Academy Award-winning filmmaker and noteworthy art collector Spike Lee has been announced as the keynote speaker for the Gibbes Museum’s 2024 Distinguished Lecture Series. He will appear at the Charleston Music Hall on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, at 6 pm.
Lee joins the Gibbes on the heels of his recent exhibition, “Spike Lee: Creative Sources," at the Brooklyn Museum, which offered a rare glimpse into Lee’s personal collection, including artworks by prominent artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jacob Lawrence and Elizabeth Catlett.
In addition to works by top-tier visual artists, photography holds a significant place in Lee’s collection, meriting a dedicated section of the past exhibition to works by Gordon Parks, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, James Van Der Zee, and LaToya Ruby Frazier, among others. The Charleston audience will have the opportunity to hear from Lee about his vast collection, what informs his choices, and the many inspirations behind his work.
“Spike Lee has been at the forefront of visual culture for over four decades,” said Angela Mack, president and CEO of the Gibbes Museum of Art. “We look forward to a compelling discussion about the role visual art has played in shaping his vision and how his filmmaking has in turn shaped visual art and culture as we know it today.”
Tickets will go on sale to Gibbes members for an early bird pre-sale window starting on August 1, 2024, and then sales will open to the public on August 19, 2024.
In anticipation of the lecture, the Gibbes, in collaboration with the Terrace Theater, will present the museum’s limited engagement film series, Gibbes Film in Focus. The series will feature three one-night-only screenings of some of Lee’s most esteemed films: “Do the Right Thing” on September 12 at 7 pm, “Malcolm X” on September 19 at 6 pm, and “BlacKkKlansman” on September 26 at 7 pm. Gibbes Film in Focus, in anticipation of the lecture.
Lee’s iconic body of storytelling has made an indelible mark on filmmaking and television. He is currently in production on High and Low, his fifth film with Denzel Washington, which will be released by A24 before a global launch on AppleTV+.
A five-time Oscar nominee (Do The Right Thing for Original Screenplay, 4 Little Girls for Documentary Feature, BlacKkKlansman for Picture, Director and Best Adapted Screenplay - winner), Lee was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 2015 for his lifetime achievement and contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences.
He is a graduate of Morehouse College and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he is a tenured professor of film and artistic director.
Lee’s production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, is based in Brooklyn, N.Y.
