Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE)

Ken Burns, filmmaker, in conversation with David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, trustee of the National Gallery of Art, and chairman of the Smithsonian Institution

In documentaries such as The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, and The West, filmmaker Ken Burns has spent 40 years investigating American history and culture. His films tell the American story not only in terms of victories and major historical flashpoints, but also through the lives of individuals and relationships. Burns’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including 16 Emmy Awards, 2 Grammy Awards, and 2 Oscar nominations; in September 2008, he was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The National Gallery of Art, in collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), hosted Burns for a conversation with David Rubenstein on April 28, 2019.

Ken Burns, filmmaker, in conversation with David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, trustee of the National Gallery of Art, and chairman of the Smithsonian Institution

In documentaries such as The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, and The West, filmmaker Ken Burns has spent 40 years investigating American history and culture. His films tell the American story not only in terms of victories and major historical flashpoints, but also through the lives of individuals and relationships. Burns’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including 16 Emmy Awards, 2 Grammy Awards, and 2 Oscar nominations; in September 2008, he was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The National Gallery of Art, in collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), hosted Burns for a conversation with David Rubenstein on April 28, 2019.

Mark Bradford, artist; Agnes Gund, philanthropist and collector; David Rubenstein, trustee, National Gallery of Art, and cofounder and co-executive chairman, The Carlyle Group; and Frank Stella, artist. Moderated by Darren Walker, president, Ford Foundation, and vice president, FAPE. Art has existed almost as long as humankind with varying media, methods, and genres. Art has the power to inspire, heal, connect, and transform. It can serve as a memorial, a catalyst, a reflection, or a statement. The National Gallery of Art, in collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), hosted their annual panel discussion with Mark Bradford, Agnes Gund, David Rubenstein, Frank Stella, and Darren Walker on April 15, 2018. This distinguished panel discusses the necessity of art in today’s fast-paced world. This program is coordinated with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies.

Mark Bradford, artist; Agnes Gund, philanthropist and collector; David Rubenstein, trustee, National Gallery of Art, and cofounder and co-executive chairman, The Carlyle Group; and Frank Stella, artist. Moderated by Darren Walker, president, Ford Foundation, and vice president, FAPE. Art has existed almost as long as humankind with varying media, methods, and genres. Art has the power to inspire, heal, connect, and transform. It can serve as a memorial, a catalyst, a reflection, or a statement. The National Gallery of Art, in collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), hosted their annual panel discussion with Mark Bradford, Agnes Gund, David Rubenstein, Frank Stella, and Darren Walker on April 15, 2018. This distinguished panel discusses the necessity of art in today’s fast-paced world. This program is coordinated with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies.

Panelists include Jack Cowart, executive director, Roy Lichtenstein Foundation; Dorothy Lichtenstein, president, Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, and FAPE Board member; and Robert Storr, professor of painting and former dean, Yale School of Art, and chairman, FAPE's Professional Fine Arts Committee. Moderated by Harry Cooper, curator and head, department of modern art, National Gallery of Art. The National Gallery of Art, in collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), hosted their annual panel discussion with Jack Cowart, Dorothy Lichtenstein, and Robert Storr on April 24, 2017. The conversation, moderated by Harry Cooper, focused on the history and tradition of murals, in celebration of a major gift to FAPE of Roy Lichtenstein’s Greene Street Mural for the new US Embassy in Mexico City. During the New Deal era from 1933 to 1943, the American government administered four separate art programs that produced thousands of paintings, sculpture, and works on paper for display in federal buildings throughout the country. Thanks to Mexican muralists Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros, the US artistic community had already become inspired during the 1920s and 1930s by the revitalization of murals and the Italian Renaissance fresco style.

Frank Gehry, architect, in conversation with Paul Goldberger, architecture critic and author, Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry. Moderated by Harry Cooper, curator and head, department of modern art, National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art, in collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), hosted a panel discussion with architect Frank Gehry and Pulitzer Prize–winning architectural critic Paul Goldberger on April 18, 2016. The conversation, moderated by Harry Cooper, was held in honor of Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry. This first critical biography presents and evaluates the work of a man who has almost single-handedly transformed contemporary architecture in his innovative use of materials, design, and form. Gehry is also among the very few architects in history to be both respected by critics as a creative, cutting-edge force and embraced by the general public as a popular figure. At once a sweeping view of a great architect and an intimate look at creative genius, Building Art is in many ways the saga of the architectural milieu of the 21st century. But most of all it is the compelling story of the man who first comes to mind when we think of the lasting possibilities of buildings as art.

Frank Gehry, architect, in conversation with Paul Goldberger, architecture critic and author, Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry. Moderated by Harry Cooper, curator and head, department of modern art, National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art, in collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), hosted a panel discussion with architect Frank Gehry and Pulitzer Prize–winning architectural critic Paul Goldberger on April 18, 2016. The conversation, moderated by Harry Cooper, was held in honor of Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry. This first critical biography presents and evaluates the work of a man who has almost single-handedly transformed contemporary architecture in his innovative use of materials, design, and form. Gehry is also among the very few architects in history to be both respected by critics as a creative, cutting-edge force and embraced by the general public as a popular figure. At once a sweeping view of a great architect and an intimate look at creative genius, Building Art is in many ways the saga of the architectural milieu of the 21st century. But most of all it is the compelling story of the man who first comes to mind when we think of the lasting possibilities of buildings as art.

Panelists include Theaster Gates, artist, and director of arts and public life, resident artist, and lecturer, department of visual arts, University of Chicago; Yo-Yo Ma, cellist; and Darren Walker, vice president, Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies, and president, The Ford Foundation. Moderated by Molly Donovan, associate curator of modern art, National Gallery of Art. The National Gallery of Art, in collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), hosted a panel discussion on the role of cultural citizens on April 20, 2015 in the East Building Atrium. Molly Donovan moderates a conversation with Theaster Gates, Yo-Yo Ma, and Darren Walker on the impact of cultural exchange and its ability to forge ties among communities.

Anna Deavere Smith, actress, playwright, and director, Anna Deavere Smith Works at the Aspen Institute; Robert Storr, chairman of FAPE's Professional Fine Arts Committee and dean of the Yale School of Art; Carrie Mae Weems, artist. Moderated by James Meyer, associate curator of modern art, National Gallery of Art. In collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), the National Gallery of Art hosted a panel discussion on the role of artists in international diplomacy on May 7, 2014. Robert Storrs presents an overview of FAPE’s recent acquisitions and installations for American embassies around the world. In a conversation moderated by Gallery curator James Meyer, actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith and artist Carrie Mae Weems discuss the impact of creating and sharing their work in a global community.

Tina Barney, artist; Sarah Greenough, senior curator and head of the department of photographs, National Gallery of Art; Sarah Lewis, art historian, author and curator; Clifford Ross, artist; and Robert Storr, dean of the Yale School of Art, chairman of FAPE’s Professional Fine Arts Advisors, and consulting curator of modern and contemporary art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), the National Gallery of Art hosted a panel discussion on the role of art in diplomacy on April 30, 2013. The panelists—Sarah Greenough, Sarah Lewis, and Robert Storr—present an overview of FAPE’s photography collection in American embassies around the world. Tina Barney discusses her recent gift to FAPE, and Clifford Ross reviews the photographs acquired by FAPE for display at the US Mission to the United Nations in New York as well as recent projects in China.

David Adjaye, principal architect, Adjaye Associates; Elizabeth Diller, principal architect, Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Tom Finkelpearl, executive director, Queens Museum of Art; Sarah Lewis, art historian, author, and curator; and Robert Storr, chairman of FAPE's Professional Fine Arts Committee and dean of the Yale School of Art. In collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE) and in the spirit of its Leonore and Walter Annenberg Award for Diplomacy through the Arts, the National Gallery of Art hosted this annual panel discussion on May 15, 2012. Featuring noted architects David Adjaye and Elizabeth Diller, and moderated by Robert Storr, the program focused on how architecture and art bring people together in public spaces. Adjaye currently serves as the lead designer for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is slated to open on the National Mall in 2015. Diller, along with Ricardo Scofidio and Charles Renfro, recently completed the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Redevelopment Project. Also participating were Tom Finkelpearl, executive director of the Queens Museum of Art, which broke ground last year on an expansion that will double its size; and Sarah Lewis, a PhD candidate at Yale University who is currently finishing RISE, a book that "explores the advantage of resilience and so-called failure in successful creative human endeavors."

Robert Storr, Yale School of Art, and artists Odili Donald Odita, Joel Shapiro, and Carrie Mae Weems. Moderated by Harry Cooper, curator of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art In collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), the National Gallery of Art hosted this panel discussion on May 20, 2011. The panel discussed FAPE's landmark project at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York City. FAPE contributed the art collection for this important post, including three site-specific installations and more than 200 works by more than 50 American artists. Odili Donald Odita completed two wall murals in the lobby and on the second floor, and Carrie Mae Weems donated her photographs to the collection. Also discussed was Joel Shapiro's future installation at the Consulate General of the United States in Guangzhou, China, commissioned by FAPE for 2012.

Chuck Close, artist; Ambassador Cynthia P. Schneider, Georgetown University and the Brookings Institution; and Robert Storr, dean, Yale School of Art. Moderated by Joseph J. Krakora, executive officer for development and external affairs, National Gallery of Art. The National Gallery of Art hosted this panel discussion, in coordination with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies, on April 12, 2010, to examine the important role that art plays in representing the United States abroad.

Panelists: Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States; Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for The New Yorker and Joseph Urban Professor of Design and Architecture, New School; and Robert Storr, dean, Yale School of Art. Moderated by Molly Donovan, associate curator of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art. In this special lecture podcast recorded on May 12, 2009, the National Gallery of Art, in conjunction with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies, hosted this panel discussion on the role of art and architecture in the civic sphere, at home and around the world.