UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive, in partnership with the leadership of UC UK, invites you and a guest to a special evening at the Tate Britain to celebrate the first major UK exhibition by one of today’s most compelling artists and filmmakers—UC Santa Cruz Professor Sir Isaac Julien.
Sir Isaac Julien’s exhibition, “What Freedom is to Me” highlights Professor Julien’s critical thinking and how—through themes of desire, history, and culture and by drawing from multiple artistic disciplines including film, dance, photography, music, theatre, painting, and sculpture—his work breaks down barriers.
The exhibition will present works from early films to large-scale, multi-screen installations which investigate the movement of peoples across different continents, times, and spaces. This is the first time Isaac Julien’s work, which spans forty years, will be presented in the UK.
This invite-only program is unique for UC alumni and their guests. The evening will feature private tours of the exhibition, networking opportunities, and remarks by Professor Julien. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served.
Register today for this very special evening celebrating Professor Julien, his groundbreaking art, and the power of the UC network.
Featured Artist:
Sir Isaac Julien, RA (b.1960)
Sir Isaac Julien, RA (b.1960) is a critically acclaimed British artist and filmmaker. In 2018, Julien joined the faculty at the University of California Santa Cruz, where he is Distinguished Professor of the Arts and leads the Moving Image Lab together with Arts Professor Mark Nash.
Current and recent international solo exhibitions include Isaac Julien, Tate Britain, London 2023; Lina Bo Bardi: A Marvellous Entanglement, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2023; Lessons of the Hour, Virginia Museum of Fine Art, 2022–3; Once Again…(Statues Never Die), Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, 2022; Lina Bo Bardi: A Marvellous Entanglement, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Charlotte, North Carolina, 2022; Lessons of the Hour, McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, San Francisco, 2020–1; Lina Bo Bardi: A Marvellous Entanglement, MAXXI, Rome, 2020–1; Western Union: Small Boats, Neuberger Museum, New York, 2020; Looking for Langston, Tate Britain, London, 2019; Playtime, LACMA, Los Angeles, 2019.
Julien is the recipient of the 2016–17 James R. Brudner ’83 Memorial Prize, the Royal Academy of Arts Charles Wollaston Award 2017, and a Goslar Kaiserring Award in 2022. He was made a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2017, and granted a knighthood as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Honours List in 2022 for services to diversity and inclusion in art.
About UC Santa Cruz:
UC Santa Cruz is a public university like no other in California, combining the intimacy of a small, liberal arts college with the depth and rigor of a major research university. An inspired, global, public research university leading at the intersection of innovation and justice. Visit ucsc.edu to learn more about UC Santa Cruz