For Immediate Release
September 29, 2022
CLARK ART INSTITUTE RESEARCH AND ACADEMIC PROGRAM PRESENTS CONVERSATION ON FEMINISM, BLACK HISTORY, AND PERSONAL IDENTITY
Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Thursday, October 27, at 5 pm, Tsedaye Makonnen, the Futures Fellow in the Clark Art Institute’s Research and Academic Program, joins Nikki A. Greene, associate professor of art at Wellesley College, in a conversation examining feminism and the transhistorical forced migration of Black communities across the globe. The conversation explores Makonnen’s studio, curatorial, and research-based practice, and how it threads together her identity as a daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, a Black American woman, a doula, and a mother. This lecture will be held in the Clark’s Conforti Pavilion and is free and open to the public. A reception precedes the program at 4:30 pm.
Tsedaye Makonnen’s studio practice primarily focuses on feminism and migration. She intends to create a global spiritual network that recalibrates the world’s energy towards something positive. Makonnen is the current recipient of a permanent large-scale public art commission for Providence, Rhode Island. In 2019, she was a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow, and in 2021, her light sculptures were acquired by the Smithsonian for its permanent collection. Most recently, she performed at the 2022 Venice Biennale for Simone Leigh’s Loophole Retreat. At the Clark, she works on a project that explores how performance art can challenge whiteness, colonialism, and the effects of systemic forms of oppression on migration. Makonnen will exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2023.
Free; no registration is required. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events. A recorded video of this lecture releases on the Clark’s YouTube channel on November 3.
The next Research and Academic Program lecture is Zeynep Çelik Alexander’s “Imperial Data: An Architectural History” on Tuesday, November 1, at 5:30 pm.
ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 285,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday, from September through June, and daily in July and August. Advance tickets are strongly recommended. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, all visitors age 21 and under, and students with a valid student ID. Free admission is available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and EBT Card to Culture. For information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
Use of facemasks is optional for all visitors. For details on health and safety protocols, visit clarkart.edu/health.
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