CASVA 2021 James A. Porter Colloquium

To celebrate the centennial of Howard University’s department of art, the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts is honored to cosponsor Howard’s 31st Annual James A. Porter Colloquium on African American Art and Art of the African Diaspora. This event brings together artists and art historians to explore the aesthetic practices, critical issues, and art historical interpretations of the art of the African Diaspora.

Visit the colloquium's web page for complete program and registration.

Program of Events

Welcome
Lisa Farrington, associate dean for fine arts and director of the Gallery of Art, Howard University, and Steven Nelson, dean, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art, will moderate the live discussion following the presentations.

Opening Lecture
Erica Moiah James, University of Miami
Undress to Redress: African Diasporic Art History and Archives of Black Representational Bodies

Erica Moiah James is assistant professor of art history at the University of Miami. She specializes in modern and contemporary art of the Caribbean and the African and African American Diasporas. She was previously founding director and chief curator of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas. Her forthcoming publication is After Caliban: Caribbean Art in the Global Imaginary.

Lifetime Achievement Lecture
Freida High Wasikhongo Tesfagiorgis, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Reflections on My Personal / Professional Journey That Continues Amid Crises in the 21st Century

Freida High Wasikhongo Tesfagiorgis is Evjue-Bascom Emerita Professor of African and African American Art History and Visual Culture at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She has written extensively on the theory and history of the art of African and African American women artists, curated exhibitions, served as a consultant in Germany and Nigeria, and received distinguished art, teaching, and research awards. As a painter and printmaker, she has exhibited nationwide and her work is in many private and public collections, including the Chazen Museum of Art, South Side Community Art Center, and Institute of Positive Education.

James A. Porter Distinguished Lecture
Kobena Mercer, Yale University
Flowback—How Africa Is Redefining Today’s Diaspora 

Kobena Mercer is professor in history of art and African American studies at Yale University, focusing on modern and contemporary art and visual culture of the African Diaspora. He has written extensively on African American, Caribbean, and Black British artists, including James Van Der Zee, Romare Bearden, Adrian Piper, Isaac Julien, and Rotimi Fani-Kayode.

Floyd W. Coleman Sr. Distinguished Lecture
Renée Stout, Washington, DC
Thank You for Talking to Me Africa: Trusting the Voice Within

Renée Stout is a painter and sculptor based in Washington, DC. Her work is in the collections of many museums across the country, including the National Gallery of Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. She is the recipient of the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Caucus for Art, the 2020 Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Award, and the Virginia A. Groot Foundation Award.