Thursday Night Salon Series: Diana Ross

Join us as the Thursday Evening Salon Series returns for its eighth season at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey. Sip a glass of wine or a soft drink and relax in a comfortable setting while discussing current topics in the arts, humanities, and the social sciences. Your hosts will include artists, art historians, curators, philosophers, writers, musicians, stage designers, and more. Eclectic in content and social in nature, the Salon Series provides an opportunity for everyone-regardless of educational or professional background-to gather and learn more about the world of art and artists and how it impacts other disciplines. April 9 Giving Face: Diana Ross and the Black Celebrity as Icon Presented by Nicole Fleetwood, Director, Institute for Research on Women and Professor of American Studies, Rutgers University What meaning does the American public attach to images involving key black political, social, and cultural figures? Investigating the concept of the black icon in the context of photographic history, national and cultural histories, and racial relations, Nicole Fleetwood focuses a sustained lens on how racial icons circulate and acquire meaning within the broader public. Nicole Fleetwood investigates the concept of the "black celebrity" through the context of photographic history, national and cultural history, and racial relations.