Walker Partner-Level members are invited to join us for a discussion with artist and For Freedoms cofounder Hank Willis Thomas along with visual artist Muna Malik, a featured billboard artist for the For Freedoms 50 State Initiative.
Through non-partisan nationwide programming, For Freedoms uses art as a vehicle for participation to deepen public discussions on civic issues and core values. The organization is a hub for artists, arts institutions, and citizens who want to be more engaged in public life.
Thanks to the ingenuity of James Beard Award–finalist Chef Jamie Malone of Grand Café and Eastside we are pleased to once again offer catering for this virtual event. Patrons’ Circle–Partner and Director’s Circle members may enjoy an autumnal themed Le Snackie, a bountiful box of gourmet tapas and artisanal cocktail mixers curated by Chef Malone.
RSVP to patrons@walkerart.org by October 13 to confirm your participation in this virtual event on Zoom.
Walker Forum is a quarterly salon exploring the intersection of art and life through a series of events featuring leading local and national cultural figures. Open to members at the Partner-level ($5,000) and above, the Forum brings together art enthusiasts, creative professionals, and patrons who share a commitment to the arts and the Twin Cities’ vibrant cultural community.
Not a Partner-level member yet? To learn more about how you can participate, please contact donors@walkerart.org or call the donor line at 612-375-7641.
Hank Willis Thomas is a conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to perspective, identity, commodity, media, and popular culture, often seeking out and utilizing recognizable icons from popular branding and marketing campaigns. In using icons and other nods to popular culture, he encourages the viewer to question commercial consumer representation and the racial stereotypes it perpetuates. Invested in framing and context, Thomas looks to ways popular imagery informs how people perceive themselves and others and ways art can raise critical awareness in the ongoing struggle for social justice and civil rights. His work spans many disciplines and mediums and his public works often encourage viewer participation, engagement, and contribution.
Through photographs, sculpture, video, audience-activated and collaborative public art projects, Thomas addresses the role of popular visual culture in reinforcing discrimination, including gun violence, the relationship between the American sports industry and black men, the perpetuation of stereotypes through contemporary advertising, and the reframing of history and context.
Thomas’s collaborative projects include Question Bridge: Black Males, In Search Of The Truth (The Truth Booth), Writing on the Wall, and the artist-run initiative for art and civic engagement For Freedoms. Thomas is a recipient of the Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship (2018), Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship (2018), Art for Justice Grant (2018), AIMIA | AGO Photography Prize (2017), Soros Equality Fellowship (2017), and is a former member of the New York City Public Design Commission.
Muna Malik is a multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. Her current work focuses on creating poetic imagery around narratives of women of color and refugees using abstract paintings and interactive sculpture. Malik was the North Carolina billboard artist for the For Freedoms 50 State Initiative. Her work was recently shown at Band of Vices gallery in Los Angeles, Annenberg Space for Photography, International Center for Photography, MOCA Geffen, and the Somaal House of Art in Minneapolis. Past exhibitions include Artworks Chicago, University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, MCAD, and Northern Spark arts festival.
