Held for the first time in the Botanical Garden’s Banyan Room, the Conversations program kicks off on Thursday, December 7 at 10am with the Premiere Artist Talk featuring Los Angeles-based conceptual artist Charles Gaines and Executive Director of the Equal and Justice Initiative Bryan Stevenson, in conversation with Deputy Director of Exhibitions and Programs of the California African American Museum Naima Keith. Gaines’ work combines philosophy, mathematics, grids, photography, and music to address politics, race, and the 'self-examination of our beliefs and ideologies.' In this talk, Gaines will discuss with Stevenson and Keith his work as well as the development of Stevenson’s The National Memorial for Peace Justice and its meaning for African Americans today - click here to read more.
In Art Basel’s 2017 Miami Beach show, our Conversations series brings together 19 panels with leading international artists, gallerists, collectors, and more, programmed by Founding Director of Protocinema Mari Spirito. Watch the talks live-streamed on our Miami Beach Conversations page here.
Program highlights include:
Artworld Talk | Is Culture in the Americas in Big Trouble?
Thursday, December 7, 6pm - 7pm
Shelby White and Leon Levy Director of the Brooklyn Museum Anne Pasternak, artist Jordan Casteel, Director of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Bill Arning, and art historian Teju Cole come together to discuss the threat of a global conservative shift on culture in the Americas, and what they imagine the future holds - click here to read more.
Artist Talk | Artists’ Influencers
Saturday, December 9, 10am - 11:30am
This year’s edition of the ‘Artists’ Influencers’ talk - a series conceived by Hans Ulrich Obrist - brings together award-winning cinematographer Arthur Jafa and pianist and composer Jason Moran to discuss their relationship and individual artistic visions. Jafa’s work addresses black representation, the roles of music, news media, television and the internet, which is both empowering and exploitive. See more about this talk here.
Artist Talk | What of Indigenous Art Now?
Saturday, December 9, 5pm - 6pm
Artist Edgar Heap of Birds, Associate Curator of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian Kathleen Ash-Milby, and writer and curator Candice Hopkins examine different perspectives on the renewed visibility of indigenous people in visual art since the 1992 resurgence, and question the role of institutions, how the resurgence affected the rights of indigenous people, and wonder how more voices can be supported - click here to learn more.