Collective Yearning | Scarlet Speakers Series with curator Dr. Amber Wiley

PRESENTED BY RUTGERS SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Amber N. Wiley is an Assistant Professor of Art History at Rutgers University. Her research interests center on the social aspects of design and how it affects urban communities – architecture as a literal and figural structure of power. She focuses on the ways local and national bodies have made the claim for the dominating narrative and collective memory of cities and examines how preservation and public history contribute to the creation and maintenance of the identity and sense of place of a city. Her publications cover African American and African diasporic cultural heritage, urbanism in New Orleans, school design, urban renewal, and preservation. Her current book project is entitled Model Schools in the Model City: Race, Planning, and Education in the Nation’s Capital.

She was co-principal investigator of the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site National Historic Landmark Nomination Update. She is a member of the DC Legacy Project: Barry Farm/Hillsdale steering committee, which seeks to ensure the permanent preservation of the landmarked buildings at Barry Farm and their use as a public community space in Washington, DC. She has completed interpretation, research, and visioning for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Monument Lab, the DC History Center, and the National Building Museum.

Amber received her Ph.D. in American Studies from George Washington University. She also holds a Master’s in Architectural History and Certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Virginia School of Architecture, and a B.A. in Architecture from Yale University

Abstract:
In this Scarlet Speakers from the Heart of New Brunswick talk, Professor Wiley will discuss the process of planning Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum exhibition, from initial conception as a graduate-level Exhibition Seminar to installation and development of programming. Featuring prints, photographs, and multimedia artworks, this exhibition is the first time the university has conducted a comprehensive and methodical review of its holdings of art by Black women artists. Many of the artists have ties to New Jersey, New York City, and Philadelphia, ranging from canonical figures such as Rutgers faculty and artists Emma Amos and Kara Walker, to emerging artists Nona Faustine, Atisha Fordyce, and Daonne Huff. The exhibition is curated by Wiley and her students Jasmine Daria Cannon, Kyle b. co., Helen Gao, Grace Lynne Haynes, Emily Hu, Grace Kim, Desiree Morales, Michael Randall, and Audrey Roclore.

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Click here for information about the Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum exhibition.