PLEASE CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR EACH SEMINAR.

Using the PBS produced Art21 series, which highlights leading contemporary artists, the art history seminars will focus on African American artists and the art they create.

Designed to provide insight into the artistic process, the seminars will consider the following questions: What is African American art? How do artists handle formal issues while centering social and cultural concerns in their work? How can we engage with art that prioritizes Black issues and make those issues relevant to us, regardless of racial or ethnic identity? The seminars will connect to specific artists in the Art21 series as well as artists in the Birmingham Museum of Art’s permanent collection.

The three-week seminar descriptions are below:

Week 1: July 7—Consumption

What is the role of consumption in our society? How do we function as consumers? What do we consume and how does this affect the way we think? These are some questions that we will explore in this seminar. Some of the artists we will discuss examine consumption on multiple levels, and not in the ways that we normally think about consumption.

Week 2: July 14—Time

Time is something we all cannot get enough of, but how can we think of time outside of 24 hours a day? This week’s topic will introduce artists that consider time in their artistic process and in their art. As we will learn, time is much more than we think.

Week 3: July 21—History

History is always a bone of contention when it comes to whose history is being written. For this week’s topic, we will discuss artists who re-write history, question what history is being told, and challenge us to think more critically about the past while appreciating art and different points of view.

The seminars are Saturdays, July 7, 14, and 21 from 10 am to 12 pm. Registration fees are as follows and include seminar materials:

Sankofa Society: Free
Museum Members: $15 per class
Non-Members: $25 per class

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR EACH SEMINAR.

Deadline for registration is June 15, 2012.

Please contact Dr. Jeffreen Hayes if you have any questions at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 205.254.2565 ext. 4212.