Art as Resistance: A Conversation with Dread Scott, Emory Douglas & Orlando Smith

For over six decades, three artists across three generations have used images to confront power, question how history is shaped and reimagine what freedom looks like. This panel brings them together on the occasion of each having an exhibition currently on view in San Francisco: Emory Douglas, whose sixty year career as a graphic artist began with his role as the Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party, for which he created the iconic visual language of the Black Power movement; Dread Scott, whose works, often participatory, interrogate the ongoing legacy of racial oppression in America and seek to propel history forward; and Orlando Smith, a self-described artivist whose drawings and graphic novels take a journalistic approach to tracing the daily realities of the criminal legal system from the inside. In this conversation, these three artists explore how art translates political urgency into image, how history and truth are constructed and dismantled, and how graphic storytelling becomes a tool for change. Moderated by artist and curator Rio Yañez. This is one of many events nationwide taking place under the umbrella of Fall of Freedom, a collaborative, artist-led initiative co-founded by visual artist Dread Scott. The initiative mobilizes artists and cultural institutions in defense of democracy, free expression, and collective freedom. YBCA is pleased to participate in Fall of Freedom and support both this event and the exhibition Dread Scott: The Body Politic. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Phyllis Wattis Theater, Floor 1 YBCA programs are made possible in part by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Blue Shield Of California, Bob A. Ross Foundation, City and County of San Francisco, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Malia Simonds, Mayor Daniel Lurie, National Endowment for the Arts, Pisces Foundation, The Ron Conway Family, Salesforce, San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, The Svane Family Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy, Yerba Buena Partnership, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Board of Directors and Members. Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 7 PM Co-presented by Creativity Explored & YBCA Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 5–8 PM August 7, 2026–January 3, 2027 Co-Presented by GaHee Park, Michael Vass & YBCA Saturdays, August 15–October 31, 2026, 2 PM