Ask Hank: A Virtual Event with Artist and Activist Hank Willis Thomas.
The Art Academy of Cincinnati (AAC) in partnership with the Cincinnati Art Museum is pleased to host "Ask Hank", a virtual Q&A with internationally acclaimed artist, Hank Willis Thomas.
The event is open to the public and will take place Thursday, September 3, from 6:30-7:30pm EST live on the Art Academy’s Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/artacademycincinnati
As an action of open social engagement and equality, the public may pre-submit questions to the artist about his artistic practice, community organizing, and activism. The questions will be gathered by Nathaniel Stein, Associate Curator of Photography at the Cincinnati Art Museum, and Emily Hanako Momohara, Associate Professor of Studio Art at the Art Academy.
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS HERE: http://bit.ly/AskHankWillisThomas
Coinciding with the virtual event, Thomas’ billboard “All Li es Matter” will be on display on the Art Academy’s Over-the-Rhine campus, September 2-November 9. The billboard was originally on view in 2018 as part of For Freedoms 50 State Initiative. For Freedoms was founded in 2016 as the first-ever artist-run Super PAC for creative civic engagement, discourse, and direct action.
Thomas’ billboard was inspired by the hashtag #AllLivesMatter, created in opposition to #BlackLivesMatter.“His response directly addresses the Black Lives Matter movement,” said Momohara. “There is a need for equitable social structures and for black Americans to be enfranchised.” Momohara and Thomas have worked together before. In 2008, he was an artist in resident at the Art Academy through the former Lightborne Lecture Series. 2018 Momohara curated the Ohio Artists For Freedoms exhibition at Art Academy in response to the For Freedoms 50 State Initiative.“Bringing artists like Hank Willis Thomas to the Art Academy is essential to our student experience not just for students of color but for all students to understand the fabric of our country and how each of us plays a role in a better future.”
https://www.hankwillisthomas.com/