Gail Gelburd: Creativity as a Voice for Social Justice

Friday, April 24, 2026, from 4:00 – 5:00 pm, followed by Q/A with Director of Art Benton Jones Dr. Gail Gelburd will discuss her new book and her visual art exploring how art powerfully gives voice to issues of environmental destruction, oppression, war, and compassion.

Artist and author Dr. Gail Gelburd will discuss her new book as well as her own visual art that is on view in the exhibition Visual Voice, and in a pop-up event.  Through all of her creative explorations, she addresses issues of environmental decimation, oppression, war, and the need for compassion. She will discuss how the arts can give a voice to current issues in a profound way.

Gail Gelburd, who resides in Western Mass, has a PhD in Art History and Eastern Philosophy. She has been a museum director, professor, and curated exhibitions at museums such as the Whitney Museum, Brooklyn Museum, and Los Angeles County Museum, as well as in India, Wales, Russia, Korea, and South Africa. She uses her art and writings to explore issues that impact all our lives. She has received grants from Mass Cultural Council, NEA, NEH, Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, and others. She has recently been elected to the Council for the Arts at MIT.

Her new book, The Liberation of Sue Moody, is based on the writings she discovered in an abandoned house belonging to a food journalist who was stationed in Paris just as Hitler marched in beneath her window. Moody kept copious notes about her struggles, about war, bombings, and starvation as she tried to escape. Issues unfortunately relevant today. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Gelburd has written more than a dozen books about major artists dealing with environmental issues, racial inequality, war, and oppression.

Her own visual art works have depicted the struggles of humanity and especially the destruction of our trees and waterways. She uses photography and encaustic paint to create 2-dimensional and large sculptural works. She unveils that we are our environment and that we can learn from the trees and waterfalls to be more connected and compassionate to one another. Her trees and waterfalls become human as humans become the environment. Her art has been shown across the country as well as in India, Greece, and Australia. She is in numerous public and private collections. She shows us how creativity can be a voice for social issues.