Noted Artist, Author Suzanne Lacy to Give Talk at University of Virginia April 23

April 15, 2008 — Noted artist and author Suzanne Lacy, whose work includes installations, video and large-scale performances on social themes and urban issues, will give a public talk on aspects of her art work and career on Wednesday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m. in Room 160, Campbell Hall. This event, presented by The University of Virginia McIntire Department of Art's program in arts administration and The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative, is free and open to the public.

One of Lacy's best-known works to date is "The Crystal Quilt" (Minneapolis, 1987) a performance with 430 older women broadcast live on public television. During the 1990s, she worked with teams of artists and youth to create an ambitious series of performances, workshops and installations on youth and public policy, documented by videos, local and national news broadcasts, and an NBC program. Her work has been funded through numerous local and national foundations, including the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim, Rockefeller, Surdna and Nathan Cummings foundations.

Also known for her writing, Lacy edited the influential "Mapping the Terrain: New Genre Public Art," published in 1995 by Bay Press, a book that prefigures current writing on politically relevant performance art. She has published more than 60 articles on public art.

Lacy is the chairwoman of the M.F.A. in Public Practices, a new program at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles that started this year. Until assuming that position she was chairwoman of Fine Arts at Otis College of Art and Design. From 1987 to 1997, she was dean of the School of Fine Arts at the California College of Arts, and in 1998 she became founding director of the Center for Art and Public Life. In 1996 and 1997, she co-founded the Visual and Public Art Institute at California State University at Monterey Bay with artist Judith Baca.

Active in Oakland cultural politics, Lacy was a member of Mayor Jerry Brown's education cabinet and an arts commissioner for the City of Oakland.

For information, call George W. Sampson at 434-924-7307 or The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative 434-984-5669 or visit www.thebridgepai.com.

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