Extracurricular Seminars

On 25-26 May 2026, The Lisbon Consortium welcomes renowned artists, curators and leaders to discuss institutional decision-making and curatorial practices in the context of the Arts and Diplomacy seminar by Randi Charno Levine, the former US Ambassador to Portugal and Honorary Professor in Art and Diplomacy at UCP. The seminar is open to the academic community and the public.  

The first panel, “Institutional Decision-Making: Ethics, Risk, and Public Accountability” features Adam Weinberg, the Director of Whitney Museum of American Art, and artist Hank Willis Thomas. The conversation focuses on how museums and cultural institutions make high-stakes decisions involving ethics, funding, governance, public trust, and social responsibility in the context of social, political, and cultural pressures. The panel looks at museums as civic actors in contemporary society and institutional leadership through ethical frameworks, focusing on the tension between risk-taking and institutional sustainability. 

The second panel “Curatorial Power: Selection, Visibility, and Narrative” features curator Rujeko Hockley and artists Alfredo Jaar and Aliza Nisenbaum. It examines curatorial decisions by discussing what is collected, exhibited, framed or omitted and how these decisions actively construct cultural meaning and historical narratives.  The panel looks at curatorship as a form of cultural authorship that negotiates inclusion, exclusion, and visibility within museum practices. Through the focus on the relationship between artists, curators, and institutions, the panel explores how to navigate institutional constraints, public expectations, and political pressures. 

Registration will open soon.