Curator's Talk: Hamza Walker

Hamza Walker approaches contemporary art with a humor and daring that has gained him national acclaim. He is Director of Education and Associate Curator for the Renaissance Society, the non-collecting museum of contemporary art at The University of Chicago. His 2008 curated exhibition, Black Is, Black Ain’t, explored a shift in the rhetoric of race from an earlier emphasis on inclusion to a moment where racial identity was being simultaneously rejected and retained. The exhibition was the subject of a 2013 symposium.

Walker has written articles and reviews for publications such as Trans, New Art Examiner, and Artforum. He is currently on the boards of Noon, an annual publication of short fiction, and Lampo, a non-profit presenter of new and experimental music. He holds a BA in Art History from the University of Chicago and is the recipient of the 2010 Ordwell Prize, the 2004 Walter Hopps Award for Curatorial Achievement, and the 1999 Norton Curatorial Grant. In 2001, the New York Times named Walker one of the seven most influential curators in the country.

Cosponsored by the Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio State's Department of History of Art’s Curatorial Practices Initiative, and Ohio State's Department Of Art Living Culture Initiative.