The Lambert Family Lecture Series continues to make quite the impact.
The series highlights experts, artists, authors, curators and more to discuss global and community issues and feature their work at the Wexner Center for the Arts. The upcoming discussion, which will be facilitated by Senator Sherrod Brown, will focus on two artists who have documented and detailed the events and employees of two former Ohio General Motors plants following their closures.
LaToya Ruby Frazier is a talented photographer currently featured at the Wex now through April 26 with her exhibit The Last Cruze, which is a multimedia presentation of her time spent with the workers whose lives were abruptly altered by the unexpected reallocation of the Lordstown General Motors plant. Frazier records their stories via photos, text and audio in a creative display.
Julia Reichert recorded the Academy Award-nominated documentary American Factory which focuses on the former Moraine, Ohio, GM assembly plant. Her documentary has been nominated for and received a number of awards and accolades, and her work is currently on display at film venues across the country.
Brown will facilitate the conversation with these two artists to discuss the effects of art on social and political change and putting it in conversation with the state of labor in Ohio. As a steadfast advocate for workers and economic justice, Brown has been involved with the workers at the GM plant in Lordstown following its closure.
Brown will be moderating this discussion at 7 p.m., Feb. 18 in Mershon Auditorium at The Ohio State University. RSVP for this free event online at www.wexarts.org.
Currently, the Wex is also showcasing Sadie Benning’s exhibit Pain Thing which features a collection of small wood panels, painted and layered with resin, and Stanya Kahn’s No Go Backs which is a powerful film following the journey of two teens exploring the sites of the California water wars. Both run through April 26.
The Lambert Family Lecture Series was established in 2004 by Bill and Sheila Lambert. The series invites experts to explore global issues in art and contemporary culture.
Sarah Robinson is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome in the comments.