Art Basel in Miami 2025, December 5

Conversations | Writing history now: Art, memory, and the shaping of the present

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Hank Willis Thomas,&nbsp;Artist, Brooklyn&nbsp; Anne&nbsp;Helmreich,&nbsp;Director, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.&nbsp; Moderator: Sandra Jackson-Dumont,&nbsp;Curator, Educator and Cultural Strategist, Los Angeles&nbsp; 
History is&nbsp;not&nbsp;static – it is shaped by those who get to tell it. In this panel moderated by Sandra Jackson-Dumont, artist Hank Willis Thomas and Anne&nbsp;Helmreich, the director of the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art&nbsp;considered how artists&nbsp;have&nbsp;not only reimagined the stories we inherit, but also created new ones, opening space for reflection, rupture, and reparation. In a moment marked by cultural shifts and contested memory,&nbsp;this conversation&nbsp;explored the role art can play in how we remember the past – and the creative ways we might collectively build the future we want.&nbsp;
Hank Willis Thomas&nbsp;is a conceptual artist whose practice examines perspective, identity, commodity, media, and popular culture.&nbsp;He received the&nbsp;US&nbsp;Department of State’s&nbsp;Medal of Arts (2022) and fellowships from the Gordon Parks Foundation (2019) and the Guggenheim Foundation (2018). His work is currently on view in&nbsp;‘Monuments’&nbsp;at&nbsp;the Museum of Contemporary Art&nbsp;and The Brick&nbsp;in&nbsp;Los Angeles, and&nbsp;‘Get in the Game’&nbsp;at Crystal Bridges, Bentonville.&nbsp;
Anne&nbsp;Helmreich&nbsp;joined the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art as&nbsp;the director in early 2023. The Archives of American Art is a trusted source, empowering an expansive history of American art and culture by collecting, preserving, and making available to all the primary sources documenting the visual arts of the United States. Prior to her appointment, she was&nbsp;the associate&nbsp;director&nbsp;of the&nbsp;Getty Foundation.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Sandra Jackson-Dumont&nbsp;is a curator, educator,&nbsp;and cultural strategist known for transformative leadership across major institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Studio Museum in Harlem,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Whitney, and&nbsp;the&nbsp;Seattle Art Museum. A Getty Research Institute Presidential Scholar and former&nbsp;director/CEO of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, she champions artist/art-centered initiatives and interdisciplinary collaborations that reframe museum practice.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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