UCLA Art History Graduate Symposium 2026

Most museum talks last an hour. This one fills a Friday. On November 13 the Hammer Museum in Westwood hosts the 61st Annual UCLA Art History Graduate Symposium, titled "Bodies Under Duress: Violence, Pressure, and the Visual." It is free, open to the public, and a good pick among the upcoming events Los Angeles has on the calendar for the middle of November.

When: Friday, November 13, 2026, from 9:30 AM Where: Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024 Cost: Free, with a ticket picked up at the box office

What the symposium is about

The call for the symposium starts from a simple observation. Across art and visual culture, bodies are both the things power acts on and the way its effects become visible, imaginable and argued over. The graduate organizers ask scholars to look at how visual and material practices register the forces pressed on bodies. They also ask a harder question: not only what happens to bodies under violence, but how violence is made possible, legitimized, enacted, and later remembered or forgotten.

It is a scholarly program, so expect papers and discussion rather than a guided tour. The Hammer's page lists the keynote time but does not publish a full schedule of panels, so check the event page before you plan your day.

The keynote

The 3:30 PM keynote lecture comes from Meredith Gamer, Associate Professor of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University. She specializes in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British art, and her research looks at where visual culture meets violence, punishment and power. Her 2026 book, City of the Gallows: Art and Execution in Eighteenth-Century London, examines how art related to public execution. If the theme draws you in, this is the session to build your afternoon around.

Practical info

Admission is free, but seats are assigned. You pick up a ticket at the box office, seats go first come, first served, and the limit is one per visitor. The box office opens one hour before the program. Hammer Members can choose preferred seats, subject to availability, and pick up a ticket for one additional guest.

Parking is self-parking under the museum. The Hammer lists $9 for the first three hours with museum validation, then $3 for each additional 20 minutes, with a $30 daily maximum. After 5 PM on weekdays the rate is a flat $9. Build in extra time on Wilshire, since Westwood traffic is rarely kind on a Friday.

The museum also lists accessibility information on its site, and the Hammer's food, bag check and photo policies apply.

Why go

If you like your art with context, a symposium is one of the best free things happening in Los Angeles this month. Graduate scholars present new work, and you get to hear it alongside a keynote from a leading voice in the field. Pair it with a walk through the galleries, which are also free to enter.

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