Saturday, August 22, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
Co-presented with the Fowler Museum at UCLA Join artists, scholars, curators, and cultural practitioners for a day of thought-provoking conversations inspired by *Several Eternities in a Day: Form in the Age of Living Materials*. Through keynote presentations and a panel discussion, the symposium explores how contemporary artists engage with living materials and the political, epistemological, and practical questions these practices raise. The panel discussion will examine topics including the conservation of artworks that continue to change over time, questions of ownership and custodianship regarding contemporary art collections, curatorial practices involving ceremonial and organic materials, and the evolving relationships between artists, institutions, and the living materials they engage. Bringing together perspectives from artistic and curatorial practice, anthropology, philosophy, and the sciences, the symposium invites a rich, interdisciplinary dialogue on the implications of living materials in contemporary art. 2–5PM **Symposium ** Welcome and opening remarks Keynote address: **Rose B. Simpson ** Moderated panel discussion Keynote address (speaker TBD) Audience Q&A