The Benefit of the Doubt: Advice for Thinking about Art

Contemporary art can be inscrutable and confusing, even for those closely involved with it. In this virtual talk, Fine Arts Specialist, Nick Hartigan will share advice for making contemporary art accessible, relevant, and engaging. This talk will be moderated by Donna Andrews (MSHP’01) and hosted by Jill Sablosky (MFA’79), both are members of our Penn Weitzman Alumni Association.

About the speakers:

Nick Hartigan
Fine Arts Specialist
U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)

Nick Hartigan is a public art scholar and Fine Arts Specialist with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) in Washington, D.C., where he helps care for one of the country’s oldest and largest public art collections. Prior to joining GSA, Hartigan developed the Public Art Resource Center for Americans for the Arts and was a Fellow with the Smithsonian American Art Museum. His work examines the explosive growth of public sculpture and public art organizations in America over the past half-century, and he has published on a range of subjects addressing contemporary art and outdoor sculpture. Hartigan completed his doctorate at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley.

Donna Andrews (MSHP’01)
Historic Preservation Specialist
U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)

Donna Andrews is a Regional Historic Preservation Officer and Regional Fine Arts Officer for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). Prior to joining GSA, Andrews worked as an architectural historian and regulatory compliance consultant for Richard Grubb & Associates, Inc, and E2 Project Management LLC. Andrews currently serves as Secretary of the Penn Weitzman Alumni Association and received her Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania in 2001. She received her BA in History from Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Jill Sablosky (MFA'79)
Public Artist/Sculptor

Jill Sablosky is a sculptor and works in the public realm. Stone is her primary material quarried from regions where she has lived in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Italy. Public projects to be seen in Philadelphia include the Federal Reserve Bank, Society Hill Towers and Arcadia University. Currently, she is working on the public art component for Engine 37, the historic firehouse of Chestnut Hill receiving a renovation and companion building. Large scale projects include (a) sculpture and walkways for the Federal Building in San Antonio, (b) a project commissioned through the Art and Architecture Program of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), and (c) entryway sculptures, plaza, and amphitheater at Western Connecticut State University.  She received her MFA in sculpture from Penn in 1979 and serves as a board member of the Penn Weitzman Alumni Association. 

This virtual event is sponsored by the PWAA. The Penn Weitzman Alumni Association (PWAA) is here to be a professional, creative, and social resource to the Weitzman alumni community of over 11,000 members. The PWAA aims to support and strengthen the School by increasing communication amongst graduates from all departments and their friends, by offering counsel to its leadership, by assisting with fundraising on its behalf, and by connecting alumni from its various departments with the professional disciplines which its graduates profess.

If you require any accessibility accommodation, such as live captioning, audio description, or a sign language interpreter, please email news@design.upenn.edu to let us know what you need. Please note, we require at least 48 hours’ notice. If you register within 48 hours of this event, we won’t be able to secure the appropriate accommodations.