Christopher MyersWednesday, March 18, 6pm

Saratoga Springs, NY (February 24, 2026) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announces the ninth-annual Winter/Miller Lecture will be delivered by the acclaimed multidisciplinary artist Christopher Myers on Wednesday, March 18, at 6 pm. The event is free and open to the public.

Myers is an artist and author whose works span visual art, children's literature, textiles, theater, and film. In contemporary art, he gained wide recognition for a monumental 14-foot appliqué tapestry called What Does It Mean to Matter (Community Autopsy). The 2019 work depicts silhouettes of people who were killed by police. The silhouettes are modeled after autopsy sheets and are marked by wound sites. In 2021, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC acquired the work, bringing more acclaim to Myers.

“My work as a storyteller and as an artist centers on pulling mythologies apart from official records,” Myers said in an artist statement on the James Cohan Gallery’s website. “Especially for African-Americans and other marginalized folks, we must learn to read these records for our unwritten histories, to see ourselves in the empty spaces on the page.”

Myers previously garnered national recognition for his work as an illustrator and author of children’s books. He illustrated the book Harlem: A Poem, 1997, which was written by his father, Walter Dean Myers, and earned a Caldecott Honor. Their 2008 collaboration, Jazz, was named one of Time Magazine’s best children’s books of all time and is a Coretta Scott King Honor book. Myers’ collaborations extend to artists around the world, including shadow puppet makers in Indonesia, textile weavers in Egypt, and textile printers in Denmark. One of his most recent collaborations is with the Studio Museum in Harlem, where he created a monumental site-specific installation for the Education Workshops for the museum’s new building, which opened in the fall.

Myers’ appearance at the Tang is by invitation of Elio Gottschalk ’26, who holds the prestigious 2025-26 Eleanor Linder Winter ’43 Endowed Internship, a one-year pre-professional program in museum work at the Tang for Skidmore College students. In this role, Gottschalk researches, plans, and coordinates the Winter/Miller Lecture, among other duties. An art history and education double major from Brooklyn, New York, Gottschalk has been involved with the Tang as a member of the Student Advisory Council, a Tang Guide, and a public programming intern.

“I have always loved fiber arts,” Gottschalk said, “and when I encountered Christopher Myer’s work—the beautiful and overwhelming scale, color, and intricacy of his textiles and the breadth of his practice in literature, theater, and puppetry—I knew I wanted to introduce him to campus and the Tang’s many visitors.”

The distinguished Winter/Miller Lecture series is made possible through a generous gift by the family of Eleanor “Ellie” Linder Winter ’43. Previous lectures have been given by Nicole Eisenman, 2018; Chris Ware, 2019; Wangechi Mutu, 2020; Nick Cave, 2021; Juliana Huxtable, 2022; Trenton Doyle Hancock, 2023; Mickalene Thomas, 2024; and Nina Chanel Abney, 2025.

Ellie Winter (1921-2010) was a generous benefactor, friend, and patron of the arts. Her philanthropy provided special opportunities for Skidmore students to learn through exposure to the arts, particularly through her support of the Tang Teaching Museum, which named its Winter Gallery in her honor. Eleanor and her family, including grandson Jonathan Winter ’07, established the Winter Family Exhibition Fund to support students as they collaborate with faculty and Tang curators to create shows for the Winter Gallery. The family also supports the Winter Internship program and an annual scholarship through the Eleanor Linder Winter ’43 Scholarship Fund. The college has further recognized Eleanor’s commitment by naming the Department of Art History offices in her honor.

About Christopher Myers

Christopher Myers (b. 1974, Queens, New York) is a multidisciplinary artist who tackles themes of globalization, oppression, and cultural exchange with emphasis on the importance of storytelling. Myers brings this focus on cultural exchange and globalization into his own practice by working with artisans from around the world. Myers has worked in visual art, children’s literature, and theater. Myers graduated from Brown in 1995 with a degree in art-semiotics and American civilization. In 1996, he participated in the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Studio Program. Additionally, he received a Caldecott honor for illustration for Harlem: A Poem (1998), and a Coretta Scott King Honor for Jazz (2008). His work is in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; the Brooklyn Museum; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the Studio Museum in Harlem, among others. He is working on a commission for the Brooklyn Brownsville Public Library.

About Skidmore College

Founded in 1903, Skidmore College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college of about 2,700 students located in the dynamic town of Saratoga Springs, New York. Consistently ranked as a top liberal arts college by U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, Forbes, and more, Skidmore has also been recognized for its innovation, value, and sustainability efforts. Skidmore fosters academic and personal excellence — all driven by a belief that Creative Thought Matters. Its comprehensive array of opportunities encompasses more than 40 bachelor’s degree programs, including popular offerings in business, psychology, and the creative and performing arts; competitive NCAA Division III athletics; world-class facilities; and hands-on civic engagement and career development resources.

About the Tang Teaching Museum

The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College is a pioneer of interdisciplinary exploration and learning. A cultural anchor of New York’s Capital Region, the institution’s approach has become a model for university art museums across the country — with exhibition programs and series that bring together the visual and performing arts with fields of study as disparate as history, astronomy, and physics. The Tang has one of the most rigorous faculty-engagement initiatives in the nation, the Mellon Seminar, and robust publication and touring exhibition initiatives that extend the institution’s reach far beyond its walls. The Tang Teaching Museum’s building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of ideas and exchange the institution catalyzes. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, from noon to 5 pm, with extended hours until 9 pm Thursday. More information at http://tang.skidmore.edu.

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