Universal Rights?: A Dialogue

Join internationally-recognized visual artist Banu Cennetoğlu, Harvard professor and award-winning author Sarah Lewis, and Barr Foundation President & CEO Ali Noorani in conversation with MassArt President Mary K. Grant for a timely discussion exploring the intersections of artistic practice, universal rights, and visual culture. Programmed in collaboration with MassArt Art Museum (MAAM)’s current exhibitions, this panel will examine the ideals, images, and institutions that shape our understanding of contemporary life.

MAAM will be open following the panel.

6:00-7:30p | Panel 

7:30-8:30p | MAAM open for viewing (optional) 

MEET THE Panelists

Banu Cennetoğlu

Banu Cennetoğlu lives and works in Istanbul. Working across  photography, installation, publishing, sculpture, and moving image, she investigates the political, social, and cultural dimensions of how information is produced, distributed, and politically instrumentalized. Her work has been presented internationally at major museums and exhibitions, including documenta 14, the Venice Biennale, and the Carnegie International.

Sarah Lewis

Sarah Lewis is the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities and Associate Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University and the founder of Vision & Justice. She has authored and edited over 60 publications including The Unseen Truth, winner of the American Book Award; the bestseller, The Rise; the award-winning volumes, Carrie Mae Weems and “Vision & Justice”; as well as Coreen Simpson and Race Stories. Lewis was named to the 2026 TIME List, The Closers, in recognition of her work toward greater equality in the United States. She has organized landmark convenings, founded a Vision & Justice Book Series, and curated exhibitions, including If Emmett Till Lived: Freedom on American Ground, opening at the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago in September 2026. Her writing has been published in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Artforum, and The New York Review of Books, and her work has been the subject of profiles from Vogue to The Boston Globe to The New York Times. Lewis has received honorary degrees from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (2026), the Institute for Doctoral Studies in Visual Arts (2026), and Pratt Institute (2024) and has been recognized with numerous fellowships and awards, including the Walter Channing Cabot Fellowship at Harvard University, the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship, the Arthur Danto/ASA Prize from the American Philosophical Association, the Freedom Scholar Award from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, and the Infinity Award for Critical Writing and Research from the International Center of Photography.

Ali Noorani

Ali Noorani joined the Barr Foundation as president and CEO in December 2025. Previously, Ali led the U.S. Democracy Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and he also served for 14 years as president and chief executive officer of the National Immigration Forum. Before moving to Washington, DC, he spent a decade in Boston working on environmental, public health and immigration issues. Over his career, Ali has been recognized for his creative coalition building across political, cultural, and geographic divides, and his work to find common ground, common purpose, and commonsense solutions that help people and communities thrive.

Ali holds a Master of Public Health from Boston University’s School of Public Health, and Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for More in Common Global and as a member of the Board of Directors for Welcome.US. Ali is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has held fellowships with the Aspen Institute, Emerson Collective, University of Chicago Center for Effective Government, and Arizona State University’s Social Transformations Lab.

Ali is the author of “There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration” and “Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants.” He has been a guest commentator on outlets as varied as CNN, PBS, and Fox News, a TED speaker, and his writings have appeared in varied local, national, and international publications.

Dr. Mary K Grant 

Dr. Mary K. Grant is a national leader in public higher education with more than 30 years of experience championing the arts, deepening community partnerships, cultivating civic engagement, and fostering access, diversity, equity, and inclusion across higher education. She is the President of Massachusetts College of Art and Design, the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Board Chair of National Campus Compact,  Secretary of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), Member of EdVestors BPS Arts Expansion Arts Advisory Board, Member of the Boston Public Schools Committee Nominating Panel, and Member of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Higher Education Leadership Council. She has also served on the search committee for the Commissioner of Higher Education for Massachusetts, as a juror for the prestigious Brother Thomas Fellowship, and is a regular guest on GBH’s The Culture Show with Jared Bowen.

Going, Going, Gone / Ticketing Notice

This event is free but advanced registration is recommended. This event will likely sell out–plan ahead and get those tickets in advance! Tickets may not be available on the evening of this event.

Say Cheese / Event Documentation Notice

Photos and/or videos may be taken at this event. By attending this event, you acknowledge and agree that your likeness may be included in photos and videos of the event and that those photos and videos may be used by MassArt in connection with MassArt and MassArt Art Museum communications. If you do not agree with this usage, please notify a staff member upon arrival to receive a no-photo sticker.

Open to All / Accessibility

MassArt Art Museum is committed to creating a welcoming, accessible, and inclusive environment during in-person and virtual programs and events. To request an access or disability-related accommodation, please contact MassArt Art Museum at maam@massart.edu at least two weeks before the date of the event.

FREE

Advance Registration Required