Panel Moderator: Cinqué Hicks!

Today we are pleased to announce the moderator of our discussion panel: Cinqué Hicks!!

Cinqué Hicks is an arts writer and cultural critic who covers Atlanta’s visual arts scene for the alt weekly newspaper, Creative Loafing. In the short year since his first review appeared in the Loaf, Hicks has demonstrated versatility in reporting on communities throughout the metro area. In one month’s time, he wrote a review of an exhibition at the Westside’s Kiang Gallery and, the very next week, a full-page feature on Castleberry Hill’s Art House Co-op, followed shortly by reviews at Eyedrum and Beep Beep Gallery. It’s hard to predict where he’ll strike next. Further, Hicks has demonstrated tenacity in speaking his mind. Whether you agree with his opinion or not, his bravery in calling out exhibitions like Sheila Pree Bright’s Young Americans at the High Museum is worthy of note.

While many of you are undoubtedly familiar with Cinqué Hicks’ criticism, you might not be aware of his various other pursuits. He is currently pursuing an advanced degree at Georgia Tech, where his research focuses on “computational urbanism: digital media infrastructure for creative communities.” What exactly does that mean? Hicks’ research focuses on the intersection between art, digital media, urban space, and social change. For example, in the fall of 2008, he was a member of the five-person team that examined the Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta to document a dense, multiracial urban space in terms of its information flows and information networks. This analysis resulted in interface sketches for a community-based mapping application

Cinqué Hicks graduated magna cum laude with a Literature degree from Harvard University. He co-founded Idea Capital, an Atlanta artist granting organization, and he is a member of the Forward Arts Foundation Emerging Artist Advisory Committee and the VSA Arts of Georgia Gallery Committee.

Hicks is currently designing a one-hour children’s activity with an online extension to be used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: the City as Learning Lab. Meanwhile, his latest and biggest projects “investigate the use of media-based public art to create shared experiences in urban environments and the effects of nomadic movement on cultural change.”

Remember to check back here EVERY Monday for new announcements about our guest speakers!!