Registration Open for The Auburn Forum on Southern Art and Culture

The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University announces the launch of a new initiative: “The Auburn Forum for Southern Art and Culture.” This inaugural event, a half-day symposium featuring acclaimed artists and scholars, will take place at the museum on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 1:30 p.m. Registration is now open. Admission is free for Auburn students, faculty and staff and $25 for the general public.

The inaugural Forum features an exceptional lineup of speakers, including exhibiting artists Bethany Collins, Walter Hood, Lonnie Holley and Elizabeth M. Webb, alongside the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States, Joy Harjo. Northwestern University's Janet Dees and Stanford University's Aleesa Pitcharman Alexander, PhD, are also on the panel. Alexander is a guest curator for "Black Codes: Art and Post-Civil Rights Alabama." Presenters will pair up for one-on-one conversations, delving into themes of memory, place and agency explored in current exhibitions at the museum. 

Established in honor of the museum’s 20th birthday, “The Auburn Forum for Southern Art and Culture” aspires to become an annual tradition, attracting leading scholars, artists and the public to engage in critical dialogues about the South's rich and multifaceted artistic landscape. 

"The Jule Collins Smith Museum is uniquely positioned to foster dialogue and scholarship surrounding the art and history of the American South," says Cindi Malinick, museum executive director. "Our location in Auburn, situated at the crossroads in a region rich with arts in all iterations—visual art, music, food, literature and fashion—offers an invaluable resource for insight into the region's complex cultural narratives." Malinick added that the university art collection, with more than 3,000 objects, features numerous artists influenced by and from the South, is another asset to centering the event at Auburn.

To learn more and register, visit jcsm.auburn.edu.