Exhibition Opening and Artist Conversation: The River That Flows Both Ways

Join NYU Libraries and the School of Liberal Studies in celebrating the opening of The River That Flows Both Ways, a commissioned installation by artist and professor Jacqueline Bishop. The event will feature a conversation between the artist and Destinee Filmore from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The River That Flows Both Ways showcases a series of compelling and contemplative ceramic works by visual artist Jacqueline Bishop in her pursuit of commemorating the buried, interlinked histories of the Lenape lands on which most of NYU’s New York campus is located.

Featuring archival collage digitally printed on six porcelain plates, The River That Flows Both Ways illuminates the early encounters of African enslaved laborers brought into Indigenous communities by European settlers during the 1600s. These complex interactions and intricate trade routes are juxtaposed with architectural landmarks alongside the flora and fauna native to New York.

Jacqueline Bishop is a Jamaican-born writer, visual artist, scholar, and Clinical Full Professor of Liberal Studies at NYU. Her art renders marginalized voices visible across the African diaspora, and spans mediums including porcelain, collage, painting, and textiles.

Destinee Filmore is a curator, art historian, and cultural preservationist. Her research focuses on expansive histories of the visual and material culture of the United States and broader Atlantic World. She is the founder of On This Land—an interdisciplinary project that identifies, documents, and saves sites of historical importance.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and a conversation with the artist will begin at 6:30. This event is co-sponsored by NYU Liberal Studies and NYU Libraries.

As a part of NYU's commitment to global inclusion, our events and initiatives are open to individuals of all backgrounds and identities.

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