Celebrating Afro-Cuban Artist Wifredo Lam: A Talk with Lowery Stokes Sims
Thurs. February 20th, 2025 5pm - 8pm
Lawrence J. Plym Auditorium
Temple Hoyne Buell Hall
611 Lorado Taft Dr, Champaign, IL 61820
Join Krannert Art Museum and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies in celebrating the museum's recent acquisition of Personage by Afro-Cuban artist Wifredo Lam. CLACS and KAM invite the public to a talk by American art historian and curator Lowrey Stokes Sims, followed by a public reception and musical performance from the Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective.
This event is free and open to the public.
Refreshments will be served.
About Lowrey Stokes Sims:
Lowery Stokes Sims is an American art historian and curator specializing in modern and contemporary art, known for her expertise in the work of African, African American, Latinx, Native, and Asian American artists. She is particularly acclaimed for her scholarship on Wifredo Lam, and on Afro-Caribbean art and identity more broadly. Throughout her career, Sims has amplified underrepresented voices and reshaped art historical narratives, promoting greater recognition for diasporic and marginalized communities in the art world.
The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective, founded by José Guzmán during his graduate studies at the University of Illinois, is celebrating six years and preparing for a 2024 tour with the release of Fiesta at Caroga. Their 2019 EP received airplay across the U.S. and South America. A native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Guzmán is a versatile guitarist, performing across jazz, classical, and rock genres. He served as an artist-in-residence at the Caroga Lake Music Festival and earned the 2020 Urbana Arts Grant to compose works blending Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican rhythms. His projects have also been supported by Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs, Urbana Arts, and the Mykytyn Composition Award, with recordings featured on albums by Dimitrije Vasiljevic, KASA String Quartet, and Mr. Chair.
