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Exhibition Opening

Opening Reception for Let's Get It On: The Wearable Art of Betye Saar

01.30.2025 05:00 PM

Event Summary

One of Saar's works showing a hand with her last name written underneath.

IMAGE: Betye Saar, Saar Hand Banner, 1968. Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, CA. Photo: Paul Salveson.

This exhibition offers the first sustained look at a pivotal moment in Betye Saar’s career, when a visit to Chicago’s Field Museum in 1974 transformed the way she conceived of herself as an artist. A display of more than 60 objects—including a ceremonial robe from Cameroon, costumes and jewelry designed by Saar, drawings, photos, archival materials, and more—casts new light on the way Saar’s early career in costume design informed her pioneering work in assemblage and installation. Let’s Get It On is presented as part of a series of exhibitions and events linked to Panafrica: Histories, Aesthetics, Politics, a multi-year research project at the Neubauer Collegium that is exploring the connections between Pan-African politics and culture.

Curated by Dieter Roelstraete.