UofM’s Hooks Institute and Art Museum to Co-Host Closing Lecture of the Exhibit If I Had a Camera with Dr. Erik Gellman
September 17, 2019 - The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change and the Art Museum at the University of Memphis (AMUM) will co-host a closing lecture of the exhibit If I Had A Camera: Art Shay – Activism, Civil Rights & Justice Tuesday, Oct. 1, at AMUM. The lecture, “Civil Rights and Social Unrest Through the Lens of Art Shay,” will be given by Dr. Erik Gellman, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill, and will coincide with the final week of the exhibit, which closes Oct. 5. The event will begin with a 5:30 p.m. reception followed by a 6 p.m. lecture. It is free and open to the public.
About Dr. Erik Gellman
Gellman is the author of the forthcoming book Troublemakers: Chicago Freedom Struggles Through the Lens of Art Shay (University of Chicago Press, December 2019). His closing lecture will explore Chicago activism and Southern struggles to examine the interplay between grassroots movements and national political figures. Gellman will also examine how Shay’s images of social movements reflect the issues of inequality that continue to permeate America today.
About If I Had A Camera
If I Had A Camera features the photographs of Art Shay (1922-2018), a Chicago-based photographer who photographed America’s landmark civil rights movement in the 1960s, reflecting a struggle that is not history but continues today. The exhibition includes photographs depicting the 1965 voter registration effort in Fayette County, Tennessee; political action and unrest in Chicago during the 1960s, including the protests surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention; and Memphis in 1968 at the time of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Admission is free. Convenient and affordable parking available in the parking garage on Fogelman Drive or in the Central Avenue parking lot.
About the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change
The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute implements its mission of teaching, studying and
promoting civil rights and social change through research, education and direct intervention
programs. Institute programs include community outreach; funding faculty research
initiatives on community issues; implementing community service projects; hosting
conferences, symposiums and lectures; and promoting local and national scholarship
on civil and human rights. The Hooks Institute is an interdisciplinary center at the
University of Memphis. Contributed revenue for the Hooks Institute, including funding
from individuals, corporations and foundations, is administered through the University
of Memphis Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization.
About the Art Museum of the University of Memphis
AMUM is a resource and laboratory for students, faculty and the greater Memphis community. It presents interdisciplinary programming throughout the year, permanent installations of Egyptian and sub-Saharan African artifacts, and a wide range of temporary exhibitions. The museum also offers a two-year graduate certificate in Museum Studies. AMUM is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information, visit memphis.edu/benhooks or memphis.edu/amum.
CONTACT
Nathaniel C. Ball l 901.678.3655 | ncball@memphis.edu