The Brooklyn Conference: Inspiring Social Change, a two-day event at the Brooklyn Museum, will bring together artists, activists, and other leaders from the worlds of business and technology.

“We are excited to see what happens when cultural figures are in conversation with political and social change advocates through our first ever Brooklyn Conference,” said Anne Pasternak, the Shelby White and Leon Levy Director of the Brooklyn Museum, in a press release.

The theme of the conference is the intersections of art and social justice. It will kick off with a gala on October 19 honoring the artist Judy Chicago and the opening of the new exhibition, “Roots of ‘The Dinner Party’: History in the Making,” about the museum’s long-running exhibit, Chicago’s “The Dinner Party.”

Judy Chicago at work in 1978. Courtesy of Through the Flower Archive via the Brooklyn Museum
Judy Chicago at work in 1978. Courtesy of Through the Flower Archive via the Brooklyn Museum

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will provide the keynote address on the first day, October 20, which is focused on lectures and panel discussions. Additional speakers include the poet Claudia Rankine, activist Linda Sarsour, and the Brooklyn-based artist Hank Willis Thomas, among many others.

The second day of the conference, October 21, will consist of programs, screenings, and workshops, including making protest posters and a workshop from the organizers from the Women’s March on Washington. The filmmaker Julie Dash will take part in a roundtable with other women filmmakers, and New York Times op-ed columnist Charles Blow will have a live conservation with Brittney Packnett, the VP of National Community Alliances at Teach for America.

Tickets for the conference range from $65 to $150 and are available now. They can be purchased via Eventbrite.


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