Past Program Highlights

PAST Program Archive

2025

• 2024-2025 Civic Speaker Series: Sarah Lewis gave a keynote address on The Unseen Truth at Bridgewater State University.

• 12th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Speaker Series: Sarah Lewis delivered the keynote address in The Julliard School’s annual lecture series celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Urban League of Hampton Road: Sarah Lewis delivered a keynote address on The Unseen Truth.

2024

• Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference: Sarah Lewis delivered a keynote speech during the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association women’s healthcare event.

• Town & Country’s Philanthropy Summit: Sarah Lewis participated in a panel called, “Fairweather Philanthropy: When Controversy Strikes, Pull Your Purse or Stay the Course?”

• Wiley Branton Symposium: Sarah Lewis participated in a panel about the power and message of monuments at Howard Law School

• Harvard Black Alumni Global Changemakers Conference: Sarah Lewis spoke at this conference on climate change, health sciences, social justice, business, and the arts.

• Advancing Change: Centering Mentorship in Arts, Education, and Community: Sarah Lewis delivered the keynote for this fall summit at the Saint Louis Art Museum.

• In Conversation: Sarah Lewis and Ibram X Kendi: Sarah Lewis and Ibram X. Kendi joined in conversation at Politics and Prose to dive into The Unseen Truth.

• In Conversation: Sarah Lewis and Franklin Leonard: Sarah Lewis and Franklin Leonard discussed The Unseen Truth in a virtual conversation for Harvardwood.

• The George School: Sarah Lewis delivered a keynote lecture.

• In Conversation: Sarah Lewis and Imani Perry: Sarah Lewis and Imani Perry convened at Harvard Bookstore to discuss The Unseen Truth. 

• Dickinson College, Jane and Robert H. Weiner Lecture in the Fine Arts: Sarah Lewis presented on Vision & Justice for Dickinson’s Art & Art History Department’s annual lecture series.

• Ideas at Ford: Sarah Lewis and Sherrilyn Ifill: Launching Sarah Lewis’ latest book, The Unseen Truth, Lewis, Sherrilyn Ifill, and Darren Walker, participated in a special discussion.

• Aspen Ideas Festival: Sarah Lewis and Hank Willis Thomas hosted, “What Images Teach About Racial Justice” and Lewis participated in a panel discussion on the question and pursuit of happiness.

• Equal Justice Initiative Juneteenth Celebration Panel: Sarah Lewis participated in a panel discussion on the arts and justice with Hank Willis Thomas, Alison Saar, and Kwame Akoto-Bamfo in the EJI’s Dedication of Freedom Monument Sculpture Park and Legacy Sites.

• Harvard IT Summit: Sarah Elizabeth Lewis delivered a keynote for 1,800 IT professionals focused on the themes from The Rise, including creativity and learning from failure.

• Pratt Institute Commencement Ceremony: Sarah Lewis gave this year’s commencement address and received an honorary degree in honor of Vision & Justice.

• In Conversation: Nell Irvin Painter: Sarah Lewis joined Nell Irvin Painter in conversation about her new book, I Just Keep Talking: A Life in Essays.

• Women’s Philanthropy Initiative Summit: Sarah Lewis participated in the Women’s Philanthropy Initiative Summit at Harvard, presenting on Vision & Justice.

• Memorializing Through the Arts: Honoring Ancestral Legacies: Sarah Lewis was in conversation with Tracy K. Smith about memorialization at the Museum of African American History in Boston, as part of the symposium hosted by Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery initiative.

• The Democratic Lens: Photography and Civic Engagement: Sarah Lewis spoke at the CENTER on how images have shaped America's collective memory and inspired individuals to participate in civic life in her lecture, "How We Teach the Truth: Vision & Justice."

• Sacred Spaces: Racial Justice and Spirituality in Action: Sarah Lewis facilitated a “History & Culture“ session during a two day convening commemorating the inaugural cohort of “Sacred Spaces: Racial Justice & Spirituality in Action.”

• Culture of Change: Racial Equity in Art, Entertainment, and Sports: Sarah Lewis was in conversation with artist Hank Willis Thomas to discuss how art shapes and reflects narratives around race, and how it can contribute to a more equitable society.

• National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts: Sarah Lewis was invited as a guest speaker for 58th Annual Conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, Coalescence.

• Night at the Library: Out of Darkness: Sarah Lewis presented an extension of her Vision & Justice course, discussing images, truth, representation, and justice at The Brooklyn Public Library’s Night in the Library.

• SXSW, Design as a Medium Within Visual Art: Artists Deborah Roberts, Laolu Senbanjo, and Michael Ray Charles joined Sarah Elizabeth Lewis to discuss Design and how it functions as a non verbal medium in art making.

• California Conference for Women: Sarah Lewis was invited as a guest speaker for California Conference of Women’s 2024 Conference.

• Yale Guest Seminar: Prison Education Initiative: Sarah Lewis was invited as a guest speaker for Yale’s Prison Education Initiative, which brings access to rigorous, for-credit Yale College courses and other programming to incarcerated students in Connecticut prisons.
  

2023

• Tyrone Maurice Adderley Lecture Series: Sarah Lewis was invited to discuss Vision & Justice: A Civic Curriculum at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

• Book Launch: Unmasking AI: Sarah Lewis spoke with Dr. Joy Buolamwini on the occasion of the book launch for Unmasking AI.

• Sarah Lewis In Conversation with Deborah Roberts: Sarah Lewis joined Austin-based artist Deborah Roberts for a conversation at the opening of her solo exhibition What about us? at Stephen Friedman Gallery.

• American Academy in Rome: Centennial Medal Ceremony: Sarah Lewis presented the American Academy in Rome’s Centennial Medal to Sir Isaac Julien.

• The Gibbes Museum of Art, Distinguished Lecture Series: The Gibbes Museum of Art invited Sarah Lewis as a speaker in their Distinguished Lecture Series.

• "Vision & Justice" with Harvard University's Sarah Lewis: Muhlenberg College invited Sarah Lewis as a speaker in their The Ethics of the Image Series.

• In Conversation: Isaac Julien: Exhibition co-curators Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Sarah Lewis talked with Sir Isaac Julien about the ways image and history weave throughout his work, Lessons of the Hour.
  

2021

• Frieze New York 2021 Tribute: Frieze New York paid tribute to Vision & Justice in 2021 with a variety of dedicated programming throughout the fair, from exhibitions to panel discussions, that considered the responsibility of the arts to disrupt, complicate, or shift narratives of visual representation in the public realm.

2019

• Convening: Conceived by Sarah Lewis, this public two-day convening brought together prominent activists, academics, and artists to consider the role of the arts and culture in understanding the nexus of art, race, and justice.

2017

• SXSWedu 2017 Keynote: Sarah Lewis delivered the keynote talk for the 2017 SXSWedu® Conference & Festival to discuss the importance of the relationship between art and social justice.