Two of our GWS faculty, Professors Blair Ebony Smith and Mimi Thi Nguyen, will be participating at events for Pygmalion Festival, September 22-24, 2022.

Opening on September 24, 2022 with a reception (12-6 PM) at Krannert Art Museum, Black On Black On Black On Black "will feature Black faculty in the School of Art & Design through the lens of the Black Quantum Future as proposed by Philadelphia-based activists and theorists Rasheeda Phillips and Camae Ayewa. The collaborative exhibition will explore Black identity, collectivity, positionality, healing, innovation, and education as explored via a multi-leveled/multi-dimensional immersive, critical, and openly reflective space." This exhibition is co-curated by Patrick Earl Hammie, Stacey Robinson, Blair Ebony Smith, and Nekita Thomas.

Also on September 24, Mimi Thi Nguyen will be introducing tattoo artist, illustrator, and filmmaker James Spooner and the screening of his documentary Afro-Punk, as well as conversing with him about his graphic novel memoir High Desert before an audience Q&A at 25 O'Clock Brewing Company, in Urbana.

View the full schedule for Pygmalion Festival here.