The Gibbes Museum of Art recently announced Spike Lee, Academy Award-winning filmmaker and noteworthy art collector, as its 2024 Distinguished Lecture Series keynote speaker on Oct. 22 at Charleston Music Hall, starting at 6 p.m. This announcement comes on the heels of the auteur’s recent exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum Spike Lee: Creative Sources, 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. Charleston audiences 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,” says 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.”
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.
Tickets will go on sale to Gibbes members for an early bird pre-sale window on Aug. 1, 2024, and sales will open to the public on Aug. 19. Pricing will range from $50 – 125.
