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Join us for live Q&A sessions with Blanton staff and special guests! They’ll answer your burning questions about everything from how the windows in Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin got here to what NOT to say to an artist.

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Curated Conversation: "Black Is Beautiful" in the Instagram Age

13jul(jul 13)5:00 pmFeaturedCurated Conversation: "Black Is Beautiful" in the Instagram AgeA free online event, part of our Curated Conversation series.

Event Details

Tuesday, July 13, 2021 | 5:00pm CST Kwame Brathwaite’s ideas about the power of images to drive social change remain resonant for a new generation of photographers committed to representing Black

Event Details

Tuesday, July 13, 2021 | 5:00pm CST

Kwame Brathwaite’s ideas about the power of images to drive social change remain resonant for a new generation of photographers committed to representing Black people and their communities. Austin-based photographers Cindy Elizabeth, Moyo Oyelola, and Riley Reed will discuss photographic activism and the role of social media in their own work.This virtual conversation will be moderated by the Blanton’s Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Claire Howard.

This virtual event is held in conjunction with our exhibition Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite.

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About our Speakers

Photo: Alicia Hubert

Cindy Elizabeth @cindyelizabethphoto
Born and raised in the historic east side of Austin, TX, Cindy Elizabeth began exploring photography in her teens, as a means to document and archive her time spent with family and friends. Pushing aside her passion to pursue a corporate career, Elizabeth rediscovered her desire to document the world around her after graduating from Baylor University in 2010. As a result, Elizabeth began working with local organizations to document the stories of marginalized communities, and bring light to the impact of gentrification on her own community. Utilizing the mediums of photography, film, and mixed media, Elizabeth found photography to be a tool to explore concepts of culture, history, and symbolism. Her work strives to bring visibility to Black joy, community, and perseverance in the face of hardship. Elizabeth’s work has been showcased at The George Washington Carver Museum, ICOSA gallery, Women and Their Work Gallery, and The University of Texas at Austin. When she is not making photographs, Cindy can be found vibing out to her favorite Old School music while planting flowers on “Animal Crossing.”

Courtesy Moyo Oyelola

Moyo Oyelola @moyo2k
Moyo Oyelola is a photographer, multimedia artist and activist. He creates intimate, real interactions with his subjects and communities and synthesizes that into deep, universal activations expressed in multimedia, photography, environmental installations,and public arts projects. Born in Nigeria, Moyo moved to Austin when he was seven. Having grown up as the “product of two worlds” has shaped his thinking and work, reflecting perspectives of pan-African and modern western worlds. Moyo’s work has been featured in brand films, advertising, editorial, music videos, environmental installations, personal projects, and an evolving number of public arts projects.

Photo: Riley Reed

Riley Reed @rileyblanksreed
Riley Reed is a socially conscious storyteller, photographer, writer, and the founder of Woke Beauty—a creative studio, photography movement,and self-actualization tool that celebrates the inherent resilience of women everywhere. Riley’s work serves to question the lenses of beauty and power. She uses self-portraiture and thoughtful photography to capture the world in a different light, one that centers life’s intersections, the experiences of women of color,and the curiosities behind our collective identities. Her projects as a writer and photographer have been featured in publications like NPR StoryCorps, Forbes, Camille Styles and Tribeza. As a creative, she has worked with brands like Gap, Google, Whole Foods,and Dove to create everything from social media campaigns to editorial spreads and life-size exhibitions. Riley’s commitment to deep, truthful storytelling guides her relationship to advocacy, education, and community-building. Humanitarian and societal issues continue to shape Riley’s projects, too. She proudly serves as a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum, sits on the board of Fresh Chefs Society, and collaborates with nonprofit organizations to foster spaces that value creative insurgence, equity, and inclusion. Riley has lived in 15 cities and six countries throughout her lifetime and is now based in Austin, Texas with her husband, Jack.

Funding provided by the Carolyn Harris Hynson Centennial Endowment.

Image Credit: Kwame Brathwaite, Carolee Prince wearing her own jewelry designs. Prince created much of the jewelry and headpieces featured in Brathwaite’s work. African Jazz-Art Society & Studios (AJASS), Harlem, ca. 1964; from Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful (Aperture, 2019). Courtesy the artist and Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles.

Time

(Tuesday) 5:00 pm

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The Blanton Bake-Off has now taken place 2020 and 2021.
Do you have what it BAKES to win?

Check our gallery of entries below to see some previous entries and read this article in PBS Newshour to learn about how the #BlantonBakeOff began!

2021 Winners: Pancake art by Aida (Youth under 18 Category) / Inspired by Fernando Botero, Santa Rosa de Lima según Vásquez [Santa Rosa de Lima after Vasquez]. Layered Cake by Blythe Johnson (Adult Category)/ Inspired by José Pedro Costigliolo’s “Forma negra [Black form].”

2020 Winners:  Chocolate Cookie by Cookies del Mundo / Inspired by Simone dei Crocifissi’s “Triptych” (Professional Category). Sugar Cookie by St. Elmo Architecture Studio / Inspired by Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin.

Enjoy this video series featuring Blanton educator Monique Piñón O’Neil leading easy, make-at-home art activities inspired by works in the museum collection. Each activity includes a downloadable supply list and instructions.

Step inside the galleries of the museum….virtually! Our interactive 360-degree video tours let you move through exhibitions online, enhancing your “visit” with high-resolution images, in-depth descriptive text, audio commentary from curators, and even videos. First up, you can explore our exhibition The Avant-garde Networks of Amauta: Argentina, Mexico, and Peru in the 1920s. Stay tuned for more virtual visits soon!

Fun and relaxing for all ages, these downloadable art pages feature works of art from the Blanton collection and are a lovely way to color the day away!

Post your colorful creations on social media and remember to tag them with #ColorTheBlanton and @blantonmuseum so we can re-share!

Delightful Design
Ooh and aah over these “Delightful Design” pages, taken from etchings and engravings in our prints and drawings collection.

Natural Beauty
Lush landscapes and fantastic flora bring the outdoors to you with these “Natural Beauty” pages from our prints and drawings collection.

Fabulous Fashion
Ready for your creative coloring, these “Fabulous Fashion” pages show a variety of the clothes folks wore in days of yore – as found in our prints and drawings collection.

Feathered and Furry Friends
In honor of Earth Day on April 22, our first group of pages, “Feathered and Furry Friends,” features an assortment of animalia from our prints and drawings collection.

In January 2015, the renowned American artist Ellsworth Kelly gifted to the Blanton the design concept for his most monumental work, a 2,715-square-foot stone building with luminous colored glass windows, a totemic wood sculpture, and fourteen black and white marble panels. Titled Austin, honoring the artist’s tradition of naming particular works for the places for which they are destined, the structure is the only building the artist designed, and will be his most lasting legacy. Envisioned by Kelly as a site for joy and contemplation, Austin is a cornerstone of the Blanton’s permanent collection and will enrich the lives of visitors from around the world.

The Blanton’s permanent collection of over 19,000 works is recognized for its European paintings, prints and drawings, and modern and contemporary American and Latin American art. Browse by collection area or search the entire collection.

Get more out of our collections and exhibitions through this in-depth series! Explore artistic themes, learn about connected histories, and observe works in more detail. Your art education starts here!

We Need Art—and You

Like our community, the Blanton continues to face unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a nonprofit, the Blanton depends heavily on admissions, membership, donations, and other income to be able to pay for our programs and staff—so the closure from March-August 2020 significantly impacted us. Now that we’ve reopened, it is at a reduced capacity to allow for social distancing, therefore limiting admissions income for an extended period. We have made substantial changes to our operating budget to try to mitigate this unprecedented situation, but it is still a difficult time financially.

To make a gift by check, please return this form and your contribution to: Texas Development, The University of Texas at Austin, PO Box 7458, Austin, TX 78713