“Expanding Outliers in American Art” is a one-day symposium aimed at university undergraduates, graduates, their faculty, and the general public in Los Angeles, California. The symposium is held in conjunction with the exhibition Outliers and American Vanguard Art on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art November 18, 2018 to March 18, 2019. Organized jointly by Suzanne Hudson (Associate Professor in the History of Art at the University of Southern California) and Jenni Sorkin (Associate Professor in the History of Art & Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara), Expanding Outliers explores the little-known intersections between self-taught artists and their formally-trained peers.

“Expanding Outliers in American Art” seeks to address and amplify the set of issues related to diversity and difference, and, in particular, address histories of overlooked regionalism. This includes a particular focus on the West, Midwest, South, and Southwest United States: inviting a new generation of early mid-career and emerging scholars to present in a subject area that is still largely untouched, and remains understudied by American art historians. Subjects for discussion include AfriCOBRA, the Chicago Imagists, and much more.