On 23 September, Alice Walton, Founder of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and Darren Walker, Ford Foundation President, will host Insights from a Changing America — a free, interactive and virtual summit that brings together an extraordinary group of America’s brightest minds, influential voices, and talented artists.
This Summit, moderated by lifelong activist and renowned actress Kerry Washington, will investigate the themes and ideas raised by the Crystal Bridges’ exhibit: State of the Art 2020. Throughout 2018 and 2019, curators from Crystal Bridges travelled the nation to meet hundreds of artists in their workspaces, resulting in the selection of 61 artists who are actively engaged with themes including:
• World-building: creating real and fictional spaces
• Sense of Place: investigating ideas of home, family, and immigration
• Mapping: connections to and relationships with landscapes and power
• Temporality: the concept of time and how we perceive it
Examining a range of issues pertinent to contemporary life in the United States, the Summit program will explore these artists’ works as they relate to an America amidst transformative demographic, technological, environmental and cultural changes.
This powerful and provocative virtual gathering will connect participants with these meaningful themes in three sessions and focus on topics that have taken on a new sense of urgency: “Sense of Place: Nurturing Vibrant Communities;” “Confronting History: Changing the Narrative;” and “Shifting Grounds: Art Education for a New Age.”
The insights of the group will be captured for public dissemination as part of Crystal Bridges’ ongoing core commitment to make American art more accessible and relevant to a broader audience. Christie’s invites you to be a part of the dialogue.