Shapiro Award

Celebrating Pamela Joyner

and Solidary & Solitary: The Joyner/Giuffrida Collection

Pamela Joyner is an activist art collector and philanthropist, intent on revising modern art history to include artists of African descent and supporting living African-American artists. Through their scholarly collecting, mission-driven loan and giving activities, and underwriting of art historical research and criticism, Joyner and her husband Alfred Giuffrida are an inspiration to those who care about diversity, education, and democracy.

Joyner developed a love of art growing up in Chicago, where she attended the University of Chicago’s Laboratory Schools. The daughter of school teachers, she went on to become one of the first Black female graduates of Harvard Business School. After several jobs in finance, she founded Avid Partners, a strategic financial marketing consultancy.

Joyner and Giuffrida began collecting in 1999 and established an artist residency program in 2014. Joyner is Chair of the Tate Americas Foundation, a Trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Trustee of the J. Paul Getty Trust. She was previously a member of President Barack Obama’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

A significant portion of the Joyner/Giuffrida collection—including works by Sam Gilliam, Norman Lewis, Glenn Ligon, Shinique Smith, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye—are on view in the Smart Museum of Art’s presentation of Solidary & Solitary, January 29–May 19, 2019.

11th Joseph R. Shapiro Award Gala

Saturday, April 6, 2019
6pm Exhibition Viewing and Cocktails
7pm Dinner

Smart Museum of Art
The University of Chicago
5550 South Greenwood Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637

Cocktail Attire

Valet Parking Provided

Table, ticket, and sponsorship

For additional information, call 773.702.2368 or e-mail ShapiroAward2019@uchicago.edu.

The estimated value of the dinner is $150 per person, which is not tax deductible.

Purchase tables or tickets online

 

About the Award

“The enjoyment of art is something that multiplies by division...share it with people and it becomes a communal experience, a motivational force for drawing people together.” —Joe Shapiro

Established in 1995, the Joseph R. Shapiro Award recognizes collectors whose vision, connoisseurship, and advocacy have been instrumental in advancing understanding through the visual arts and sustaining cultural communities in Chicago and beyond. The award is named in memory of philanthropist and dean of Chicago art collectors Joe Shapiro (1904–1996), a legendary advocate for the arts who was an alumnus of the University of Chicago.

Proceeds from the award gala support the Smart Museum of Art’s exhibitions and collections, academic initiatives, and public programming, helping keep the Museum free and open to all.

Past honorees

Photos by Anne Ryan.