Common Seeing LOOK. Listen. Learn. Act.

Every year, the JSMA partners with the University of Oregon’s Common Reading—campus-wide programming around a shared book and its themes—to organize a Common Seeing exhibition that explores and expands on the Common Reading through visual art. The 2020-21 novel is This is My America by UO Assistant Vice Provost for Advising, Kimberly Johnson. The Common Reading’s charge of Listen. Learn. Act. incorporates different bodies of work across multiple platforms, focusing on Blackness, Black experience, and dismantling racism. The JSMA’s annual “Common Seeing” features works by Hank Willis Thomas and Alison Saar from the collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer and works by Lezley Saar and Kara Walker from the JSMA’s permanent collection.

The JSMA believes that art can move people to change. As an academic art museum, it is critical for us to listen, learn, and act in order to build trust and understanding. We are committed to the advancement of anti-racism in museum culture and diverse and equitable approaches in our work. The JSMA’s exhibitions and public programs strive to amplify multiple perspectives, experiences, and voices. LOOK. Listen. Learn. Act. is generously made possible by the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.

Click here for more information about all of the University of Oregon’s Common Reading resources, including The 1619 Project Podcast and the work of award-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones.