Convening: In Pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness

The Brooklyn Museum and public art organization Creative Time host a daylong public convening exploring democratic rights, state violence, and liberation on Friday, October 23, 2026, in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium.

The program opens with the panel “LIFE / Beyond Borders: Mapping Movement and Migration Histories,” which frames freedom of movement as an essential right to life within histories of colonialism, state borders, and exclusion. Speakers include data journalist Mona Chalabi, artist and filmmaker Sky Hopinka, and journalist Paola Ramos, moderated by Yomaira Figueroa-Vásquez, with an opening poetry reading by Nicole Sealey. The afternoon session, “LIBERTY / After Incarceration: Envisioning Abolitionist Futures,” confronts the US penal system and the incarceration of nearly two million people, focusing on transformative justice and community accountability. The discussion features organizer and author Mariame Kaba, artist Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter, and artist American Artist, moderated by scholar Jackie Wang. Interspersed throughout the day are short presentations addressing systemic surveillance, climate justice, and reproductive and queer liberation, featuring Chelsea Manning, costume designer and activist Qween Jean, and artists Tega Brain and Sam Lavigne.

Organized as part of the museum’s “Drawing America: US@250” initiative ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the organizers frame the gathering as an intervention to critically interrogate whom US democracy has served and to elevate ongoing struggles for equity and self-determination.

Doors open at 10:00 a.m. Admission is thirty dollars for the general public and eighteen dollars for Brooklyn Museum members, with tickets including access to the museum’s galleries. American Sign Language interpretation will be provided on site, and additional accommodation requests can be directed to [email protected]. Tickets and program details are available through the Brooklyn Museum and Creative Time.