Inherited Histories: A Conversation with Sadie Barnette and Kevin Beasley

Framed by their works on view in Inheritance, this conversation between Sadie Barnette and Kevin Beasley illuminates the multiple forms of ancestral and familial knowledge that ground their practices. In her recent object-based installation Family Tree II (2022), Barnette constellates drawings, her own photographs, and found images that put forth her family tree as a series of gatherings, locations, and shared histories. In his monumental “slab” sculpture The Road (2019), Beasley examines the history of the Great Migration, incorporating raw cotton harvested from land that his family owns in Virginia, as well as garments belonging to family members and other materials set in polyurethane resin. The discussion delves into the layers of storytelling in each work and the abstractions that emerge from interweaving personal experiences with historical and generational events. The conversation is moderated by Rujeko Hockley, Arnhold Associate Curator. This program is funded by the Flack Family in memory of long-time Whitney docent Marianne L. Flack.