Burt and Deedee McMurtry Lecture with Curator Hamza Walker @ Stanford
Join us for the Anderson Collection’s annual Burt and Deedee McMurtry Lecture, a signature program that brings leading artists, curators, and cultural thinkers to Stanford. This year’s lecture features Hamza Walker, Director of The Brick and a widely respected curator, writer, and educator.
Walker will reflect on his recent organization of Monuments, described by the LA Times as “the most significant American art museum show right now” and by the New York Times as “the year’s boldest show.” In his talk, he will address how cultural memory, authorship, and power are shaped through art and exhibition-making and will invite audiences to think critically about the role of institutions and the possibilities of curatorial practice in a moment of ongoing social and political change.
About the Speaker
Award-winning Curator and Arts Leader
Recipient, Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence (2026)
Hamza Walker is Executive Director of The Brick (formerly LAXART) in Los Angeles, where he has led the institution’s evolution into one of the city’s most vital platforms for artist-centered work that engages the present with clarity and conviction. Since 2016, he has shaped a program that bridges contemporary and historical perspectives, advancing ambitious exhibitions and collaborations that foreground emerging and underrecognized artists. His curatorial work is widely recognized for its intellectual rigor, cultural insight, and its ability to reframe how art engages public life. Most recently, he co-curated the ground-breaking Monuments exhibition.
Prior to The Brick, Walker served as Associate Curator and Director of Education at the Renaissance Society, where he developed a distinctive approach grounded in critical inquiry and public engagement. Recent exhibitions include Betsy Paige Smith: Unshade Me Of You (2025), Gregg Bordowitz: This is Not A Love Song (2025), Nikita Gale: Takers (2022), Ari Marcopoulos/Joe McPhee: Alone Together (2021), Kandis Williams/Cassandra Press: The Absolute Right to Exclude(2021), and Postcommodity: Some Reach While Others Clap (2020).
In 2026, Walker received the Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence from Bard College, recognizing his significant contributions to contemporary curatorial practice and his sustained impact on the field.
If you need a disability-related accommodation or wheelchair access information, please contact Laniesha Brown by emailing andersonevents@stanford.edu. Requests should be made by May 25th.