Explore our city’s upcoming humanities events from performances and lectures to celebrations and multi-media experiences. These public events are created and hosted by either HumanitiesDC, our grantees or local partners. To submit an event for consideration, please complete this form.
The Promise and Perils of Public Art: Ben Shahn’s Murals on Social Security
Join Professor Laura Katzman as she discusses the public art of Ben Shahn (1898-1969), focusing on his most prominent New Deal fresco murals, The Meaning of Social Security, which were commissioned by the Public Works Agency’s Section of Fine Arts (1940-1942) for the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building in Washington.
Dr. Katzman will address how Shahn navigated the demands of federal agencies, the needs of his own art/activism, and the larger goals of his social criticism. The program will illuminate the status of Shahn’s murals in the context of the current administration?s controversial efforts to sell specific government buildings and its drastic staff cuts to the General Services Administration––the official steward of federally funded art in government buildings across the United States.
Register
Bring some humanity to your inbox:
Subscribe to our Newsletter.