TICKETS $65

Doors 6:30 p.m.; Event 7 p.m.
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THE EXPERIENCE

Renowned for her luminous, rhinestone-adorned compositions and her profound explorations of Black womanhood, love, desire, and celebration, Mickalene Thomas is recognized as one of the most influential voices in contemporary art. In this moderated conversation at PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater, she will reflect on her creative practice, formative influences, evolving artistic vision, and current projects.

Mickalene Thomas, who went to college in Portland and traces her life as an artist back to a transformative 1994 viewing of Carrie Mae Weems’ photography at the Portland Art Museum, comes to PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater in conjunction with the September 6 opening of PAM’s special exhibition Global Icons, Local Spotlight: Contemporary Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer in which her work is featured, especially fitting for an artist who began her career in Portland and continues to redefine contemporary art on the global stage. Thomas, whose 2016 video installation Do I Look Like a Lady? (Comedians and Singers) will be featured in PAM’s new Black Art & Experiences Gallery when the Museum’s transformed campus opens on November 20, was honored for her boundary-expanding work at PAM CUT’s Cinema Unbound Awards in 2024.

During this moderated conversation Thomas will offer insight into her creative process, artistic influences, evolving vision, and ongoing projects. The evening will also feature a special screening of Thomas’ moving short documentary, Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman, a portrait of her mother and muse, Sandra Bush–a former runway model whose life story is filled with dreams, resilience, and redemption. Don’t miss this rare chance to connect with an artist whose vision continues to redefine contemporary art on the global stage.

Mickalene will be joined in conversation with Tanya Selvaratnam and Thomas Lauderdale who worked on her short film Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman.

Photo © Emil Horowitz, 2023. 

ON SCREEN: Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman

2012. Directed by Mickalene Thomas. Runtime: 23 minutes. 

Globally renowned multidisciplinary artist Mickalene Thomas pays tribute to the life, dreams, and enduring spirit of her mother and muse, Sandra Bush, in this deeply personal documentary short. A former runway model with a life marked by both aspiration and adversity, Sandra emerges as a complex and compelling figure—full of longing, resilience, regrets, and redemption. Through an intimate interview and archival footage, “Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman” is an emotional portrait of a woman who not only shaped her daughter’s life, but also profoundly influenced her artistic vision. Serving as model, mentor, and muse, Sandra Bush is immortalized through Thomas’s lens, offering viewers a tender exploration of family, memory, and creative legacy.

ON STAGE: Mickalene Thomas

Mickalene Thomas is a critically acclaimed, New York-based multidisciplinary artist best known for her culture-shifting, elaborate, rhinestone-studded paintings that celebrate the beauty of Black womanhood, love, intimacy, and desire. Named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the world, Thomas has cultivated an instantly recognizable and widely celebrated visual language that has left an indelible mark on contemporary art and pop culture globally.

Her masterful mixed-media paintings, photographs, films, and installations do more than command space—they eloquently interrogate and redefine it. Through a bold synthesis of the African Diaspora and Western art historical canon, Thomas explores the layered complexities of Black feminine identity with unapologetic clarity and unparalleled vision.

Beyond her core artistic practice, Thomas is a Tony Award–nominated co-producer, a curator, professor, and mentor to emerging artists. She has extended her creative reach through multiple impactful collaborations across fashion, beauty, and lifestyle including with brands like Dior, as well as visual editorial with legacy media brands like Essence, New York Times Magazine and W Magazine. While mounting her own groundbreaking solo exhibitions, Thomas continues to curate shows at major institutions, helping shape the future of contemporary art both within and beyond the studio.

In 2025, Thomas received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Rutgers-Camden, where she delivered the commencement address to the graduating class—an especially meaningful milestone for the New Jersey–born and raised artist.

A graduate of Pratt Institute (B.F.A.) and the Yale University School of Art (M.F.A.), Thomas has exhibited internationally at premier institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Thomas’s work is part of numerous prestigious public and private collections, and her influence continues to inspire a new generation of artists.