Explore African American Art Histories at OU: Emily Burns’ Free Lecture on April 23

Emily C. Burns, the director of the Charles M. Russell Center for the Study of Art of the American West, will give a lecture at the University of Oklahoma. The event is scheduled for April 23 at 5:30 p.m. in Richards Hall, Room 15. The lecture is free and open to the public, and will focus on how African American history is represented in art.

The lecture is titled 'Building Black Histories and Futures Through Diorama: Architectural Models on Exhibition, 1900-1940.' It will cover the role of dioramas by African American artists in the early to mid-20th century. These dioramas were important in depicting Black histories and aspirations.

Burns will discuss how these dioramas used architectural replicas to comment on racial oppression and resilience. She will examine both generic and specific historical buildings, such as cabins, plantation houses, the M Street School, and the White House. The artists used these models to express themes of African American identity and the quest for equality.

Burns has academic degrees from Union College, George Washington University, and Washington University in St. Louis. Her expertise in American art and her research in 19th-century transnational art give her a unique view on the intersection of art, culture, and history.

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