Annual Artist Interview with Willie Cole

On February 18, 2022, Willie Cole was featured in the Annual Artists’ Interviews at CAA’s 110th Annual Conference. Willie Cole is a contemporary American sculptor, printer, and perceptual engineer who uses contexts of postmodern eclecticism, and combines references and appropriation from African and African American imagery. Watch Cole discuss his work here.

Beginning in 1997, the Annual Artist Interviews were established to provide the opportunity for esteemed artists to have one-on-one conversations with colleagues at the Annual Conference. Each year, the Services to Artists Committee  (SAC) identifies two distinguished artists to participate.  The interviews are held annually as part of the Services to Artists Program at the conference. 

Recordings from CAA's 2022 Annual Conference, including the Annual Artist Interview with Jessica Stockholder, are still available until Thursday, April 14, 2022.

CAA 2023 Annual Conference Proposal Submissions - due in two weeks!

Toward a Reparative Pedagogy: Art as Trigger, Art as Repair

The latest article on Art Journal Open (AJO), Toward a Reparative Pedagogy: Art as Trigger, Art as Repair, by Aliza Shvarts discusses her artistic and pedagogical practice within the context of trauma, trigger warnings, and healing. It continues the series on AJO titled “Hard Lessons: Trauma, Teaching, Art History.” Crafted in a moment of extraordinary collective trauma, “Hard Lessons” brings together contributions from art historians, practicing artists, and museum educators to explore the multivalent ways arts educators make space for learning through varied—and often intersecting—experiences of personal and collective traumas.

From Kyivan Rus’ to Modern Ukraine: Virtual Conversations on History, Art, and Cultural Heritage

Ukraine’s history, art, and culture are endangered by the ongoing war. CAA is an endorser of an ongoing lecture series which presents the region’s rich historical and cultural complexity through its objects, sites, and monuments. The series is organized by Dumbarton Oaks in collaboration with North of Byzantium and Connected Central European Worlds, 1500–1700.

The inaugural virtual lecture, "Lacunae of Art History and Kyiv’s Visual Culture" by Olenka Z. Pevny, will take place on April 22, 2022. A no-cost registration is required to attend. For more information, visit our website. 

Last chance to apply to serve on CAA's editorial boards!

Applications are due in three days to serve on CAA’s editorial boards. For 2022, CAA’s four journals seek an Art Journal Open (AJO) Editor-in-Chief; Chair and Editor-in-Chief of caa.reviews; and members for the editorial boards of The Art Bulletin, Art Journal/AJO, and caa.reviews. These positions shape the editorial vision of CAA's publications.

The deadline for all applications is April 15, 2022. Terms of service vary, but they all begin July 1, 2022. To apply and learn more, visit our website!

The Task Force for the Protection of University Collections

The Association of Academic Museums and Galleries has published The Task Force for the Protection of University Collections:  A Ready Reference Guide for Academic Museum Professionals. The Task Force, which includes CAA and its Executive Director and CEO, Meme Omogbai, aims to serve as a resource and advocate for college and university museums whose collections are or may be under threat. This guide outlines the Task Force’s purpose and has basic information for museum professionals to begin to address challenges related to voluntary deaccessions. Read more and access the guide here.

Complete your CAA Membership Profile

As we continue the rollout of our new digital platform, we ask you to complete your membership profile. By filling it out as much as possible, we are able to better personalize your CAA experience. This includes not only your personal demographic information but also your fields of study. Your voice is critical, and these attributes are some of the most important ways for us to serve you as myCAA takes shape.

Member Spotlight: Ace Lehner

Dr. Ace Lehner is an interdisciplinary visual studies scholar and artist. They recently edited the Trans Visual Culture Project for CAA’s Art Journal. In addition, Lehner chaired the session "The Trouble with the “Trans Tipping point”: A Critical Look at Trans Visual Culture Today" at CAA’s 2022 Annual Conference. They are currently visiting faculty in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Vermont. 

In 2021 Lehner published their first book, Self-Representation in an Expanded Field: From Self-Portraiture to Selfie, Contemporary Art in the Social Media Age (MDPI Books, 2021). Other recent publications include the chapter, “Proliferating Identity: Trans Selfies as Contemporary Art” in Visual Culture Approaches to the Selfies (Routledge, 2022), as well as the article, “Trans Failure: Transformative Joy in Consumer Culture” in Cultural Politics (Duke, March 2022).  

Lehner will present their research on Original Plumbing Trans Male Quarterly this week on April 15 at the free “Queer Afterlives in Artist Archives” symposium co-organized by the University of Pittsburgh and the Mattress Factory, register here! Additionally, they are a mentor at the International Center of Photography, where their ten-foot-tall photograph K.i.s.s.i.n.g. is on view in the exhibition Actual Size! Photography at Life Scale. 

Call for CAA Membership Video Testimonials

CAA is gathering video testimonials from those in our community discussing how and why you have engaged with CAA. We are hoping to feature voices showcasing the multitude of ways that members have participated within the organization and utilized its resources. No story is too small, and we would love to hear from you! Please send your submission or any questions to development@collegeart.org.