On Abolition

media release: Scholars, artists, and activists will converge for a dynamic two-day gathering exploring the intersections of abolition, visual culture, performance studies, and critical artistic practices. The event, taking place on April 11 and 12 at Pyle Center at 702 Langdon St, Madison 8:30 AM – 6:30 PM, will feature keynote addresses, workshops, and roundtable discussions aimed at challenging dominant narratives and envisioning alternative futures.

The conference, organized by the Center for Visual Culture and Performance Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, brings together a lineup of keynote speakers, including Jenna Loyd (University of Wisconsin), Che Gossett (University of Pennsylvania), Jennifer González (University of California), and Kimberly Juanita Brown (Dartmouth University), along with two dozen other interdisciplinary scholars and artists committed to radical critique and transformative justice. In addition, there will be workshops, research presentations, and a film.

How do we imagine and practice abolition today? This gathering invites scholars, activists, and the public to critically engage with abolitionist thought and creative resistance through performance, scholarship, and collaborative dialogue.

All events are free and open to the public. Registration is onsite.  Click Here to Join through Zoom (most programs are hybrid).

DAY 1: Friday, 11 April

8:00 Coffee Break

8:30 Welcome  by Laurie Beth Clark and Jill Casid

9:00 Workshop 1: Seeding Sanctuary (In Person Only) led by Jenna Loyd, Annie Menzel and Rachel Kuo

9:00 Performance Studies international Constellate Session (Zoom Only) A conversation about Performance Studies and Abolition. Moderator: Michael Peterson. Interlocutors: Anna Kimmel, Domenika Laster, James McMaster, Jazmin Llana, Jisha Menon, SAJ

10:30 Coffee Break

11:00 Keynote 1: Spectacle Border Abolition by Jenna Loyd; Respondent: Keith Woodward

12:30 Lunch

1:30 Keynote 2: Null and Void: Racial Capitalism and Black Art in the Historical Present by Che Gossett; Respondent: Kristina Huang

3:00 Coffee Break

3:30 Workshop 2: Transtemporal Joywork: Echoing into the Future (In Person Only) led by Jen Rae, Syrus Marcus Ware and Dawn Weleski

3:30 Performance Studies international Constellate Session (Zoom Only) A conversation about Performance Studies and Abolition. Moderator: Michael Peterson; Interlocutors: Anna Kimmel, Ben Spatz, Domenika Laster, James McMaster, Jazmin Llana, Patrick Anderson

5:00 Film: Lessons of the Hour by Isaac Julien

This content is related to Keynote 3: Jennifer González.

DAY 2: Saturday 12 April

8:00 Coffee Break

8:30 Workshop 3: AH802 “Topics in Visual Cultures” Moderator: Laurie Beth Clark. Presenters: Jason Q Han, Kean O’Brien, Addison McDaniel, Abubakar Muhammad, Elijah Nicks, Ian Danner, Anju Kinoshita, Hyorim Joe, Shruthi Menon

11:00 Coffee Break

11:30  Keynote 3: Lessons of The Hour: Isaac Julien’s Time Travel* by Jennifer González; Respondent: Guillermina De Ferrari

*The film Lessons of The Hour by Isaac Julien will be screened on April 11, 5 PM at Pyle Center Room 121.

1:00 Lunch

2:00 Keynote 4: Grief in the Dark by Kimberly Juanita Brown; Respondent: Matthew Brown. *Please note that this lecture will be presented on Zoom.  Audience members will have the option to watch in the lecture hall or on personal devices.

3:30 Coffee Break

4:00 Conference Wrap Up: Roundtable on Abolition Now Moderator: Jill Casid; with Che Gossett, Jenna Loyd, Jennifer González

5:30 Reception

Sponsors:

Our work is made possible by support from the Anonymous Fund, Brittingham Fund, University Lectures, College of Letters and Sciences, and Department of Art History. Event co-sponsors include the Departments of African American Studies, Art, Chican@ & Latin@ Studies, Communication Arts, Curriculum & Instruction, Design Studies, English, Gender & Women’s Studies, and Spanish & Portuguese, as well as Abolition & Refuge Borghesi-Mellon Workshop, Center for the Humanities, Center for Research on Gender & Women, Center for South Asia, Center for Southeast Asia Studies, Chazen Museum of Art, Division of the Arts, Human Rights Program, Institute for Research in the Humanities, Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies Program, and Wisconsin Center for Film & Theatre Research.