Program of Events
The 35th Annual James A. Porter Colloquium on African American Art and Art of the African Diaspora
Program of Events | Dates: April 3-5, 2025
April 3, 2025- The Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park (In-Person)
April 4, 2025- The Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC (In-Person and Live-streamed)
April 5, 2025- National Gallery of Art & Howard University, Washington DC (In-Person and Live-streamed)
April 3, 2025 (Thursday)
Thursday, April 3, 2025- The Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park (In-Person) 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
The David C. Driskell Center, The University of Maryland, College Park
4:00 p.m.: Deity of the Circle
Performance by Armond Dorsey, Bonita Oliver, and Eli Berman
2024-25 David C. and Thelma G. Driskell Award for Creative Excellence Winners
Audience members are invited to participate in simple choreography, call-and-response, clapping, and responding to questions from the performers over the course of the musical storytelling.
5:00 p.m.: Tea Reception
6:00 p.m.: Evening Program
Welcome & Remarks
Dr. Jordana Moore Saggese
Professor, Department of Art History & Archaeology
Director, The Driskell Center
The Driskell/Porter Book Award in African American Art History 2025
Presented by Dr. Tess Korobkin
Assistant Professor, Department of Art History & Archaeology
Dr. Lisa Gail Collins, Stitching Love and Loss: A Gee's Bend Quilt (University of Washington Press, 2023)
The David C. Driskell Distinguished Lecture
Dr. Kellie Jones
Hans Hofmann Professor of Modern Art
Columbia University
“Suzanne Jackson: Ecologies of Abstraction”
April 4, 2025 (Friday)
Friday, April 4, 2025- The Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC (In-Person and Live-streamed)
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.: Private exhibition tour of Shape of Power by Karen Lemmey, Grace Yasumura and Tobias Wofford for Porter Colloquium participants (REGISTRATION REQUIRED)
10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Welcome
Jane Carpenter Rock, acting director, Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gwendolyn Everett, Interim Dean, Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, Howard University
11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Floyd Coleman Distinguished Session- State of the Field Discussion
Camara Holloway, Wildenstein Plattner Institute
Jacqueline Francis, California College of the Arts
12:00 p.m. - 12:45 p.m. James A. Porter Distinguished Lecture
Charles L. Davis II, School of Architecture, University of Texas, Austin
12:45 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. LUNCH ON YOUR OWN
2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. Panel: Making Difference
Michelle Al-Ferzly, Beinecke Rare Books & Manuscript Library, Yale University (remote)
Thomas Dale, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Elena FitzPatrick Sifford, Muhlenberg College
3:30 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. Panel: Race in the Modern Imagination
Paul Chaat Smith, National Museum of the American Indian
Lily Cho, York University
Shawn Michelle Smith, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Moderator: Camara Holloway
5:00 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. Panel on The Shape of Power exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
● Renée Ater, Visiting Associate Professor, Africana Studies, Brown University & advisory council forThe Shape of Power
● Karen Lemmey, Lucy S. Rhame Curator of Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum & co-curator of The Shape of Power
● Grace Yasumura, Assistant Curator, Smithsonian American Art Museum & co-curator of The Shape of Power
● Tobias Wofford, Chair, Art History Department, Virginia Commonwealth University & co-curator of The Shape of Power
● Jada Adkinson, MFA Student, George Washington University & Howard University collaborator and intern for The Shape of Power
● Moderator: Anne Showalter, Head of Interpretation, Smithsonian American Art Museum
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. McEvoy Lobby Auditorium
April 5, 2025 (Saturday)
Saturday, April 5, 2025-National Gallery of Art, Washington DC (In-Person and Live-streamed) -morning and early afternoon Sessions & Howard University 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Celebrating Elizabeth Catlett
East Building Auditorium and Virtual
Held in collaboration with Howard University’s 35th Annual James A. Porter Colloquium.
10:30 a.m.. - 11:30 a.m.: Private exhibition tour by Dalila Scruggs and Lynn Matheny for Porter Colloquium participants (REGISTRATION REQUIRED)
12:00 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.: Introduction by Dalila Scruggs.
Catlett’s studio practice and workshop collaborations: David Mora Catlett + Susan J. Goldman. Moderated by J.V. Decemvirale.
12:45 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.: Catlett’s Life Story and the Role of Howard University:
K.E. Coney-Ali
Melanie Herzog
Lowery Stokes Sims
Howard University
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Closing Session: Artists Rethinking Race
Derrick Adams (Brooklyn College)
Zoe Charlton (George Mason University)
Juana Valdes (University of Massachusetts-Amherst)
Moderator: Jacqueline Francis
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Awards Recognition Reception at the Howard University Gallery of Art
● 2025 James A. Porter Book Award Recipient - Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw
● 2025 Inaugural Floyd Coleman Professional Excellence Award– Jacqueline Francis & Camara Dia Holloway