The Barnes Then and Now conversation series brings together scholars and cultural leaders to reflect on the state of the Barnes 100 years after our founding.
In this dialogue, Mural Arts Philadelphia director Jane Golden and Val Gay, deputy director for audience engagement & chief experience officer at the Barnes, explore the egalitarian beliefs underpinning Albert Barnes’s creation of the Foundation in 1922. Why was Dr. Barnes so convinced his educational program would further democracy? What responsibility do cultural organizations have today in the fight for social justice?
SPEAKERS
(From left, Jane Golden, Valerie Gay, and Roxanne Patel Shepelavy)
Jane Golden
Golden has been the driving force of Mural Arts Philadelphia since its inception, overseeing its growth from a small city agency into the nation’s largest public art program. Under her direction, Mural Arts has created over 4,000 works of transformative public art through community engagement. In partnership with innovative collaborators, she has developed groundbreaking and rigorous programs that employ the power of art to transform practice and policies related to youth education, restorative justice, environmental justice, and behavioral health.
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Valerie Gay
Gay is deputy director for audience engagement & chief experience officer at the Barnes. In her role, she oversees public and community programs and the Guest and Protection Services team and works to grow and sustain the Barnes’s relationship with audiences in the Philadelphia region. She earned a bachelor’s of music in voice performance from the University of the Arts and a master’s of music in vocal performance, and a professional studies certificate from Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance.
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Roxanne Patel Shepelavy
Patel Shepelavy is executive editor and co-executive director of the Philadelphia Citizen. She has been a Philadelphia journalist for more than two decades and currently writes and edits stories about solutions to problems in Philly for the Citizen.