Since its inception in 2001, the acclaimed VCS Forum has featured thought leaders from a wide range of creative and scholarly fields. Open to the entire CCA community, these public-facing talks aim to foster dialogues across disciplines on contemporary issues in the visual arena.

This spring, each Forum speaker comes from our own CCA community. Each brings a unique perspective on visual and critical methodologies grounded in their respective discipline(s). Collectively they speak to how visual culture operates as both a tool of critique and transformation. Their work embodies a hybridized, inclusive, and engaged approach to examining the visual and cultural systems that define—and can redefine—how we see ourselves and the world.

This semester’s particular focus is on methods that:

1. Unpack dominant narratives of race, gender, and power.

2. Explore the intersections of representation with personal and collective memory.

3. Reimagine the role of visual culture in building a more inclusive future.

About the Speaker:

Michael Washington completed his PhD in Continental philosophy from the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy at Kingston University in 2018. He teaches in Critical Studies and Visual Critical Studies at CCA, and is currently at work on a book project that is interested in narrating a cultural history of black feminist criticism.