African Art in Motion: A Symposium on the Legacy of Robert Farris Thompson

Black Atlantic. Flash of the spirit. Face of the Gods. With formulations of striking poetic insights and arresting analytical power, which he coined or amplified, Robert Farris Thompson mapped the contours and sketched paths for the study of African expressive cultures, worldwide. Curators, artists, scholars, practitioners, and the public at large have drawn inspiration and research direction in the radically inventive, paradigm-shifting writings, teachings, and exhibitions he brought into the world over nearly six decades. As the Head of Timothy Dwight College for 32 years, Professor Thompson transformed the very nature of classroom pedagogy, bringing together music, dance, dress, sport, and most of all, the visual arts. 

This symposium gathers innovative scholarly, artistic, and curatorial voices to think anew about African art, in motion, and reflect on present and future paths for boundary-pushing scholarly, museographic, and pedagogical approaches to African expressive cultures.

The schedule for the day can be found below. Please note that the event will take place in person and will not be livestreamed. We look forward to seeing you there!

SCHEDULE

9:00 am Introduction by Milette Gaifman, Chair, History of Art Department, Andrew Downey Orrick Professor of Classics and History of Art, Yale University, and Mary Miller, Director of the Getty Research Institute, and Sterling Professor Emeritus of the History of Art, Yale University

9:15 am I. PEDAGOGY

Moderated by Richard J. Powell, John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art and Art History, Duke University

Sarah Lewis, John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities and Associate Professor of History of Art and Architecture and African and African American Studies, Harvard University
Michael Veal, Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Music, African American Studies, and American Studies, Yale University
Steven Nelson, Dean of The Center at the National Gallery of Art

11:15 am II. SCHOLARSHIP

Moderated by Kellie Jones, Hans Hofmann Professor of Modern Art in the Department of Art History and Archaeology, Chair of the Department African American and African Diaspora Studies, Columbia University

J. Lorand Matory, Lawrence Richardson Distinguished Professor of Cultural Anthropology and African and African American Studies, Duke University
Henry J. Drewal, Former Evjue-Bascom Professor, Emeritus Professor of Art History and Afro-American Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Cécile Fromont, Professor, History of Art Department, Yale University

2:30 pm III. ART/MUSEUMS

Moderated by James Green, The Frances and Benjamin Benenson Foundation Assistant Curator of African Art, Yale University Art Gallery

Nana Adusei-Poku, Assistant Professor, Departments of African American Studies and History of Art, Yale University
María de los Angeles Rodríguez Jiménez, Artist
Kalia Brooks, Director of Programs and Exhibitions, NXTHVN

4:15 pm Closing Remarks by Gerald Jaynes, A. Whitney Griswold Professor of Economics, African American Studies, and Urban Studies, Yale University