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Headshots of Hilton Als & Zoë Ryan
Conversations

Hilton Als & Zoë Ryan on Curating

Co-presented with the UCLA Department of Art History as part of the 2025-26 UCLA Art Council Distinguished Scholar Lectureship in Art History

Join Hilton Als and Hammer Museum Director Zoë Ryan for readings of work-in-progress and a conversation on curating. Als’ projects range from the landmark Hammer exhibition Joan Didion: What She Means to his upcoming September 2026 show at the Alex Berns Gallery in Tribeca. His exhibitions spotlight artists like Alice Neel and explore writers such as Didion, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and Jean Rhys, examining the intersection of visual art and literature and offering fresh insight into curatorial practice.

Generously funded by the UCLA Art Council, the Distinguished Scholar Lectureship in Art History brings to the Department an esteemed figure in the field on an annual or biannual basis. In addition to a public lecture, the UCLA Art Council Distinguished Scholar in Art History shares their work through additional lectures, seminars, or courses, allowing for deeper and extended engagement with Art History faculty, students, and others in the UCLA community. Recent honorees have included Sally Stein, Hal Foster, Geeta Kapur, T.J. Clark, and Thierry de Duve. For the 2025-26 Lectureship, the esteemed writer, curator, and critic Hilton Als will visit UCLA for two public events at the Hammer Museum, and a series of graduate seminars on campus

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Press: If you are a member of the press and are interested in attending and covering the program, please email Santiago Pazos at spazos@hammer.ucla.edu for accommodations.

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