Artists in Dialogue

Artists Renée Elizabeth Neely-TANNER and Bob Dilworth will share an ongoing conversation on topics such as creativity, production, archives, and legacy. Typically private, this dialogue will demonstrate the mutual support artists can prioritize with peers as a way to nourish their creative practice and provide encouragement during challenging times.

Free. Registration requested for this in-person program.

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Renée Elizabeth Neely-Tanner is a self-taught visual artist. She is a 2024 Artist Research Resident at the Museum of Art at The Rhode Island School of Design. Neely-Tanner grew up in the 1960-70s Black community of Berkeley, across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk, VA. The culture and kinship of that experience has shaped her worldview as an artist and as a person. She honors her mother Allison Virginia Tanner Neely, an ever present witness to her life and work, by adding 'Tanner' to her name.
In April 2024 The Leadership Alliance, Brown University honored Neely-Tanner at its Presidential Forum held at The Kennedy Center. Her painting Glory was commissioned to visually celebrate the achievements of 1000 Doctoral Scholars.
Exhibitions: The Project Space Gallery/AS220, Providence; The Rhode Island School of Design; The Granoff Center for Creative Arts, Brown University; Centro Cultural das Mulheres da Mare Bahia, Brasil; The Ruth J. Simmons Center, Brown University; Arts Connect International, Boston; StudioHop Gallery, Providence; Providence Public Library; and The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University.
Neely-Tanner holds an AB in English Literature and Cultures, Brown University and an MLIS in Library and Information Science/Archives Management, Simmons University.

Bob Dilworth is the recipient of the 2024 Pell Award. He uses painting to tackle issues of race, culture, and ethnicity while depicting family and friends. Originally from a small, rural town, 50 miles south of Richmond, Virginia, he employs the fluent use of textiles as an effort to preserve “institutional memory” as its residents leave for more opportunity and the once thriving community is fading into history.
Dilworth is a Professor Emeritus from University of Rhode Island where he taught painting and served as Chair and Director of the Main Art Gallery and Director of Africana Studies. He has also taught at Princeton University, Brown University, and Columbia College in Chicago. Dilworth received his BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has exhibited his work extensively and has received grants, awards, and residencies from the Rhode Island State Council for the Arts, Iris Project Residency, National John Biggers Award, Playa Artist Residency, and Anderson Ranch Art Center among others.
He has received fellowships from Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, Angels Gate Cultural Center at Marymount California University, Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences, and the Klaus Center for the Arts, among others. His work is in corporate and private collections, as well as many Chicago libraries and public institutions. Dilworth is represented by Cade Tompkins projects.