Salon Series in the Garden: Sojourner Truth & the Mars Rover

Sojourner Truth, the legendary former slave, abolitionist, and women’s rights activist will be the subject of a discussion between internationally recognized scholar of race, slavery, gender and racial conflict from UCLA, Dr. Brenda Stevenson along with Astrophysicist from The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Dr. Nia Imara. The scholars will focus on the 1997 Sojourner Mars Rover Mission, presenting a fascinating juxtaposition of subjects, seeking to illuminate the associations ruminating in the Mars Rover installation by artist David Hammons currently on view. Tickets to this event are $60. Spaces limited, please book your place here. Price includes welcome beverage, conversation, and family style meal.  

Salon Schedule & Menu

7 pm Welcome drink 7.30 pm Conversation and dinner

Family Style Dinner by Chef Kris Tominaga Biscuits & honey butter Garden of baby lettuces, radish, cucumber, fennel, ricotta salata, kalamata vinaigrette

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Grilled chicken, blistered tomatoes, smoked chili lime, coriander Hot smoked salmon, butterball potatoes, pickled onion, dill, creme fraiche Roasted cauliflower, date vinegar, almonds Brentwood corn, scallion butter, crisp baby shiitakes

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Brown butter chocolate chip cookies

About Salon Series in the Garden ‘Salon Series in the Garden’ is a distinctive dining experience, hosted by Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles and Manuela restaurant, for creative thinkers interested in the culinary and visual arts. Each salon brings together noted guest speakers to explore various topics pertaining to art, architecture, nature, food, and music. The ideas shared in the conversation will then foster further discussion over a family style meal by Chef Kris Tominaga. About the Panelists Dr. Brenda Stevenson Brenda E. Stevenson is an internationally recognized scholar of race, slavery, gender, family and racial conflict. Her specific intellectual interests center on the comparative, historical experiences of women, family, and community across racial and ethnic lines. Race and gender—the ways in which these two variables interact, intersect, collide with, emphasize, run parallel to and sometimes isolate one another—are at the center of her work. Her book length publications include: 'The Journals of Charlotte Forten Grimke' (Oxford 1988); 'Life in Black and White: Family and Community in the Slave South' (Oxford 1996); 'The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins: Justice, Gender and the Origins of the L.A. Riots' (Oxford 2013); and, 'What is Slavery?' (Polity 2015). Professor Stevenson’s research has garnered numerous prizes including the James A. Rawley Prize from the Organization of American Historians for the best book in race relations (U.S.) for 'The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins,' the Ida B. Wells Barnett Award for Bravery in Journalism, and the Gustavus Meyer Outstanding Book Prize for 'Life in Black and White.' Her research has been supported by, among others, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the American Association of University Women, the Center for Advanced Study of the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the National Humanities Center and the American Academy in Berlin. She also is the recipient of the 2014 UCLA Gold Shield Award for outstanding scholarship, teaching and service and the John Blassingame Award for Mentorship and Scholarship from the Southern Historical Society. Professor Stevenson is the past Chair of the Departments of History and the Interdepartmental Program in African American Studies at UCLA. She is a Distinguished Lecturer for both the Organization of American Historians and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Her interviews and commentaries can often be heard on NPR affiliates and other media outlets. Dr. Nia Imara Astrophysicist and artist Dr. Nia Imara is best known for her work blurring the boundaries between art and science. Born in Oakland, CA, Imara studied astrophysics at UC Berkeley and is currently a research fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, where she investigates how stars are born in the Milky Way and other galaxies throughout the universe. Imara is also a practicing artist whose vibrant paintings reflect her love of light, color, people, and their stories.