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In this special presentation, join Diedra Harris-Kelley, Co-Director of the Romare Bearden Foundation, as she discusses how and where activism shows up in the artwork of Romare Bearden throughout his life, from his early illustrations to his late watercolors. This lecture is presented in celebration of our special exhibition, Romare Bearden: Artist-Activist-Visionary, on view Sept. 27 – Dec. 31, 2025. A Q&A session will follow the talk.Diedra Harris-Kelley is one of the Co-Directors of the Romare Bearden Foundation, the non-profit organization perpetuating the legacy of Romare Bearden. Harris-Kelley is also the niece of Nanette Bearden who founded the Foundation in 1990. Diedra earned an MFA degree from University of Michigan. She currently teaches a seminar course on Romare Bearden at Barnard College, and has taught studio art at NYU, Parsons Studio Program, and for alternative high school and elementary school programs. She also conducts professional development workshops and lectures on art. Diedra was a member of the curatorial team of Jazz at Lincoln Center (2009-2012); and is the author of “Revisiting Romare Bearden’s Art of Improvisation,” published in Uptown Conversation: The New Jazz Studies (Columbia University, 2004); and “My Life in Movement: Inheriting the Dancing Body” (Scholar & Feminist Online, Issue 19.1, Summer 2023). Harris-Kelley’s artwork has been published on book covers, and last shown in a solo exhibition at the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Arts in New York.
Pre-registration is not required for this lecture; included with price of admission.
This program is supported in part by The Community Foundation of Otsego County’s 2025 Spring Award Cycle.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
5798 State Highway 80, Cooperstown, NY, United States, New York 13326
