Visual artist and social activist Hank Willis Thomas will present the lecture “After Identity, What?” at 6 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Sheldon Museum of Art.
The lecture will address Thomas’ ongoing, socially-engaged artistic practice, which provokes viewers by subverting misconceptions and singular views of individuals and histories.
Admission is free and doors open to the public at 5:30 p.m. As seating capacity is limited, the lecture will be simulcast online.
Sheldon has recently acquired Thomas’ “Priceless #1” for its permanent collection. The work is on display through Jan. 3 in the Sheldon exhibition “Black Fire: A Constant State of Revolution.”
Thomas earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography and Africana studies from New York University, and master’s degrees in photography and visual criticism from the California College of the Arts. His first monograph, “Pitch Blackness,” was published by Aperture in 2008. He has exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the world.
Thomas’s work is held in numerous public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum, High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
His collaborative projects have been supported by the Tribeca Film Institute, Open Society Foundation, Ford Foundation, and have been featured at the Sundance Film Festival. He has permanent installations at the Birmingham and Oakland International Airports and the Oakland Museum of California.
