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Art historian and curator Dr. Kellie Jones delivers the 19th annual AICA-USA Distinguished Critic Lecture at The New School, presented in partnership with the Vera List Center for Art and Politics. In this lecture, Jones reflects on the theoretical legacy and cultural production of Black women in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, raising questions of intellectual lineage and material knowledge.
Scholar Brittney Cooper has argued that the best way to honor Black women’s intellectual and cultural production is not simply to admire and revere them but to dive into and sit with their work. And while we may not always agree with these figures, we need to trust them and take their theoretical imaginations seriously.
Jones extends this framing of trust, of sitting with the work, to a discussion of knowledge as a material entity, as something tangible. She engages with Cooper’s idea of “embodied discourse,” Black women centering the experiences of Black (primarily working class) women, as the basis of social thought. Intersecting identities (of gender and blackness) are not viewed as a burden but as energizing forces that open up possibilities for greater social and public responsibility and engagement, as well as hope.
Historically, women’s thought has been overlooked. Yet it often does come into view later, often as organic intelligence or ascribed to others. Referencing scholars such as Julia Bryan-Wilson, Lisa Farrington, Linda Nochlin, and Deborah Willis, Jones asks: What would the long arc of art history look like through the lens of women’s lives? In this light, how does what we know now and how we know it differ today? In what ways does that take into our future?
Presented by Vera List Center for Art and Politics at Schools of Public Engagement.
This program will be livestreamed, the link will be sent out to registered guests prior to the event.
This program will feature ASL interpretation. Wheelchair or mobility device seating is available. Please let us know if you need any accommodation when registering or by emailing vlc@newschool.edu.
The Theresa Lang Student and Community Center is on the 2nd floor of Arnhold Hall, located at 55 West 13th Street. It is accessible by elevators and there are accessible restrooms on that floor and all gender restrooms on the ground floor.
The nearest accessible subway stations are the 14 St-Union Sq L, N, Q, R, W and the 14 St/6 Av F, M, uptown only; and the 6th Ave L is fully accessible.
The Vera List Center tries to share its programs as widely as possible, which means recording our programming and making it available on the Vera List Center and The New School websites. By attending the event, you consent to photography, audio recording, video recording and its/their release, publication, or exhibition. You can view past Vera List Center events at veralistcenter.org/events/past.
Committed to amplifying diverse voices, The New School offers more than a thousand public programs and events each year, providing fresh perspectives and unique learning opportunities. These lectures, exhibitions, concerts, and performances feature prominent and emerging artists, activists, and thought leaders.
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Launched to recognize the center’s 20th anniversary, the Jane Lombard Prize for Art and Social Justice (formerly known as the Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics) honors an artist or group of artists who has taken great risks to advance social justice in profound and visionary ways. International in scope, the biennial prize is awarded for a particular project’s long-term impact, boldness, and artistic excellence.
The prize initiative unfolds across various platforms and over an extended period of time. It serves as a catalyst for activities that illuminate the important role of the arts in society, and strengthen teaching and learning at The New School in art and design, social science, philosophy, and civic engagement. More than a single moment of recognition, it represents a long-term commitment to the question of how the arts advance social justice, how we speak of, evaluate and teach such work.
An exhibition of the winning project, a conference, integration into classes, and a publication featuring select nominated projects complement a cash award and short-term New York City residency for the honoree. In the spirit of the center’s twenty-year history, the prize provides the opportunity for an ongoing public conversation on art and social justice as a global issue that engages audiences in New York City, nationally and around the world.
In gratitude to Jane Lombard, whose generous donations to The Vera List Center make possible the continuation of the aforementioned efforts and initiatives, the Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics was renamed the Jane Lombard Prize for Art and Social Justice, starting with the 2018–2020 biennial prize cycle.
Ruth Estévez is a writer, performer, and curator focusing on the development of new artistic fields of knowledge through research and interdisciplinary initiatives. She is currently the co-director of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Previously, Estévez was the Artistic Director of Amant, an alternative art space in Brooklyn (2020–23), Senior Curator of the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University (2018–20), and co-curator of the 34th São Paulo Biennial (2021). She organized the performance festival Idiorrhythmic at MACBA in Barcelona (2017–20) and was the gallery director and curator of REDCAT/Calarts (2012–18). Estévez co-founded LIGA-Space for Architecture and Spatial Practices in Mexico City (2010–). She holds a BFA in Video and Performance by the UPV at the Basque Country and an MA in Art History from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). She is currently finishing her PhD in Art, Education, and Research at the University of Castilla–La Mancha, Cuenca, focused on the aesthetic, social, and political shifts of collective creation in performance art, architecture, and theater.
