Our Lives as Works of Art: A Conversation about Art and Identity in Contemporary Society
with Dr. Patricia Leavy, author of Sugar Sand Land
and Special Guest, Dr. Melissa Anyiwo
When: November 18, 2026
19:00 (London Time)
Where: Online (Zoom)
Free Event
Event Description: In this session Dr. Melissa Anyiwo will lead a conversation with Dr. Patricia Leavy about what it means to make our lives works of art. Topics may include what constitutes art, curating a public image, identity in the age of social media, cancel culture, art versus the artist, and more. The conversation will center on themes from Dr. Leavy’s award-winning novel, Sugar Sand Land, which will be an anchor for the discussion. All are welcome and there will be time for Q&A.
Dr. Patricia Leavy is a bestselling author, publisher, and internationally recognized leader in research design and arts-based research. She was formerly Associate Professor of Sociology, Founding Director of Gender Studies, and Chairperson of Sociology & Criminology at Stonehill College. She has authored, coauthored, and edited over 50 books, earning critical and commercial success in both nonfiction and fiction, and her work has been translated into numerous languages. Her books have earned more than 100 awards including USA Best Book Awards, American Fiction Awards, and Independent Press Awards and her novels have been featured on many popular reading lists. Recently, her novel Shooting Stars Above was featured on People “10 Romance Books to Read After Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry” as well as recommended readings lists published by She Knows, Ms. Career Girl, Resident Magazine, and Brit + Co. Over the course of her career, she has served as creator and editor of 10 book series with leading academic publishers, and she cofounded Art/Research International: A Transdisciplinary Journal. She has received career awards from the New England Sociological Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and the National Art Education Association. In 2018, she was honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame and SUNY-New Paltz established the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice.” In 2024 the London Arts-Based Research Centre established “The Patricia Leavy Award for Arts-Based Research.” She recently launched her own publishing imprint, Paper Stars Press.
Dr. U. Melissa Anyiwo is a cultural historian, Black Studies scholar, and cultural theorist whose work explores race, gender, representation, and popular culture. She is Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of American Culture and Series Editor of Palgrave Studies in Monstrosity. Her interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching examine the ways Black identities and experiences are created, contested, and reimagined through literature, film, television, and other forms of popular culture, interests that connect her work closely with the mission of LABRC. A longtime colleague and friend of Patricia Leavy, Anyiwo shares Leavy’s interest in interdisciplinary and creative approaches to understanding identity, culture, and lived experience, making Sugar Sand Land a particularly resonant point of conversation between their work.
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