Thursday, October 1st at 6pm PST
90 minutes of conversation broadcast at thelab.org
RSVP HERE FOR ZOOM LINK
André & Sadie checking in during a moment of grief, stillness and possibility, with discussion moderated by George McCalman.
André D. Singleton is a newly Bay Area (New York City prior) based educator, human rights activist, and multi-disciplinary artist born in Kansas City, MO. Widely known as the co-creator of ‘The Very Black Project,’ a social awareness initiative that celebrates the African Diaspora, he is a thread within a fabric of pioneers on a mission to unite people from an abundance of cultural backgrounds. He’s a Stage IV Hodgkins survivor (remission since 2005). As an artist, survivor and gay man he has been empowered to approach life with a fierce determination to be free and embracing of his truth. Singleton’s work continues to inspire courage, pride, and vulnerability, encouraging people all over the world to respect one another so that our communities might remain enriching for us all.
Sadie Barnette is from Oakland, CA and holds a BFA from CalArts and an MFA from University of California, San Diego. Her artwork reveals quintessential American truths through exploration of her own family history. Recent projects include the reclamation of a 500-page FBI surveillance file amassed on her father during his time with the Black Panther Party and her interactive reimagining of his bar — San Francisco's first Black-owned gay bar. She has been awarded grants and residencies by the Studio Museum in Harlem, Artadia, Art Matters, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, the Headlands Center for the Arts, and the Carmago Foundation in France. She has enjoyed solo shows in the following public institutions: ICA Los Angeles, The Lab and the Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco; MCA San Diego, CA; and the Manetti Shrem Museum, UC Davis. Her work is in the permanent collections of: the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); Brooklyn Museum, NY; Guggenheim Museum, NY; and the Berkeley Art Museum, CA. Barnette is represented by Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles and Jessica Silverman in San Francisco.
After 14 years as a creative director in the magazine industry, working at highly respected magazines like Entertainment Weekly, Mother Jones and Readade, George McCalman opened the doors to his own practice in 2011. MCCALMAN.CO is a design studio built on the foundation of editorial expertise, bold brand messaging, and personal relationships; his editorial background gives him a unique perspective on commercial branding. In 2016, he recalibrated his professional life by embracing the artists’ path. He now incorporates all aspects of his creative interests into his studio practice, working as a visual journalist, commercial illustrator, and fine artist; in addition to his various branding projects. He is a culture columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. His first book ‘Illustrated Black History’ will be published summer 2021 by Harper Collins.
The Forum is a bi-weekly experiment in creating discourse within the context of isolation. Art creates a space for reconsidering our knowledge across various social and professional fields. It asks us: Why do we perceive things the way we do? What are we living for? How can we reimagine our relationships to the human and non-human world? The Forum proposes that the project of freedom is a project of making a world with others. So, we invite you to help us answer: what can we do now?
Please bring your ideas, proposals, questions to discuss following the talk.
