In Common: New Approaches with Romare Bearden (exhibition)
Opening reception: Thursday, November 9, 2023 6:00 – 8:00 pm (EDT)
Register for link: https://rb.gy/rswk9
The exhibition In Common: New Approaches with Romare Bearden highlights Romare Bearden’s work as an artist, educator, scholar, songwriter, and social activist. Drawing from the Romare Bearden Foundation collection and other private collections, the exhibition presents a selection of works demonstrating Bearden’s keen exploration of race and racial stereotypes, often taking inspiration from history, literature, the Bible, jazz, and African-American communities.
His work is complemented by six leading and emerging contemporary artists—Black Quantum Futurism, Kahlil Robert Irving, Lorraine O’Grady, Hank Willis Thomas, Mickalene Thomas, and Charisse Pearlina Weston—whose visions resonate with those of Bearden and contribute to a multigenerational dialogue on the political agency of art.
This exhibition is part of the multi-tier initiative In Common: Romare Bearden and New Approaches to Art, Race & Economy, which includes a symposium and forthcoming publication co-organized by The New School’s Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, the Romare Bearden Foundation, and The Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University.
In Common: Romare Bearden and New Approaches to Art, Race & Economy (symposium)
November 30- December 2, 2023 More info here: https://event.newschool.edu/incommon-symposium
Two generations after the passing of American icon Romare Bearden in 1988, The New School’s Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, the Romare Bearden Foundation, and The Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University Newark combine forces to examine Bearden’s legacy under three distinct lenses: the impact of his activist work, especially his prints; the role of music in both his practice at large and the activist projects; and the resonance of his oeuvre in contemporary art making.
The multi-tier initiative In Common: Romare Bearden and New Approaches to Art, Race & Economy consists of a three-day symposium, an exhibition, and a forthcoming publication.
Featuring contemporary creative works and perspectives from socially-conscious, politically engaged BIPOC artists and commentators, the symposium will draw on Bearden’s activist legacy to spotlight the potent, yet still-too-rarely-acknowledged relationships between race, culture, economy, and the Common Good.
Through plenary discussions, live performances, and a striking new exhibition, we will investigate the themes of purposeful creativity, the artist as activist, BIPOC leadership in creative culture and economy, and much more.
Join us to explore the intersections of art, culture, race, and economy, with a strong focus on engagement and action for social change.
Presented by The Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy, the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, Schools of Public Engagement at The New School, The Romare Bearden Foundation, and The Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University Newark.