Symposium: Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller

Proof of registration, via a QR code on your phone or on paper, will be required to enter Reid Hall. Entry will be refused to those who are not registered.

One of the most significant yet underrecognized artists of the twentieth century, Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller (1877–1968) spent her formative years in Paris at the turn of the century — including time at the very building where this symposium will be held. A sculptor of extraordinary power and originality, Fuller studied under Auguste Rodin, exhibited at the Salon des Beaux-Arts, and went on to become a defining voice of the Harlem Renaissance. Her work gave form to Black experience, resilience, and identity at a time when Black artists were marginalized in both the art world and society at large.

This two-day symposium brings together scholars, curators, archivists, and members of Fuller’s family for an in-depth exploration of her life, art, and legacy. Sessions will examine her Paris years, her major works, her place among her contemporaries, and the ongoing efforts to preserve and steward her legacy. The symposium takes place at Reid Hall, formerly the American Girls’ Art Club. Upon her arrival to Paris in 1899, the Club refused to house Fuller because “she was not white,” making it a particularly resonant setting for this gathering.

The symposium is open to the public. Both evenings feature public events, ticketed separately.

Detailed program to be announced

May 4

• Welcome and introductions, including the history of Reid Hall and its current life as the Columbia Global Paris Center
• Presentations on Fuller’s Paris years
• Public evening event (ticketed separately): Modeling Resilience: The Art and Legacy of Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller (7 p.m.), preceded by a cocktail reception at 6 p.m.

May 5

• Presentations on Fuller’s major artworks
• Presentations on Fuller’s contemporaries
• Presentations on curating and archiving Fuller’s legacy
• Public evening event (ticketed separately): Wandering Artists and Scholars: African Americans Abroad (7 p.m.)

Speakers

• Renée Ater, author of Remaking Race and History: The Sculpture of Meta Warrick Fuller
• David Fuller, grandson of Meta Vaux Warrick and Solomon Carter Fuller
• Kelly-Christina Grant, PhD candidate in art history at Université Paris-Nanterre
• Catherine Hahn, Lecturer in Art History at the University of Kent, England
• Kellie Jones, Professor in Art History and Archaeology and the Institute for Research in African American Studies (IRAAS), Columbia University
• Tammi Lawson, Curator of Arts and Artifacts, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
• Crystal Moten, Associate Director, Special Collections, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
• Denise Murrell, Curator at Large for 19th- and 20th-century art, Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Heather Nickels, PhD candidate in the Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University
• Robert O’Meally, Zora Neale Hurston Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University
• Rachel Passannante, Collections Manager, Danforth Museum
• Jessica Roscio, Director and Curator, Danforth Museum
• Erika Schneider, Professor of Art History, Framingham State University
• Maboula Soumahoro, Associate Professor, English Department, Tours University, and founder of Black History Month France
• Tamara Walker, Professor of Africana Studies, Columbia University, author of Beyond the Shores: A History of African Americans Abroad

This event is made possible with the support of a convening grant from the Terra Foundation for American Art. The Terra Foundation, established in 1978 and having offices in Chicago and Paris, supports organizations and individuals locally and globally with the aim of fostering intercultural dialogues and encouraging transformative practices that expand narratives of American art, through the foundation’s grant program, collection, and initiatives.

This event will take place in Reid Hall’s Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc, built in 1912 and extensively renovated in 2023 thanks to the generous support of Judith Ginsberg and Paul LeClerc.

Organized by the Columbia Global Paris Center. With the support of a convening grant from the Terra Foundation for American Art. With the participation of the Columbia Institute for Ideas and Imagination, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University.