Kerry James Marshall—A Creative Convening

Kerry James Marshall, from The Artist Project, Season 2, "Kerry James Marshall on Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres's Odalisque in Grisaille"

«To celebrate the final weekend of the brilliant exhibition Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, The Met will host host two special events: Art School—The Studio, as part of MetFridays, on January 27, at both The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Breuer; and an all-day symposium, Kerry James Marshall—A Creative Convening, on Saturday, January 28, in The Met Fifth Avenue's Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium. The symposium will explore Marshall's radical creativity, as well as the themes and ideas inherent in each of his works.»

Marshall's art is deeply moving, but it is the artist himself who has incredible star power. In December hundreds gathered at The Met for An Evening with Kerry James Marshall, where he was joined by William C. Rhoden, writer-at-large for ESPN's The Undefeated, in a conversation that had everyone hanging on the artist's every word.

An Evening with Kerry James Marshall. Recorded December 15, 2016

Kerry James Marshall—A Creative Convening will offer the audience something different: a full day of immersion and reflection on the roles of labor innovation, and the work involved in the pursuit of mastery across disciplines. How these ideas intersect with Marshall's practice, or how they engage with his art as a springboard for new thoughts in relation to community, activism, and social justice will all be up for discussion as more than 20 participants—including artists, curators, scholars, a chef, an Olympic athlete, scientists, and innovators—explore these issues in exciting nine-minute presentations and conversations.

Left: Kerry James Marshall in his studio. Photo by Kendall Karmanian

The day will include: Kerry James Marshall, artist; Ian Alteveer, curator, Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, The Met, and co-curator of Kerry James Marshall: Mastry; Rashida Bumbray, choreographer; Kimberly Bryant, founder, Black Girls Code; Michelle Carter, 2016 Olympic shot put gold medalist; Huey Copeland, associate professor of Art History, Northwestern University; Fred Eversley, artist; Thelma Golden, director and chief curator, The Studio Museum in Harlem; Mario Gooden, author, Dark Space: Architecture, Representation, Black Identity, and professor of practice, Columbia University School of Architecture; Joe Hall, founder, Ghetto Film School; Arthur Jafa, director, artist, and cinematographer; Helen Molesworth, chief curator, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and co-curator of Kerry James Marshall: Mastry; Monique W. Morris, author and social justice scholar; Alondra Nelson, interdisciplinary social scientist and Columbia University Dean of Social Science; Robert O'Meally, Zora Neale Hurston Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Department of English and Comparative Literature, and director, Center for Jazz Studies, Columbia University; Toshi Reagon, singer-songwriter-musician; Michael N. Shadlen, professor of Neuroscience, Columbia University; Greg Tate, writer and musician; Bryant Terry, James Beard Award–winning chef, educator, and author; Hank Thomas, physicist; and Imani Uzuri, vocalist and composer.

Kerry James Marshall—A Creative Convening will be live streamed on The Met's Facebook page, and will be made available on MetMedia after the event. This program is free with Museum admission, but please note that advance registration is required and space is limited.

Related Link
Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, on view at The Met Breuer through January 29, 2017