Sam Gilliam Lecture Series: Jeffrey Gibson

Jeffrey Gibson joins the Sam Gilliam Lecture Series at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center for a conversation about contemporary art, Indigenous identity, community, and the relationship between art, academia, and public policy. The program will be followed by a fireside chat moderated by Melissa Walls.

Gibson is a multidisciplinary Indigenous American artist, a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw and of Cherokee heritage. His work brings Indigenous and Western traditions together through painting, installation, video, and performance. In 2024, he became the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States with a solo presentation at the U.S. Pavilion of the Venice Biennale.

The Sam Gilliam Lecture Series brings prominent artists and speakers to the Bloomberg Center to consider contemporary art’s role in advancing society.

When: November 12, 2026

Showtimes: 5–7 p.m. EST

Tickets: Free

Registration: Required; advance registration is requested

Audience: General public, Johns Hopkins faculty, staff, and students

Featured artist: Jeffrey Gibson

Fireside chat moderator: Melissa Walls, a scholar of Couchiching First Nation and Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe heritage, Bloomberg Associate Professor of American Health, and co-director of the Center for Indigenous Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Venue: Hopkins Bloomberg Center

Address: 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001