Artist in Conversation: Alison Saar

On Sunday, June 22, 2025 from 4 to 6 pm, the National Museum of Women in the Arts is hosting a public conversation with acclaimed artist Alison Saar on the intersection of art, literature, social change and how image making can amplify storytelling. Artist in Conversation: Alison Saar will explore Saar’s collaboration with Arion Press, the last printer in the United States to make books entirely by hand, to create a new edition of Octavia Butler’s groundbreaking novel Kindred (1979).

Saar’s limited-run artist’s book reimagines Butler’s iconic neo-slave narrative, which blends speculative fiction with powerful social critique. Saar’s striking linoleum block prints explore themes of identity, endurance and the African American experience.

Presented in partnership with Arion Press, the event coincides with the anniversary of Octavia Butler’s birthday. Butler died in 2006 at the age of 58, but her books continue to present timely perspectives on topics of racism and history.

The talk will be moderated by Elizabeth Ajunwa, director of the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

About Alison Saar
Through her sculptures, installations, drawings, prints and found object assemblages, Alison Saar (b. 1956) explores the subjects of racism, sexism, ageism, heritage, history and the specific challenges of being biracial in America. Saar studied studio art and art history at Scripps College in Claremont, California and earned her MFA from the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Saar’s work is included in museums and private collections across the United States.

Event Sponsors
Artist in Conversation: Alison Saar is part of an ongoing series that reflects NMWA’s commitment to championing the transformative work of women artists. The program is sponsored by Amanda Minami and the Minami Legacy Fund for the Arts. The talk’s reception is generously sponsored by Fred Levin and the Shenson Foundation. Additional support for the Women, Arts, and Social Change public programs initiative is made possible through leadership gifts from Denise Littlefield Sobel and the Davis/Dauray Family Fund with additional support provided by Anne N. Edwards, the Revada Foundation of the Logan Family, and the Susan and Jim Swartz Public Programs Fund.

Tickets and Reservations
Registration required.
General admission: $25
Students, seniors, DC residents: $22
Members: $20
Reserve Your Spot

When
Sunday, June 22, 2025
4 to 6 pm ET

Where
Performance Hall, 5th floor
National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005