THE POETICS OF CRITICISM
The Poetics of Criticism invites a gathering of Black femme critics to be in conversation about the contours and nuances of contemporary arts writing at the museum. Dually inspired by the unfiltered framework of Lois Weaver’s The Long Table format and the beautifully discursive, intersectional ebbs and flows of Black feminist kitchen table sessions, the Poetics of Criticism is curious about the evolving role of the Black femme critic. Our participants begin with our audience. What questions will you ask of us? Our invited guests include: Darla Migan, Jessica Lynne, Ayanna Dozier, Re’al Christian, Erica N. Cardwell, and Lee Ann Norman. Each guest will share a brief sampling of their work, as an offering to the table. Our gathering maintains that elements of critical writing that are often cast aside - curious, intuitive, experiential. Consider this a Kitchen Table session. Let’s gather and share.
2020-2021 QAM Fellow Erica N. Cardwell is a writer, critic and educator based in Brooklyn and Toronto. She is the recipient of a 2021 Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant and a New York State Council for the Arts Grant for Artists in support of her first book, Wrong Is Not My Name; Essays and Stories on Black Feminist Visual Culture, which will be published by The Feminist Press in 2023.
Cardwell’s teaching and writing consider the consciousness and imaginations of people of color as a tool for social, spiritual, and collective movement. She centers Black feminist theory as her primary critical approach, and often writes about print and paper-making practices, archival media, and interdisciplinary performance. Her writing has appeared in ARTS. BLACK, Artsy, Frieze, BOMB, The Believer, The Brooklyn Rail, CULTURED, Hyperallergic, C Mag, Art in America and other publications.
Cardwell has been awarded residencies and fellowships from the Lambda Literary Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and the Queer Art Mentorship. She received her MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and has taught for various institutions, such as Parsons School of Design at The New School, Barnard College, City University of New York, and the Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists’ Residency. She is on the editorial board of Radical Teacher Journal and a member of the International Art Critics Association.
Queer|Art|Mentorship Works-In-Progress are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.