Smithsonian American Art Museum Hosts a Virtual Conversation With Carrie Mae Weems
SAAM kicks off the reopening of their new modern and contemporary galleries with a talk by the artist on September 20.
Legendary artist Carrie Mae Weems is joined in conversation by Saisha Grayson, SAAM’s curator of time-based media, to discuss her new exhibition, Carrie Mae Weems: Looking Forward, Looking Back, opening September 22.
Described as an icon, national treasure, and genius; Weems is a moral compass in the field, entwining art and activism to address racism, sexism, classism, colonialism, and xenophobia. In the virtual conversation on September 20, Weems will discuss her career, what inspires her, and her work “Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me – A Story in 5 Parts” (2012), a major video installation that brings to life phantoms of the United States’s past to address contemporary social issues.
Recently acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the work is newly installed in a dedicated gallery that is part of the redesigned contemporary art galleries, reopening to the public on September 22. The first phase of a comprehensive reinstallation of the museum’s permanent collection galleries, titled American Voices and Visions, the reimagined galleries offer an expanded view of artist’s voices in the United States. Selected works on view highlight established strengths of SAAM’s collection, such as its leading collections of work by Black and self-taught artists, while featuring new areas of collection growth, including post-World War II and contemporary art, time-based media, and Latinx art.
Virtual Artist Conversation with Carrie Mae Weems
Wednesday, September 20, 2023, 6:30–7:30pm (ET)
Free | Registration required
Livestreamed Online via SAAM’s YouTube Channel
