NEW YORK, NY.- The Friends of Education of The Museum of Modern Art presents a discussion between jazz impresario George T. Wein and Peter Reed, Senior Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs, The Museum of Modern Art, along with a special jazz performance by Wein, as part of its series Conversations: Among Friends. The conversation will focus on Wein’s festival production career and musical career, along with a broader discussion on the arts. Following the program, guests are invited to continue the conversation and meet the participants at an intimate reception catered by Settepani Harlem in The Ronald S. and Jo Carole Lauder Lobby.

Chaired by Stuart W. Lewis, MD, The Friends of Education is an affiliate group of The Museum of Modern Art, the mission of which is to foster a greater appreciation of art created by African American artists and to encourage African American membership and participation in and throughout MoMA. The group’s members provide invaluable assistance and financial support to the Museum’s outreach efforts to the African American community. Conversations: Among Friends, a series presented by the Program Committee of The Friends of Education of The Museum of Modern Art, focuses on the dialogue among artists, art dealers, curators, critics, and collectors exploring works of art as reflections of their political and social context.

Past programs have included conversations between artist Elizabeth Catlett and Dr. David C. Driskell; artist William T. Williams and Lowery Stokes Sims, Curator, the Museum of Art and Design; artist Jack Whitten and Connie Butler, MoMA’s Chief Curator of Drawings; artist Martin Puryear and John Elderfield, MoMA’s Chief Curator Emeritus of Painting and Sculpture; artist Willie Cole and Patterson Sims, Montclair Art Museum Director; jazz pianist Jason Moran and Ben Ratliff, New York Times jazz and pop critic; artist Fred Wilson and Rob Storr, curator; artist Wangechi Mutu and Deborah Grant, cultural critic; artist Carrie Mae Weems and Deb Willis.

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS:
Jazz Impresario George Wein has spearheaded hundreds of music events annually since 1954 when he produced the first Newport Jazz Festival. As a result of his diverse contributions to jazz and world culture, Wein has been honored by heads of state, educational institutions and leading publications. In January 2005, he was recognized with a Jazz Masters award by the National Endowment for the Arts. Honors and awards have been bestowed upon him by AARP, Studio Museum of Harlem, Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, the Government of France, National Music Council, Pratt Institute, DownBeat magazine, and Symphony Space, among others. He is a lifetime Honorary Trustee of Carnegie Hall and a member of the Board of Trustees at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Mr. Wein’s autobiography, Myself Among Others: A Life in Music, was recognized by the Jazz Journalists Association as 2004’s best book about jazz; the organization named Wein 2009’s Events Producer of the Year. Mr. Wein has a long history of involvement with philanthropy and the arts, including the establishment of the Joyce and George Wein Chair of African American Studies at Boston University and the Alexander Family Endowed Scholarship Fund at Simmons College.

Peter Reed was named Senior Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs at MoMA in 2005. Previously, he was Curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at MoMA, where he has been part of the curatorial staff since 1992. Reed has organized a number of exhibitions including Groundswell: Constructing the Contemporary Landscape (2005), MoMA’s first survey of landscape design, along with AUTObodies: speed, sport, transport (2002); Alvar Aalto: Between Humanism and Materialism (1998); and The United Nations in Perspective (1995). He assisted Terence Riley with the organization of The Long View, an exhibition on contemporary architecture (2000), and with Frank Lloyd Wright: Architect (1994), the most comprehensive presentation of Wright’s architectural work since his death in 1959. Before joining the Museum, Reed taught art history at the University of Pennsylvania and was the Director of Research for Penn’s Architectural Archives. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in art history from the University of Pennsylvania.