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Native American artist Edgar Heap of Birds pictured with a few works that will be on exhibit at The Studios of Key West during the Currents and Confluences Art Symposium. The public is invited to the opening reception Thursday, March 3 from 6-8pm

Currents & Confluences

A Symposium of Art & Ideas

Presented in partnership with

Curated by James Lancel McElhinney, artist/author/oral historian

The inaugural edition of our visual arts conference tackles issues of nature, identity and place. How do we imprint ourselves on the landscape? How does nature condition who we are? Key West serves as the backdrop for a series of exhibitions, workshops, conversations and receptions, based on the premise that visual art can inspire change: individually, locally and globally.

Thursday Programs, At a Glance:

Friday Programs, At a Glance:

  • Keynote: America’s Eden: Images of Florida from Science, Art and Popular Culture
  • Artist Interview: Watercolorist Frederick Brosen
  • Lecture: Edgar Heap of Birds, Provocative Native American Art and the Environment
  • Field Trip (Key West): Heap of Birds’ Tribal Panels and Conch History
  • FREE Screening: Key Largo (Huston, 1948)

Saturday Programs, At a Glance:

  • Artist Interview: Aurora Robson, Engaging Beauty to Disrupt the Waste Stream
  • Panel Discussion: Edgar Heap of Birds, Sexuality, Identity and Tropical Stereotypes
  • Studio Programs: Watercolor Demonstration, Artist Journals
  • Field Trip (Boca Chica): Flora, Fauna, Flotsam & Jetsam w/ Mark Hedden
  • Lecture: An African American Sculptor in Jamaica
  • FREE Screening: Cabeza de Vaca (Echevarria, 1991) recounts the catastrophic 1528 Narvaez expedition to FL

Here’s how it works:

Each day has two sessions: morning (9-noon) and afternoon (1:30-4:30). Session offerings include lectures, studio programs and field trips. The exhibition is the backdrop, and we end each day with a FREE screening (4:30pm). Pick and choose what appeals!

Participants include:

• Theodore Barrow, art historian
• Margaret Borowitz, art historian
• Frederick Brosen, artist
• Edgar Heap of Birds, artist
• Katherine Manthorne, PhD, art historian – Keynote Speaker
• Aurora Robson, artist
• Jillian Russo, art historian/curator
• Margaret Rose Vendryes, artist/art historian

Single Day (Friday): $125, $110 mbrs
Single Day (Saturday): $125, $110 mbrs
Both Days (Friday & Saturday): $225, $200 mbrs

Includes morning coffee and bag lunch each day.