Two-part Virtual Speaker Series on Race and Art Institutions Slated for August 6, 13

NORTH ADAMS — In partnership with the Berkshire Cultural Resource Center at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), the MCLA Institute for the Arts and Humanities plans a two-part webinar series on consecutive Thursdays, Aug. 6 and 13, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., featuring Aruna D’Souza, Genevieve Gaignard, and Ben Ripley, who will address conversations on race and transformation within art institutions.

This webinar series is free and open to the public. Participants can register by clicking here.

In part one on Aug. 6, artists Ripley and Gaignard will participate in a live Zoom conversation where they will introduce each other with images of their work to explore the intersections between their artistic practices. Each artist will pose questions to one another to establish a conversation around ‘unlearning’ socially conditioned ways of being; they will then open up the space to invite participant inquiry and dialogue.

Both artists are committed to exploring this platform and using it as a vehicle to address difficult questions around inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in the context of the art world as well in the Berkshires.

This joint session will be the basis for a follow-up panel discussion on Aug. 13 to be moderated by writer D’Souza, who will moderate a panel discussion between Gaignard and Ripley; each artist will continue the conversation by talking about how they address themes of race and transformation within their work while also expanding the conversation beyond art to involve inquiry from the audience.

Following the webinar series, participants will receive additional resources and suggested readings selected by D’Souza to continue the conversation within their own communities.