SYMPOSIUM AT WSSU BRINGS IN NATIONAL GUEST SPEAKERS OCT. 2

WSSU and SECCA Collaborate to Present Gather Round 
A Symposium on the Work of Kevin Jerome Everson


"Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) have partnered to bring artist Kevin Jerome Everson together with distinguished scholars and other artists to Winston-Salem for a daylong symposium.

Gather Round will be held Oct. 2 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on the WSSU campus. The symposium coincides with the opening week of an exhibition of Everson’s work at SECCA by the same title and marks the first event co-organized by the two institutions.

“This collaboration between Winston-Salem State University and SECCA on the Kevin Everson exhibition and symposium complements the signature strengths of each of these historic institutions,” says Corey Walker, dean of WSSUs College of Arts, Sciences, Business and Education, and John W. and Anna Hodgin Hanes Professor of the Humanities. “It is a model partnership which realizes the unique opportunities available in a city where the arts, creativity and innovative thinking are the hallmarks of our wonderfully diverse community.”

Everson’s work ranges from painting, sculpture and photography to a prolific output of films. The Gather Round symposium will explore Everson’s artistic perspectives and output through and alongside questions of regionalism, history and the representation of black experience in film, particularly in the South.

Symposium panelists include Terri Francis, associate professor, communication and culture at Indiana University; Michael B. Gillespie, assistant professor of film, School of Interdisciplinary Arts, School of Film and the Department of African American Studies, Ohio University; Sabine Gruffat, media artist, filmmaker and assistant professor of art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Claudrena N. Harold, associate professor of history and African American studies and African studies at the University of Virginia; Wesley C. Hogan, director of the  Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University and a historian of the civil rights movement; and Greg Tate, writer, cultural producer, musician and Sterling Brown 22 Distinguished Visiting Professor of Africana Studies at Williams College.


“As a State of North Carolina cultural resource committed to strengthening partnerships that enrich the lives of Triad residents and citizens across North Carolina, we’re excited to be working with Winston-Salem State University to bring nationally recognized scholars and artists into Winston-Salem,” says SECCA Executive Director Mark Leach. “Together we can continue to increase the city’s relevancy as a key cultural and knowledge destination in the Southeast.”

SECCA Curator of Contemporary Art Cora Fisher adds, “Gather Round will present a one-of-a-kind experience for those interested in art, film, history, and visual culture to listen to and take part in important conversations around labor, memory and community in our everyday lives which Everson’s artistic vision makes manifest.”

The morning session begins at 9:15 a.m. in Hill Hall, Room L 05, directly followed by highlights of Everson’s latest film. After the lunch break, the afternoon sessions will resume at 1 p.m. A reception with the artist will take place from 5-7 p.m. in the Diggs Gallery. Walker, Fisher and Endia Beal, interim director of the Diggs Gallery, will serve as moderators for the various sessions.

The exhibition of Everson’s work will be on display at SECCA from Oct. 1–Dec. 1.

The Gather Round symposium is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to visit the WSSU campus parking office to obtain a day pass in order to park in the visitor’s parking lot. WSSU Campus Parking office can be reached at 336-750-2905. 

For more information or full program schedule visit www.secca.org or www.wssu.edu.


About Gather Round Symposium
Gather Round Symposium is organized by Corey D. B. Walker, Dean, College of Arts, Sciences, Business and Education/ John W. and Anna Hodgin Hanes Professor of the Humanities, Winston-Salem State University and Cora Fisher, Curator of Contemporary Art, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA).

About SECCA
The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, N.C. seeks to enhance perspectives, inspire community and ignite new ideas at the intersection of art and its visitors. Located at 750 Marguerite Drive, the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday. For hours, please visit www.secca.org. SECCA is an affiliate of the North Carolina Museum of Art, a division of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. SECCA receives operational funding from The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. Additional funding is provided by the James G. Hanes Memorial Fund.

About Winston-Salem State University
Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina, is a public university that traces its roots back to Slater Industrial Academy which was founded in 1892 in Winston-Salem, N.C.  WSSU is a historically black university that today is a recognized regional institution offering more than 40 baccalaureate, 10 master’s degree programs and two doctoral programs to a student population of more than 5,000 students. For more information, visit www.wssu.edu.

About the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state's cultural resources to build the social, cultural and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan Kluttz, NCDCR's mission is to enrich lives and communities by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history and libraries in North Carolina that will spark creativity, stimulate learning, preserve the state's history and promote the creative economy. NCDCR was the first state organization in the nation to include all agencies for arts and culture under one umbrella.

Through arts efforts led by the N.C. Arts Council, the N.C. Symphony and the N.C. Museum of Art, NCDCR offers the opportunity for enriching arts education for young and old alike and spurring the economic stimulus engine for our state's communities. NCDCR's Divisions of Archives and Records, Historical Resources, State Historic Sites and State History Museums preserve, document and interpret North Carolina's rich cultural heritage to offer experiences of learning and reflection. NCDCR's State Library of North Carolina is the principal library of state government and builds the capacity of all libraries in our state to develop and to offer access to educational resources through traditional and online collections including genealogy and resources for people who are blind and have physical disabilities.


NCDCR annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation's first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council and the State Archives. NCDCR champions our state's creative industry that accounts for more than 300,000 jobs and generates nearly $18.5 billion in revenues. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visit www.ncdcr.gov."

- A Press Release

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