Curator Talk: The Life and Death of Charles Williams

Wednesday, February 23, 6 – 7 pm

Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art

Engage in a conversation with Phillip March Jones, curator of The Life and Death of Charles Williams, about the exhibition.

The Life and Death of Charles Williams is the first major solo show of Charles Williams' oeuvre. A compelling storyteller and prolific creator, Williams made fantastical assemblages, comics, drawings, paintings and sculptures, referencing pop culture and addressing social issues still relevant in today's discourse. Hear from the curator of the exhibition, Phillip March Jones, about the stories behind and within Williams' pieces and the long-lasting impact the artist continues to have on creatives today.

Art after Dark: Iconic Blackness

Wednesday, February 23, 6 – 7:30 pm

Smart Museum of Art

In honor of Black History Month, Art after Dark celebrates the incomparable Nina Simone through the eyes of artist Bob Thompson, under the influence of AfriCOBRA. 

During this virtual gathering facilitated by Lead Museum Educator Nicole Bond, recreate Bob Thompson’s 1965 oil on canvas Homage to Nina Simone, using actual Kool-Aid colors, as an homage to the signature style of AfriCOBRA (the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists). Paint in the comfort of your own home or studio while relaxing to the sounds of Nina Simone music. 

I Photograph to Imagine: Shahidul Alam in Conversation with Vijay Prishad (Virtual)

Thursday, February 24, 10 – 11 am

Wrightwood 659

I Photograph to Imagine brings together two esteemed polymaths in a virtual conversation that reconsiders the purpose of documentary photography and the power structures of its distribution, as well as the propensity of the image to communicate what the world is and, as important, what it could be. How can photography be used to expose hidden truths by bearing witness?

Guest Curator/Artist talk

Friday, February 25, 1 – 2 pm

Circle Contemporary (Arts of Life)