Migration / Immigration
International Forum
For the 2016 Phillips Collection—University of Maryland International Forum, leaders across disciplines will discuss artistic and curatorial approaches to visual narratives of migration and immigration.
Event Details
For the 2016 Phillips Collection—University of Maryland International Forum, leaders across disciplines will discuss artistic and curatorial approaches to visual narratives of migration and immigration. How can art tell stories of people on the move? What is the civic role of art and art institutions in raising awareness to promote social change? Participants will discuss the ethical and aesthetical capacities of Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series to bridge the humanities, public policy, and social sciences and inspire societal change and well-being in the context of the 21st-century immigrant experience.
The event includes two staged readings of short plays written in response to The Migration Series, panel discussions with thought leaders, and a creative response from Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran. Detailed schedule of events is listed below.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
2 pm: Introduction
Dorothy Kosinski, Director, The Phillips Collection
Mary Ann Rankin, Senior Vice President and Provost, University of Maryland
2:15 pm: Staged Readings
Following introductory remarks by Curator Elsa Smithgall, there will be dramatic readings of two 10-minute plays inspired by The Migration Series written by local playwrights and commissioned by the Phillips. Featured playwrights for the afternoon include Jacqueline E. Lawton and Tearrance Chisholm. Following the readings, there will be a brief discussion between Lawton (Artistic Director and Playwright), Derek Goldman (Director), and curator Elsa Smithgall.
3pm: Panel Discussion
Visual Narratives of Migration/Immigration: Participants will use their artistic and curatorial approaches to consider visual narratives of migration and immigration, including broader discussion of what it means to be human, as well as the civic role of art and art institutions in raising awareness to promote social change.
Moderator: Vesela Sretenović, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, The Phillips Collection
Participating Panelists:
Allan deSouza, Associate Professor, University of California, Berkeley
Sara Raza, Guggenheim UBS MAP Curator, Middle East and North Africa
Stefan Falke, New York-based German artist whose photographs featuring artists on both sides of the Mexico-America border are currently on view at the DC Goethe Institut
Pedro Lasch, Professor of Art, Theory, Visual Studies, Duke University
Daniel Schwarz, LA-based artist whose digital media works examining the contested US-Mexico border is currently on view at the DC Goethe Institut
4:30 pm: Panel Discussion
Connecting Art, Societal Wellness, and Cultural Diplomacy: Participants will discuss the ethical and aesthetical capacities of Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series to bridge the humanities, public policy, and social sciences and inspire societal change and well-being in the context of the 21st-century immigrant experience.
Moderator: Steve Clemons, Washington Editor-at-Large for The Atlantic and Editor of Atlantic Live
Participating Panelists:
Rachel Goldberg, Head of K-12 Initiatives, The Phillips Collection
Julie Greene, Professor of History, University of Maryland Center for Global Migration Studies
Ambassador Hamdullah Mohib, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, University of Maryland, and Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Hoyt Brian Yee, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, US Department of State
5 pm: Creative Response by Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi is the critically acclaimed author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and a fellow at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Her book is a New York Times bestseller and has been published in 32 languages.
Please note that all details are subject to change.