Summer Series: Derek Fordjour in conversation with Sophia Cohen

Aug 1, 2024 12:30PM-1:30PM MST

Schermer Meeting Hall

Derek Fordjour (b. 1974) was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Ghanaian parents. He was awarded the 2016 Sugarhill Museum Artist-in-Residence, the 2017 Sharpe Walentas Studio Program in New York City, and named the 2018 Deutsche Bank NYFA Fellowship Award. He was appointed The Alex Katz Chair at Cooper Union and served as a Core Critic at Yale University School of Art. In 2018, he was awarded commissions for the Whitney Museum of American Art Billboard Project and the Metropolitan Transit Authority Arts & Design program. Recently, he was the inaugural artist for the Building Art Series on the façade of MOCA Grand Avenue in Los Angeles. His work has been reviewed in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times, and Hyperallergic. He has also been featured in several publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Juxtapoz, Vanity Fair and Forbes Magazine. He is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta Georgia, earned a Master’s Degree in Art Education from Harvard University and an MFA in painting from Hunter College.  His work is held in the private and public collections of The Studio Museum of Harlem, Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, SFMOMA, Brooklyn Museum, Perez Museum, The Whitney Museum and LACMA. Fordjour is the founder of Contemporary Arts Memphis Summer Fellowship program.

Sophia Cohen is an advisor working with artists, clients, and institutions to curate exceptional projects. She chairs both the Guggenheim’s Young Collectors Council and the Milken Institute’s Young Leaders Circle. Her personal collection features the works of many young female artists and underrepresented groups. In the coming months, Cohen will speak at The Met’s Women & the Critical Eye in 2024 event with Venus Williams and start the Global Ambassadors Initiative at LACMA.

Panel

Derek Fordjour

2024 Summer Series Speaker

Derek Fordjour was born in 1974 in Memphis, Tennessee to Ghanaian parents. He was awarded the 2016 Sugarhill Museum Artist-in-Residence, the 2017 Sharpe Walentas Studio Program in New York City, and named the 2018 Deutsche Bank NYFA Fellowship Award. He was appointed The Alex Katz Chair at Cooper Union and served as a Core Critic at Yale University School of Art. In 2018, he was awarded commissions for the Whitney Museum of American Art Billboard Project and the Metropolitan Transit Authority Arts & Design program. Recently, he was the inaugural artist for the Building Art Series on the façade of MOCA Grand Avenue in Los Angeles. His work has been reviewed in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times, and Hyperallergic. He has also been featured in several publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Juxtapoz, Vanity Fair and Forbes Magazine. He is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta Georgia, earned a Master’s Degree in Art Education from Harvard University and an MFA in painting from Hunter College.  His work is held in the private and public collections of The Studio Museum of Harlem, Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, SFMOMA, Brooklyn Museum, Perez Museum, The Whitney Museum and LACMA. Fordjour is the founder of Contemporary Arts Memphis Summer Fellowship program.

Learn More

Sophia Cohen

2024 Summer Series Speaker

Sophia Cohen is an advisor working with artists, clients, and institutions to curate exceptional projects. She chairs both the Guggenheim’s Young Collectors Council and the Milken Institute’s Young Leaders Circle. Her personal collection features the works of many young female artists and underrepresented groups. In the coming months, Cohen will speak at The Met’s Women & the Critical Eye in 2024, an event with Venus Williams, and start the Global Ambassadors Initiative at LACMA.

Learn More