Commencement 2021: Fulton Leroy Washington is Addressing UCLA Art Students, Howardena Pindell, Lonnie Bunch, Amy Sherald, Sonya Clark, and Theaster Gates are Also Speaking at Graduations
WHATEVER WISDOM Fulton Leroy Washington (aka Mr. Wash) imparts on graduating art students at UCLA, he will likely emphasize the importance of time. Don’t waste it. Make the most of it. You can’t get it back. Washington is delivering the keynote address at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture graduating class of...
AfriCOBRA Artists Honored at School of the Art Institute of Chicago 2020 Virtual Commencement, Offer Advice to Graduates
AfriCOBRA artists Jae Jarrell and Wadsworth Jarrell After years of hard work and dedication to their crafts and curriculums, 2020 graduates are unable to experience the joy and satisfaction of gathering for ceremonies celebrating their accomplishments, due to widespread social distancing mandates in the wake of COVID-19. In-person commencements have been replaced with virtual...
Commencement 2018: Glenn Ligon, Dawoud Bey, Carrie Mae Weems, and Joyce J. Scott Are Among the Artists Imparting Wisdom and Expectations on New Graduates
Glenn Ligon spoke at The New School’s 2018 commencement on May 18. A NUMBER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS were declared doctors over the past month. Invited to participate in commencement ceremonies for undergraduate and MFA students at institutions around the country, prominent artists, critics, and curators were bestowed honorary doctorate degrees. Addressing 2018 graduates,...
Artful Wisdom: Kerry James Marshall, Claudia Rankine, Leslie King-Hammond Among Speakers at 2017 Commencements
Artist Kerry James Marshall delivers remarks at Columbia College Chicago commencement on May 14. | Video by Columbia College Chicago MORE THAN 30 YEARS AGO, when Kerry James Marshall left Los Angeles to move to New York, his friend and fellow artist Carrie Mae Weems called Dawoud Bey, who was living in the city....
Artists Hank Willis Thomas, Nick Cave, and Rick Lowe are Among the African American Creatives Addressing 2016 Commencments
FROM LOS ANGELES TO BOSTON, it’s graduation season. Joining two of this year’s most popular commencement speakers—President Obama (Howard University, Rutgers University, Air Force Academy) and “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda (University of Pennsylvania)—Nick Cave, Melvin Edwards, Rick Lowe, Hank Willis Thomas, Carrie Mae Weems, and several other African American artists, are participating in graduation ceremonies....
Carrie Mae Weems Implores School of Visual Arts Graduates to Consider ‘How Do You Measure a Life?’
ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, Carrie Mae Weems took the stage at Radio City Music Hall delivering more of a performance than a speech. Her address at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) 41st commencement for undergraduate and graduate students was engaging, relevant, thought-provoking and memorable. She asked the audience, “How do you measure life?” And...
Commencement 2015: African American Artists Bestow Wisdom on Graduates
LIKENING ARTISTS TO SUPER HEROES, Los Angeles-based artist Alison Saar offered an animated message of encouragement at the Maryland Institute of College of Art (MICA) undergraduate commencement on May 18. “In our studios…our super hero persona emerges, determined to save the day, with the desire to make this world a better place through our creative...
