Gather with Us!
You’re Invited
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2024
5–7 PM
UMMA
Join UMMA Director Christina Olsen for an invitation-only reception to celebrate the opening of UMMA’s fall exhibitions and continued commitment to civic participation and voter engagement.
REMARKS BEGIN AT 5:30 PM
Valet parking will be available in front of the Museum until 7:30pm
Please contact Meaghan Clark at 734.647.2064 or meaclark@umich.edu with questions or to RSVP
FOLLOWING THE RECEPTION, CONTINUE THE CELEBRATION AT
FEEL GOOD FRIDAY FROM 7-10PM.
Fall 2024 Exhibitions
Speakers & Special Guests
Christina Olsen, UMMA Director
Christina Olsen joined the Museum in October 2017. Prior to her appointment at UMMA, she served as the Class of 1956 Director at the Williams College Museum of Art. Olsen has nearly 30 years of progressive experience at national arts organizations, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum and Getty Foundation, and the Portland Art Museum. She has curated and produced a range of exhibitions and programs, including Object Stories, an installation, audience and participation and outreach initiative; Accession Number, an exhibition at the Williams College Museum of Art; and Abstraction, Color, and Politics at UMMA. She is a national leader in conversations about the changing role of campus art museums and their relationships with the public and campus. Olsen received a BA in history of art, with honors, from the University of Chicago, and an MA and PhD in art history from the University of Pennsylvania.
Liz Andrews, Ph.D., Spelman College Museum of Fine Art Executive Director
Liz Andrews joined the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art as Executive Director in the fall of 2021. Prior to joining the Spelman Museum, Andrews was Executive Administrator in the Director’s Office of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Her curatorial projects at LACMA included The Obama Portraits Tour and Black American Portraits, an exhibition covering 200 years of portraiture. Andrews holds a B.A. in American Studies from Wesleyan University, a M.A. in Arts and Politics from Tisch School of Arts at NYU, and a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from George Mason University.
Philippa Pham Hughes, Visiting Artist
Philippa Pham Hughes is a Social Sculptor, Cultural Strategist, Curator. Currently, she is a Visiting Fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins, Visiting Artist For Arts & Civic Engagement at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and a Lecturer at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. She applies relational thinking and an aesthetic of care and delight to her work in democracy building, civic engagement, and repairing the social fabric of our country one creative conversation at a time. Philippa draws from the arts and humanities to design spaces for honest conversations across political, social, and cultural differences. She has produced hundreds of creative activations since 2007 for people who might not normally meet to engage with one another in unconventional and meaningful ways. She also curates multi-disciplinary art exhibits & experiences.
Oceania, Poet
Candace Oceania Cavazos is a professional poet with The Guild, a published author and a community advocate. She graduated from the University of Michigan with her Bachelors and Masters in Education, Leadership and Policy. She specializes in project management and program development, improvement and implementation. She currently serves as U of M’s Mentorship and External Engagement Manager at optiMize- a Social Innovation and Entrepreneur center for students. She opened the only Black and Indigenous owned cafe in Ypsilanti called The Deep End Cafe & Gallery and spends her free time chasing around her two young sons while attempting to memorize poems for amazing events like today.
SUPPORT
UMMA’s 2024 Season Opening events are generously supported by Fidelity Investments.
