2025 Miami Art Week Panel Discussion: Ethical Practices in the Arts

About the Event

As the global art world converges on Miami, AfriKin Talks 2025 offers a vital counterpoint—an urgent and values-driven conversation on conscience, culture, and community. This year’s roundtable, Ethical Practices in the Arts, convenes artists, curators, cultural scholars, and creative entrepreneurs to address the pressing ethical challenges shaping the future of African and African Diaspora art.

At a moment when the market faces scrutiny over extractive practices, performative DEI initiatives, and the erasure of cultural memory, AfriKin Talks creates a rare forum for intellectual rigor and moral clarity. It is here that thought leaders and practitioners come together to envision an art world grounded in empathy, equity, and cultural stewardship.

The Conversation

Guided by the theme of ethical engagement, this year’s discussion explores questions at the heart of cultural accountability:

• How can site-specific projects be approached with empathy and local responsibility?
• What roles must artists and institutions play in historical repair?
• How can we sustain meaningful social investment in artists and their communities?
• How do we invite diverse publics into the future of art from a Global African perspective?

Why This Matters

For academic partners, philanthropists, collectors, and cultural institutions, AfriKin Talks represents an unparalleled opportunity to:

• Engage directly with global thought leaders in African and Diaspora art discourse
• Explore actionable frameworks for reparative practices and conscious cultural engagement
• Position your institution or brand at the forefront of meaningful dialogue and transformative justice
• Contribute to a growing legacy of thought leadership that is reshaping the ethics of the art world

The AfriKin Difference

Distinguished by its curatorial vision and intellectual depth, AfriKin Talks is not simply a panel—it is a platform for cultural accountability. It sets a new benchmark for what critical dialogue can look like during Miami Art Week, cementing AfriKin’s reputation as both a cultural celebration and a forum for global thought leadership.

Speakers from L to R:

Moderator Dr. Allison K. Young

Art Historian, Curator, and Associate Professor at LSU A specialist in African and African Diaspora art history, Dr. Young’s work intersects art and social justice. Her writing appears in Artforum, Art Review, and Brooklyn Rail, and she is the author of the forthcoming book Freedom as Form (Duke University Press).

Panelists:

Allison Glenn

Curator of the 2026 Toronto Biennial of Art. A nationally recognized voice in public art and placemaking, Glenn brings more than 15 years of curatorial experience at the intersection of art and civic engagement.

Gia M. Hamilton

Applied Anthropologist & Founder of Gris Gris Lab

A leader in community-centered arts programming, Hamilton’s Social Magic™ framework explores land, labor, and culture with deep roots in spiritual and social activism.

Lisa Anderson

Curator & Cultural Strategist Based in London, Anderson is known for her groundbreaking work in curatorial repair, cultural memory, and heritage justice. She is also founder of @blackbritishart.

Joseph Underwood

Joseph L. Underwood is a scholar and curator whose research focuses on artists from the African continent and the Diaspora. As an art historian of the modern and contemporary periods, his projects focus on the mid-to-late twentieth century and encompass themes from the Postwar era: including post-colonialism, (trans)nationalism, globalization, and biennialism.

This is more than a panel.

This is a commitment to doing better—together.

About the Venue

The AfriKin Art Fair unfolds within the iconic Maison AfriKin at the Scott Galvin Community Center, a cultural landmark in the heart of Downtown North Miami. Perfectly situated between the refined enclaves of Miami Shores and Aventura, the venue offers an elegant setting that mirrors the sophistication and global significance of the fair itself.

Maison AfriKin provides an intimate yet expansive stage for artistic exploration—where cutting-edge exhibitions, immersive installations, and thought-provoking dialogues come to life. Its unique location positions AfriKin as both a community anchor and an international destination, welcoming art patrons, cultural leaders, and collectors from around the world to experience Miami Art Week through the distinctive lens of Africa and its diaspora.