This Memorial Day, join us for a special artist talk by photographer David Hilliard. For decades, David Hilliard and his father, Raymond, a Navy Veteran, collaborated on The Dad Series. The pair had even made plans for what the last image would be, and Raymond had given his son permission to photograph him in his casket. COVID-19 restrictions, however, meant that when Raymond died of the virus in April 2020, he was cremated rather than embalmed. Hilliard, then, placed his father’s remains in a casket-shaped urn and made images in spaces that had been meaningful to his father.

This lecture will examine 3 decades of collaborative picture making with David and his father. The images depict various stages of his father's life, their relationship and his father's ultimate passing. David will speak about the highs and lows of really committing to a project, with all of its challenges and art-making as a healing tool.

The artist talk will be followed by an Open Art Studio Session lead by Veteran and Artist, Valerie Acosta. The final work of art from the Collaborative Painting Project will be unveiled. This virtual event is open to all, and tickets are free. Donations are accepted to support Community Building Art Works programs for Veterans, service members, military families, and healthcare workers.

The artist talk and presentation will be recorded, and a link to the recording will be emailed to all those who register.

David Hilliard is and artist and educator from Boston, and creates narrative multi-paneled photographs, often based on his life or the lives of people around him. He is widely published and exhibits nationally and internationally. He has also made work for the New York Times, The New Yorker, GQ and Vogue Hommes Paris. Hilliard received his MFA from Yale University and has won numerous awards including the Fulbright Grant and Guggenheim Fellowship. His photographs can be found in the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, among many others. He is regular visiting faculty at Harvard University, Massachusetts College of Art & Design and Lesley University. Hilliard’s work appears in many publications and is represented by the Yancey Richardson Gallery in NYC, Jackson Fine Art in Atlanta and in Provincetown by the Schoolhouse Gallery. Connect with the artist on Instagram @davidthelens.

Valerie Acosta served in the United States Air Force for 20 years before retiring in 2022. She is a self-taught visual artist and published photographer. Her mediums include acrylic, gouache, watercolors, pencils, pens, clay and wood. Her art has been exhibited at the Arches Gallery in the Workhouse Arts Center in Virginia. She is also a DoD-certified Master Resilience Trainer and loves to teach resiliency skills that can support mental health and replace misery with happiness. Find her online at Etsy and Instagram.

The Highway of Thought: A CBAW Memorial Day Event with David Hilliard

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