Join us for a screening and discussion of the documentary film, “Kindred Spirits: Artists Hilda Wilkinson Brown and Lilian Thomas Burwell,” about the lives and work of two accomplished but underrecognized, Washington-based African American artists who were united by their love for each other, their dedication to their art, and their passion for teaching. Hilda Wilkinson Brown (1894-1981) graduated from M Street High School (later known as Dunbar), earned her BA from Howard University and MA from Columbia University, and then served as head of art education at Miner Teachers College for nearly 40 years. Her niece Lilian Thomas Burwell (1927-) attended Dunbar High School, Pratt Institute, DC Teachers’ College, and Catholic University, and later taught in the DC Public Schools, including at Duke Ellington School of the Arts.

Immediately following the film will be a discussion with Cintia Cabib (filmmaker), Richard Timpson (family member and artist agent of Hilda Wilkinson Brown and Lilian Thomas Burwell), and Gail Shaw-Clemons (artist/printmaker/activist and longtime friend of Lilian Thomas Burwell), moderated by Dr. Samir Meghelli, Senior Curator at the Anacostia Community Museum.

Come early to explore our current exhibition, “A Bold and Beautiful Vision: A Century of Black Arts Education in Washington, DC, 1900-2000.”