ArtCenter Lecture by Venice Biennale Winner Simone Leigh Postponed

Lecture on acclaimed sculptor Simone Leigh rescheduled for October due to weather-related travel issues.

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

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A lecture on sculptor Simone Leigh, winner of the 2022 Venice Biennale's Golden Lion, that was scheduled for tonight at ArtCenter College of Design has been postponed eight months to October 27 due to weather-related travel issues, according to the college's event page. The talk was to be presented by writer Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, an associate professor at Pratt Institute and a 2025 recipient of the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant.

Why it matters

Simone Leigh is a highly acclaimed artist whose work centers on Black female subjectivity and draws on African art traditions and feminism. Her art has been shown at major institutions around the world, and she represented the United States at the 59th Venice Biennale. The postponement of this lecture is notable as it deprives the local community of an opportunity to learn about Leigh's influential practice.

The details

Leigh, born in Chicago in 1967, works in sculpture, installations, video, performance and social practice. Her 16-foot bronze sculpture 'Brick House' was the first artwork commissioned for the High Line Plinth in New York. Leigh's work has been exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum, the Tate Gallery in London, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, among other institutions. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023, and the Royal Academy in London is organizing a large-scale solo exhibition of her work for Fall 2027.

  • The lecture was originally scheduled for tonight, February 24, 2026.
  • The lecture has been rescheduled to October 27, 2026.

The players

Simone Leigh

A Chicago-born artist who works in sculpture, installations, video, performance and social practice. Her art centers on Black female subjectivity and draws on African art traditions and feminism. She won the Golden Lion at the 2022 Venice Biennale and had a 20-year career survey at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2023.

Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts

An associate professor of writing at Pratt Institute and a 2025 recipient of the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant. She has written on Simone Leigh's work for the Guggenheim Museum and is the author of 'Harlem Is Nowhere,' a New York Times Notable Book and National Book Critics Circle finalist.

Jack Bankowsky

A faculty member in the Graduate Art department at ArtCenter College of Design who organized the Spring 2026 lecture series.

Jason Smith

A faculty member in the Graduate Art department at ArtCenter College of Design who organized the Spring 2026 lecture series.

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What they’re saying

“Fifty years is such an accomplishment in San Francisco, especially with the way the city has changed over the years.”

— Gordon Edgar, grocery employee (Instagram)

What’s next

The lecture on Simone Leigh has been rescheduled for October 27, 2026.

The takeaway

The postponement of this lecture on acclaimed artist Simone Leigh deprives the local community of an opportunity to learn about her influential practice, which centers on Black female subjectivity and draws on African art traditions and feminism. Leigh's work has been shown at major institutions around the world, and she represented the United States at the 59th Venice Biennale.