory remarks were made by Kaywin Feldman and Lonnie G. Bunch III, followed by live conversations with artists Lyle Ashton Harris, Curlee Raven Holton, Keith Morrison, Mary Lovelace O'Neal, Jefferson Pinder, Frank Stewart, and Carrie Mae Weems (moderated by Sarah Workneh). A Q&A joined by scholars Valerie Cassel Oliver, Julie L. McGee, and Alvia J. Wardlaw, who prerecorded their messages, followed.
The symposium is viewable on Facebook and YouTube.
Further, the National Gallery of Art hosted a Writing Salon entitled "Color & Verse: Poetry Inspired by the Work of Dr. Driskell." This virtual program allowed participants to compose original poetry to share their impressions of a print by Dr. Driskell. Click here to read the free-verse responses to Driskell's 2008 screenprint Woman in Interior.
Additionally, you may view a video of the keynote address: "Joy Cometh in the Morning," by Julie L. McGee, an associate professor of Africana studies and art history, director at Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center at the University of Delaware, and biographer of David C. Driskell.
Finally, you may view a video of a studio visit with Curlee Raven Holton, an artist, art historian, master printmaker, and director of the David C. Driskell Center.
These events are made possible by a grant from the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
