Public Works in Conversation: Karyn Olivier, Cauleen Smith, and Anthony Elms

Hear visionary Philadelphia artist Karyn Olivier in a conversation with filmmaker Cauleen Smith and curator Anthony Elms, exploring free speech, liberated knowledge, and Olivier’s upcoming installation for the Public Works initiative.

Later this fall, Olivier will unveil Sit With It, a site-specific sculpture and video projection constructed from historically-banned books throughout history, coming soon to the lobby of the Parkway Central Library. To create this work, Olivier spent more than a year embedded with the Free Library of Philadelphia, meeting with a range of staff from all over the library system’s 50+ branches.

Go behind the scenes of Olivier’s creative process at this dynamic artist talk, the first of several programs engaging the public with Olivier’s residency. Created in partnership with Forman Arts Initiative (FAI), Public Works is a residency program that places artists in Philadelphia government agencies or organizations to develop artwork that forges new connections between the agencies’ work and the communities they serve.

About the Artist

Karyn Olivier is a Trinidadian-born, Brooklyn-raised artist whose practice spans sculpture, large-scale installation, and public art. She is currently serving as the Public Works Artist in Residence at the Free Library of Philadelphia and is currently presenting a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. Her recent projects include a 2026 memorial dedicated to civil rights icon Vel R. Phillips. Her work has been featured in the Whitney Biennial, the Malta Biennale, and the Prospect.6 Triennial. In 2024, she completed Right Here, a memorial at Stenton House, and a year-long commission at Rice University. Her recent history includes exhibitions at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, Documenta 15, and a permanent installation for Newark Liberty International Airport.

Olivier has showcased her work internationally at the Gwangju and Busan biennials and the World Festival of Black Arts and Culture. Her art has been presented at prestigious institutions such as The Studio Museum in Harlem, MoMA P.S.1, and the ICA Watershed in Boston. Notable solo exhibitions include Everything That’s Alive Moves at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia and a major project at Laumeier Sculpture Park.