(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- Artist Sadie Barnette delivers a free virtual lecture and Q&A on March 30, beginning at 6:00pm. Sponsored by the Zimmerli Art Museum and Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, this program is open to the public. This lecture is part of an ongoing series of programs related to the Zimmerli’s upcoming exhibition Angela Davis—Seize the Time, for which Barnette is developing a new installation. Barnette’s drawings, photography, and large-scale installations speak to the intersection of familial, cultural, and political history.
Zoom registration is available online. Please note the museum building remains closed to the public and in-person events are suspended until further notice.
Sadie Barnette is from Oakland, California, and holds a B.F.A. from CalArts and an M.F.A. from University of California, San Diego. Her artwork reveals quintessential American truths through exploration of her own family history. She has been awarded grants and residencies by the Studio Museum in Harlem, Artadia, Art Matters, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and the Headlands Center for the Arts. Her work is in the permanent collections of such institutions as: the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Berkeley Art Museum, Oakland Museum of California, Brooklyn Museum, and the Guggenheim Museum. She has been featured in publications including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Artforum, and Vogue. Barnette lives and works in Oakland. She is represented by Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles and Jessica Silverman in San Francisco.
A groundbreaking exhibition that documents the life, influence, and enduring activism of Angela Davis over the past 50 years, Angela Davis—Seize the Time was developed at the Zimmerli Art Museum. With some 250 objects, Seize the Time not only examines Davis’s significance in shaping history during the second half of the 20th century, but also positions her as a continuing touchstone for contemporary artists who call for social justice, the abolition of prisons, and the end of economic disenfranchisement.
The exhibition focuses on the significance of the activist and scholar’s image and writings in raising widespread awareness of not only the injustices she faced, but also those waged against oppressed individuals and groups worldwide. The exhibition introduces newcomers to this American icon, but also provides opportunities for those familiar with Angela Davis to delve into rarely – some never – seen materials. Spanning five decades, the exhibition is inspired by and centered on a private collection in Oakland that has been compiled by archivist Lisbet Tellefsen. In addition to the archival and popular culture materials, a selection of contemporary art asserts Davis’s significance in a broader narrative.
Angela Davis—Seize the Time is accompanied by a catalogue of the same title, which is now available from Hirmer Publishers and The University of Chicago Press. A recording of the book launch on October 1, 2020, is also available.
Angela Davis—Seize the Time is co-curated by Donna Gustafson, the Zimmerli’s interim director and Curator of American Art and Mellon Director for Academic Programs, and Gerry Beegan, an associate professor in Art & Design at Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, with the assistance of an advisory group of intersectional scholars, artists, activists and archivists, including Nicole Fleetwood, Daonne Huff, Ericka Huggins, Steffani Jemison, Lisbet Tellefsen, and faculty from Rutgers University. The exhibition is scheduled to be on view at the Zimmerli during the fall of 2021; additional details will be announced during the summer. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Fund. Additional support is provided by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Endowment, Voorhees Family Endowment, and donors to the Zimmerli’s Major Exhibitions Fund: Kathrin and James Bergin, Joyce and Alvin Glasgold, Sundaa and Randy Jones, and Heena and Hemanshu Pandya.
The Zimmerli Art Museum remains closed to the public and in-person programs are suspended until further notice. News regarding operations will be posted on the museum’s home page. For Rutgers updates, please visit Universitywide COVID-19 Information.
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The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum houses more than 60,000 works of art, ranging from ancient to contemporary art. The permanent collection features particularly rich holdings in 19th-century French art; Russian art from icons to the avant-garde; Soviet nonconformist art from the Dodge Collection; and American art with notable holdings of prints. In addition, small groups of antiquities, old master paintings, as well as art inspired by Japan and original illustrations for children’s books, provide representative examples of the museum’s research and teaching message at Rutgers. One of the largest and most distinguished university-based art museums in the nation, the Zimmerli is located on the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Established in 1766, Rutgers is America’s eighth oldest institution of higher learning and a premier public research university.
The Zimmerli’s operations, exhibitions, and programs are funded in part by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and income from the Avenir Foundation Endowment and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Endowment, among others. Additional support comes from the New Jersey State Council of the Arts, as well as donors, members, and friends of the museum.
IMAGE: Portrait by Anna-Alexia Basile
