AU Katzen Museum: Spring Exhibits
Paper Light
Now through May 22
AU Museum
With her inventive darkroom experiments, DC artist Claudia Smigrod takes the camera-less photogram into new realms that defy easy categorization. Organic forms from nature and inorganic man-made objects are transformed magically into abstract, incandescent, and deceptively complex images that are visually mesmerizing and conceptually compelling. This exhibition brings together several serial projects in which the artist has been immersed during the past decade: Paper Light, Under Study, Paper Patterns, Time and Space, Conversations, Opacity/Translucency, Proof Print and Every Thing.
Positive Fragmentation: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation
Now through May 22
AU Museum
Drawn from the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, Positive Fragmentation includes more than 150 works by 21 contemporary artists who use fragmentation both stylistically and conceptually. Through their prints, they question the status quo and suggest new perspectives. For some, the result is enough, pulling apart images and ideas exposes what lies beneath or heralds the value of each part. Other artists assemble fragments to create a new whole defined by its components. This exhibition explores these creative approaches in the work of some of the most important contemporary artists. Artists in this exhibition fragment, and often reassemble, elements including shape, color, perspective, text, idea, or stereotype. Featured artists include: Betye Saar, Wendy Red Star, Lorna Simpson, Ellen Gallagher, Jenny Holzer, Louise Bourgeois, Wangechi Mutu, Nicola López, Sarah Morris, Polly Apfelbaum, Jennifer Bartlett, Christiane Baumgartner, Cecily Brown, Judy Chicago, Nicole Eisenman, Julie Mehretu, Judy Pfaff, Swoon, Barbara Takenaga, Mickalene Thomas, and Kara Walker.
Fields and Formations
Now through May 22
AU Museum
This exhibit brings together approximately 70 works by 12 distinguished women and non-binary artists from the Mid-Atlantic region who infuse abstract paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures with emotional and metaphorical content. The artists, who span five decades in age, share interests in luminous color, repeated forms, the power of materials, and the meditative aspects of making labor-intensive works. The exhibition celebrates artists who have developed a significant part of their careers in a region bounded by Philadelphia to the north and Washington, DC to the south. The exhibit also demonstrates that the broader Mid-Atlantic area’s diverse contributions to the story of American abstraction continue to be vibrant and profound during the beginning decades of the 21st century. Featured artists include Natessa Amin, Arden Bendler Browning, Carol Brown Goldberg, Alex Ebstein, Alexis Granwell, Jesse Harrod, Maren Hassinger, Jae Ko, Linling Lu, Linn Meyers, Maggie Michael, and Jo Smail.
In Place of a Missing Place
Now through May 22
AU Museum
This exhibition of Israeli art from the AU Museum’s permanent collection will unpack landscape depictions in a range of media. It offers a historicized consideration of mythmaking, forced migration, displacement, erasure, and trauma as showcased in the works of artists whose singular nationality envelops the entirety of land encompassing two nations – Palestine and Israel. Works include gifts of Nancy Berman and Alan Bloch and those drawn from the Rothfeld Collection of Contemporary Israeli Art.
Two Places on Earth
Now through May 22
AU Museum
Chan Chao’s photographic portrait series is based on the idea of open societies, interconnection, and the world’s contraction. It features global citizens and is meant to acknowledge how beautiful the concept of an open society can be, but not in a utopian sense. This five-year project consists of multinational UN peacekeepers in Cyprus along with multinational prisoners in Peru, incarcerated for smuggling cocaine out of Lima. Chao’s intention is to blur all lines that define cultural differences, emphasize each subject’s dignity, and make portraits with restraint and quiet tenor. He presents the subjects as individuals that viewers can relate to.
Gallery Talk
April 11, 7 p.m.
Featuring the artist. Register for the Gallery Talk. This event will be held virtually. Please register to receive updates.
A Woman in the Arena Seminar
April 4, 1 – 2 p.m.
Location TBD
What challenges do women still face in the workplace and the world? In this seminar series, Sine Institute Fellow and former U.S. Representative Barbara Comstock will discuss current and historical challenges for women in leadership and government service. Topics will include what it’s like to run for office, issues involving sexual discrimination or harassment, and women’s empowerment. The seminar also will delve into the meaning of having role models, mentors, and best practices while making your path. To register: https://american.swoogo.com/Comstock.
How do you Build a Movement to End Gun Violence and Enact Social Change?
April 4, 4 p.m.
Location TBD
Join Sine Institute Fellow Shannon Watts as she illuminates how she founded Moms Demand Action, one of the nation’s largest grassroots organizations, and shows others how they can build or bolster social movements to enact change in their communities. Through her series, Shannon will bring together some of the most vital voices of the movement and share her unique journey to make her voice heard on one of the country’s most critical issues. To register: https://american.swoogo.com/Watts.
Transatlantic Ambassadors: Diplomacy in a Troubled Age
April 4, 4 p.m.
Abramson Family Founders Room and Online
The continuing COVID-19 pandemic, great power competition between the U.S. and China, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine are but a few examples of the very pressing challenges for international affairs. But they also are stark reminders of the vital importance of diplomacy to manage these troubled times. SIS professor Ambassador Sally Shelton-Colby will moderate a panel discussion on these subjects and more. Panelist include Jean-Arthur Régibeau, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to the United States; Piper Campbell, retired diplomat and former US ambassador to Mongolia; Pablo García-Berdoy, former Spanish diplomat, ambassador, and Permanent Representative to the European Union. Advance registration required. To register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/transatlantic-ambassadors-diplomacy-in-a-troubled-age-tickets-301621968427. Seating is general admission and first come, first served. This hybrid event will be livestreamed. If you would like to request an accommodation or accessibility information, please contact SIS at sisevents@american.edu.
Time to Do Things Differently: Getting Beyond Policy Silos to Boost Economic Mobility - w/Julián Castro
April 20
1 p.m., Virtual Meeting Room
Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Sine Institute Fellow Julián Castro leads this seminar. As communities across the country prepare to receive hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure and social services investment, this seminar will engage policymakers and students in conversation about how federal, state, and local governments can work creatively and effectively across policy areas – and avoid old mistakes – to lift Americans out of poverty and strengthen the middle class. Advance registration required. To register: https://american.swoogo.com/Castro.