Past eventFri., Feb. 23, 2024, 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m.–Sat., Feb. 24, 2024, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Two-day conference | General: $25 (Long-term Fellows and students free) | Optional lunch: $20 (each day) Conference registration includes free entrance to the grounds and galleries.
Rothenberg Hall
Topics in this conference address Black artists in the Bay Area—centered on the life and work of Sargent Claude Johnson—and in Southern California, especially the Black artistic community that developed in Pasadena, as well as California’s key position along the Pacific Rim. With talks by academics and artists, performances of music from the archives by Black composers Harold Bruce Forsythe and William Grant Still, and tours of the exhibitions, this two-day conference celebrates Black creativity in California’s past, present, and future.
8:30 a.m. | Registration and Coffee
9 a.m. | Welcome
9:15 a.m. | Remarks
9:30 a.m. | Keynote
10:30 a.m. | Panel 1: Sargent Claude Johnson: Art and Life
Noon | Lunch
1 p.m. | Panel 2: Black Composers in the Archives: William Grant Still and Harold Bruce Forsythe, with a Performance by the Pasadena City College Music Ensemble
Still, “Mother and Child” from Suite for Violin and Piano
Ji Young An, violin
Henry Shin, piano
Forsythe, “Comment” from God Beguiled (String Quartet)
Ji Young An and Daniel Diaz, violins
Elizabeth Kim, viola
Natan Long, cello
Forsythe, Fantasia for Violin and Piano
Ji Young An, violin
Henry Shin, piano
3:30 p.m. | Tour of “Sargent Claude Johnson” exhibition in the Boone Gallery with exhibition curators
9 a.m. | Registration and Coffee
10 a.m. | Panel 3: Black Pasadena: A Creative Ecosystem for African American Artists in California
11:30 a.m. | Film Screening: Betye Saar: Drifting Toward Twilight
Noon | Lunch
1 p.m. | Panel 4: Black Pacific Futures
3 p.m. | Closing Remarks
Image: Sargent Claude Johnson, Head of a Boy, ca. 1928, glazed stoneware, 7 1/2 × 4 3/4 × 6 in.
Explore the multidisciplinary art and legacy of Sargent Claude Johnson with Huntington curators and learn how to connect the content to your K-12 classroom.
Sun., March 10, 2024, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Cost: $25 (includes lunch and admission to The Huntington). This program is for K–12 Educators. Advance registration is required. Learn more EventCelebrate the legacy of Sargent Claude Johnson and the WPA through artmaking, musical performances, and in-gallery talks at this free event for visitors of all ages.
Sun., March 10, 2024, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
Free with general admission Learn more