American Federation of Arts

Save the date! We invite you to join us for the American Federation of Arts Annual Gala and Cultural Leadership Awards on October 30th to celebrate exceptional achievements in the arts. 🎨✨ Prepare for an inspiring evening honoring the visionaries shaping our cultural landscape. Don’t miss this remarkable event! ✨ #AFAgala #CulturalLeadership #ArtExcellence #AmFedArts This event will be held at Guastavino's in New York City and for questions, please contact events@amfedarts.org.  

Last call to secure your spot for the highly anticipated AFA Annual Spring Luncheon on May 21st! Join us for an engaging discussion with contemporary artist and painter, Tschabalala Self, in conversation with Kimberli Gant, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Secure your tickets now in the link below: https://lnkd.in/eRU55Dti 📌Event Details: • What: AFA Spring Luncheon • When: May 21, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM • Where: 583 Park Avenue NYC

You’re invited! The AFA is hosting a reception in partnership with Christie’s during TEFAF week on Friday May 10th from 9:00 to 10:30 AM at the Christie’s Gallery in Rockefeller Plaza. This will be a wonderful opportunity to connect with other arts professionals, hear directly from the AFA curatorial team about upcoming exhibitions, and meet Christie's museum services specialists. Guests will also enjoy a private preview of Christie's 20th and 21st Century Art sale. RSVP now by emailing events@amfedarts.org. We’ll see you there! Learn more: https://rb.gy/y5rx5n Photo Credits to Taft Museum of Art

How are today’s footwear designers pushing the boundaries of wearable fashion? 👟 Join us on April 30th at FIT to explore the intersection of fashion, technology and social justice through an engaging roundtable discussion inspired by Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting Edge Kicks, our latest traveling exhibition co-organized by Bata Shoe Museum @batashoemuseum. This dialogue will be moderated by AFA Curator Katharine J. Wright, PhD, and will feature these industry experts: Featured Speakers: ● Elizabeth Semmelhack | Director and Senior Curator, Bata Shoe Museum @elizabethsemmelhack ● Dr. D’Wayne Edwards | Designer and President/Founder of Pensole Lewis College ● Xunjie Zhang | CEO and Bipedal Locomotion Engineer, Shift Robotics This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. https://rb.gy/73ltm4 #amfedarts #batashoemuseum #sneakerhead #shoesaddict #innovation #design #thingstodoinnyc #freeevents

This year so far at the AFA... 2024 has being and exciting year at the American Federation of Arts. In the past three months alone, the AFA has opened eight exhibitions across the country, including three ground-breaking new shows: Past Forward: Native American Art from Gilcrease Museum, Making American Artists: Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts 1776- 1976, and Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting Edge Kicks. In addition, the AFA hosted a free panel discussion contemplating how monuments influence history, identity and memory in contemporary contexts, based on our exhibition Monuments and Myths. More exciting events are on the horizon! Join our newsletter to stay connected with all of the AFA's events and exhibitions as we continue enriching the public’s experience and understanding of the visual arts. http://eepurl.com/ipD-MQ Image credit: Attributed to Joshua Johnson (American, active 1796-1824) Unidentified Woman, ca. 1810. Oil on canvas 32 1/2 x 24 in. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia Gift of Mrs. Edgar L. Smith, 1980.5.1 Photograph by Adrian Cubillas.

This May our Spring Luncheon featured speaker is none other than contemporary artist and painter Tschabalala Self. Among other achievements, Self was recently selected as the 2026 commission for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square! Harlem born, Self builds a singular style from the syncretic use of both painting and printmaking to explore ideas surrounding the black body. She constructs depictions of predominantly women using a combination of sewn, printed, and painted materials, traversing different artistic and craft traditions. The formal and conceptual aspects of Self’s work seek to expand her critical inquiry into selfhood and human flourishing. We hope you’ll join us for this special afternoon. RSVP by visiting our website: https://lnkd.in/eGmUFqJw 📸 Tschabalala Self Sapphire, 2015 Oil paint, pigment, fabric and thread on canvas 84”H x 60”W

"Thank Tougaloo College for David Driskell's 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot' and much, much more." Join us for an in-depth discussion of Tougaloo College's first-of-its kind art collection (and the Civil Rights movements that informed it) next Wednesday. RSVP: bit.ly/getactivewithart

Sixty years later, 1963 remains one of the most pivotal years in American history. Join us Dec. 13th online and live in NYC for a dialogue on art, culture, and Civil Rights activism with someone who experienced it first-hand as a student at Mississippi's Tougaloo College: Dr. Dolores Brown. RSVP: bit.ly/getactivewithart

Celebrate Giving Tuesday with an organization that transforms communities with art every day of the week. bit.ly/afagivesback

The American Federation of Arts goes the distance. We craft traveling exhibitions with the world's top curators to ensure arts access needs are addressed, museums are supported, and arts canon is continually interrogated. Help us continue this work today by donating to the AFA. bit.ly/afagivesback