'The Builders, 1947' performance: Derrick Adams with SCAD students

Join us for an engaging live performance created by artist Derrick Adams in collaboration with SCAD foundation studies faculty and students. Commissioned by the SCAD Museum of Art, Adams conceived of a multidisciplinary new work that consists of movement, soundscapes, imagery and music that brings Jacob Lawrence’s painting "The Builders" (1947) to life.

In his painting, Lawrence explores themes that resonate throughout his career – a preoccupation with the representation of everyday activities and an elevation of labor as a noble activity, which he relates symbolically to emancipation and unity. The work was acquired in 2007 for the White House, where it remains installed today in the Green Room.

Derrick Adams is a multifaceted New York-based artist working in performance, video, sound, and 2-D and 3-D realms. His practice focuses on the fragmentation and manipulation of structure and surface, exploring self-image and forward projection. A recipient of a 2009 Louis Comfort Tiffany Award and 2014 S.J. Weiler Award, Adams earned an M.F.A. degree from Columbia University, New York, New York, and a B.F.A. degree from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York. Adams is a Skowhegan and Marie Walsh Sharpe alumnus, and his work can be seen at Tilton Gallery, New York; Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago, Illinois; Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris; and Vigo Gallery, London.

This event is a part of the "Jacob Lawrence: Lines of Influence" symposium, Oct. 19–20. The symposium is free and open to the public.

"Jacob Lawrence: Lines of Influence" is on view through Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018. For more information about the exhibition and featured artists, visit scadmoa.org. The exhibition and symposium are made possible by the generous support of the Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation and the Ford Foundation.