Interdisciplinary artist Cauleen Smith kicks off the annual Clarice Smith Distinguished Lecture Series. Smith explores African American identity through her work, particularly in films such as Sojourner, featured in SAAM’s current exhibition Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies. She describes her work as a reflection on “the everyday possibilities of the imagination,” drawing on poetry, Afrofuturism, science fiction, and tactics of experimental film to conjure alternative narratives and what the artist has called “a cornucopia of future histories.” Smith lives and works in Los Angeles.

Image credit: Josh Franzos