A Panel Discussion Featuring b. Robert Moore, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Jordan Weber 

For Immediate Release
Contact: Amy Day
Tel: 515.271.0344 (o)
515.612.0775 (c)
aday@desmoinesartcenter.org

DES MOINES, IOWA (July 8, 2024) – Iowa’s 2023 census data cites that of the 3,207,004 people in the state, 84.4% or 2,702,598 of the population are white. Growing up in a state with such low rates of racial diversity is an experience shared by multidisciplinary artist b. Robert Moore, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, and regenerative land sculptor and activist Jordan Weber. On Sunday, July 28, 2024 at 3 pm CST, these Iowa natives will gather at the Des Moines Art Center for a conversation on how this has been a catalytic factor in their pursuits to bring wider and more nuanced stories of our American history to the forefront.

Nikole Hannah-Jones is the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of “The 1619 Project” and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. Her books, “The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story,” and the children’s book, “The 1619 Project: Born on the Water,” have topped The New York Times best seller list. Her “1619 Project” is now a six-part docuseries on Hulu and won the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. She has spent her career investigating racial inequality and injustice, and her reporting has earned her the MacArthur Fellowship, known as the Genius Grant, a Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards, and the National Magazine Award three times.

b. Robert Moore has the solo exhibition, “Iowa Artists 2024: b. Robert Moore: In Loving Memory” on view at the Des Moines Art Center now through October 20, 2024. He is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist who is heavily influenced by socio-political events, cultural criticism, and collective identity related to the African American experience. After seven years as a full-time artist, Moore’s work has been collected by the likes of Gayle King, Lil Yachty, Taraji P. Henson, Taye Diggs, and more.

Jordan Weber is a regenerative land sculptor and activist who works at the intersection of social justice and environmental-apartheid through grassroots collaboration in industrial, polluted neighborhoods such as St. Louis, Minneapolis, Detroit, Red Hook, Boston, and Des Moines. His work was featured in “Iowa Artists 2016” at the Des Moines Art Center, and he is the winner of multiple awards, including the 2023 Guggenheim Award, the 2022 United States Artist Award, the 2021 inaugural Harvard LOEB/Artlab Fellowship, and the 2020 Joan Mitchell Award.

This highly anticipated event has already reached capacity, however the discussion will be recorded and shared online. Sign up for the Des Moines Art Center’s email newsletter to be notified when it is available.

Image, left to right: Nikole Hannah-Jones. Photo by Jason Hill. – b. Robert Moore. Photo by Andrew Sans. – Jordan Weber. Photo by Andre D. Wagner.

About the Des Moines Art Center
The Des Moines Art Center is a vibrant, AAM-accredited (American Association of Museums) institution located in the capital city of Iowa that welcomes over 300,000 visitors annually from across the country and around the globe. Its historic campus consists of three buildings designed by major architects of the 20th century—Eliel Saarinen, I. M. Pei, and Richard Meier—incorporated into the natural landscape of Greenwood Park. The Art Center is home to one of the strongest collections of 20th- and 21st-century art in the region, and it hosts a series of ground-breaking exhibitions and lectures each year featuring artists known regionally, nationally, and internationally. The experimental art for which the Art Center cares is reflected in its creative offerings, including a celebrated education program that prioritizes access and collaboration, an art school with studio classes for all ages, and the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park, situated on 4.4 acres in downtown Des Moines. The Art Center is committed to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are incorporated into every facet of its mission and identity.

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