Canvas on the Silver Screen:
A Live Conversation Program Drawn From The Christophers Starring Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel, the New Film Directed by Steven Soderbergh and Written by Ed Solomon

The Art of Making The Christophers

A live conversation with the filmmakers and cast about the production of The Christophers — the ideas behind the film, how it was cast, how the actors approached their roles to authentically capture the artistic lives of their characters, and what the process revealed about the continuum between art and cinema. The discussion will also address the participants' own experiences navigating multihyphenate creative lives across film, painting (Soderbergh), theater (McKellen) and writing (Coel, Solomon).

There will be a light reception following the panel.

Ian McKellen in Conversation with Jerry Saltz

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Magazine art critic Jerry Saltz talks to Ian McKellen about art and cinema, the nature of late-career style, acting as a form of portraiture, and the provocative appeal of art-world reality shows.

Ed Solomon: Bringing the Art World to Life on Film

Ed Solomon, screenwriter behind Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Men in Black, Charlie's Angels, and Now You See Me, joins us for a conversation about The Christophers, his fourth collaboration with Steven Soderbergh. Solomon will speak to the personal origins of the film, his research and writing process, and how he worked to authentically translate the inner worlds and artistic practices of great painters to the screen.

Inside the Artist's Studio: The Real Dynamics of the Artist–Assistant Relationship

Behind every major artist is often a network of studio assistants — yet the mythology of the lone genius persists. This panel brings together leading contemporary artists to examine the complex realities of studio production: the blurred boundaries between authorship and collaboration, the emotional and economic dynamics of the studio, and the formative (and sometimes fraught) experience of working under a mentor.

Ian Cheng creates AI-driven live simulations held in the collections of MoMA, the Whitney, and the Guggenheim. Jamian Juliano-Villani is a painter and co-founder of the East Village gallery O'Flaherty's, whose image-collaged canvases are held in the collections of the Whitney, the Guggenheim, and the Brooklyn Museum. Martine Syms is an artist and director whose practice spans cinema, art, and theater, combining sharp humor and social commentary with rigorous research; her work is held in the collections of the Tate, The Whitney, the Guggenheim, LACMA, and the Walker Art Center.

There will be a light reception following the last panel of the day.