American art today is confronting issues of racism, colonialism and identity head on. What is it like to be a visual artist in America now, where the public debate is dominated by Trumpism on the one hand and Black Lives Matter on the other?

Dread Scott’s description of his work goes straight to the heart of the matter: “I am a visual artist, and I make revolutionary art to propel history forwards.”

Kunsthal KAdE is joining forces with the John Adams Institute on December 16 to talk about art and activism in America now. Our guests are two American artists, Dread Scott and Alixa Garcia, whose work is now on view in the exhibition This Is America at KAdE in Amersfoort. Alixa is also one of the driving forces behind the artist-led activist organization For Freedoms. Dread and Alixa will be joined by Dutch artist Patricia Kaersenhout, who is represented in the exhibition Say It Loud at the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht. Tracy Metz, director John Adams, and Robbert Roos, director Kunsthal KAdE, will lead the conversation

 Join us on Wednesday December 16 at 19:30 for an exciting discussion on the role and content of art and the artist today.

 About the John Adams Institute

For three decades now, The John Adams Institute provides an independent podium for American culture in the Netherlands. The institute believes in the power of words and ideas, and in intellectual exchange through real-life encounters. Through the years they have invited speakers such as Madeleine Albright, Jonathan Safran Foer, Spike Lee, Jonathan Franzen and Nobel Prize winners Toni Morrison and Joseph Stiglitz – to name just a few – to share their thoughts and insights with audiences in the Netherlands.

The exhibition This is America: Art USA Today is at Kunsthal KAdE in Amersfoort through Jan 3rd. The exhibition Say it Loud is at the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht (link naar Engelse tentoonstellingspagina achter titel) through April 18th.