Join us for a conversation with internationally renowned artist Derek Fordjour as part of the ASU Art Museum’s second annual Visionary Artist Lecture Series.
About the Artist
Derek Fordjour was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Ghanaian parents. He is the recipient of the 2025 Gordon Parks Foundation Artist Fellowship, the 2023 St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Spirit of the Dream Award, and previously served as the Alex Katz Chair at Cooper Union. He has received public commissions for the High Line, the NYC AIDS Memorial, MOCA Grand Avenue and the MTA’s Arts & Design program. Fordjour’s work has been reviewed in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Los Angeles Times. A monograph of his work will be published by Phaidon in 2027.
He is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta Georgia, earned a Master’s Degree in Art Education from Harvard University and an MFA in painting from Hunter College. His work is held in the private and public collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Guggenheim Museum, and The Royal Collection in London among others. He is the founder of the Contemporary Arts Memphis.
For more information on Derek Fordjour visit: https://www.davidkordanskygallery.com/artist/derek-fordjour
About the Black Arts and Culture and Council
The establishment of the Black Arts and Culture Council acknowledges that ASU Art Museum must take urgent, reparative measures to honor the legacy and continued contributions of Black artists. Our goal is to add 100 works of art to the ASU Art Museum’s collections by 2032 via acquisitions, donations and special art commissions. To learn more about the Council, check out https://asuartmuseum.org/support/blackartsandculture/.
About Visionary Lecture Series
The ASU Art Museum’s Visionary Lecture Series brings contemporary artists from across the country — and beyond — to share their practice in dialogue with the community. These conversations highlight the role of art in shaping culture, sparking dialogue, and addressing pressing social issues. Rooted in the museum’s mission to center art and artists in service of social good and community wellbeing, the series invites audiences to engage directly with the ideas and voices shaping the future of art today.
Monday, Oct 6, 2025
5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
ASU’s Marston Exploration Theater, 781 S Terrace Rd, Tempe, AZ 85281
RSVP to save your spot!
Image credit: Photographer: Louis Kassam
