Janelle Monáe in Conversation with Dr. Nikki Greene

Dress Code: Black and White

Ten-time Grammy-nominated musician, actor and producer JANELLE MONÁE is known worldwide for her inimitable style and visionary sound, which celebrates the spectrum of identity. 

Their debut album, The ArchAndroid, not only garnered critical acclaim and multiple Grammy nominations but also secured its place as the top album of 2010 by publications such as The Associated Press and The Los Angeles Times. 2013 saw the release of their critically acclaimed album, The Electric Lady, featuring Prince and Miguel, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The album's first single "Q.U.E.E.N." garnered rave reviews and the accompanying video received over 4 million YouTube views in its first week, and an MTV Video Music Award.

In 2018, Monáe released her third solo album, Dirty Computer, which received Grammy nominations for "Album of The Year" and "Music Video of the Year" for her song "Pynk", a visual taken from her accompanying film DIRTY COMPUTER: AN EMOTION PICTURE BY JANELLE MONAE. Last summer, Monáe released The Age of Pleasure, which received Grammy nominations for "Album of The Year" and "Best Progressive R&B Album".

Monáe's commitment to artistic entrepreneurship shines through with the launch of their record label, the Wondaland Arts Society, showcasing their vision for a collaborative and innovative music industry. Janelle’s activism and advocacy work, particularly in support of the LGBTQ+ community and against systemic prejudice and racism, aligns with their artistic endeavors to question identity, power, and belonging.

Monáe’s roles in critically acclaimed films such as “Hidden Figures,” “Homecoming,” “Antebellum,” the Academy Award-winning “Moonlight,” and “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” alongside their New York Times bestselling Afrofuturist story collection "The Memory Librarian," further illustrate Monáe's multifaceted talent and their ability to weave narratives that challenge and inspire.  

With a myriad of awards and recognitions, including the Critics Choice SeeHer Award, "Best Supporting Actress" from the National Board of Review, the ASCAP Vanguard Award and the Trevor Project's Suicide Prevention Advocate of the year, Janelle's contributions to music, film, and social activism have established her as a global icon of artistry and advocacy. Monáe established her own 501c3, Fem the Future, which aims to create opportunities for not just fellow creatives but for society.  She also serves as a co-chair for Valerie Jarrett and Michelle Obama's non-partisan initiative, When We All Vote.

This year's theme for the Newhouse Center is Radical Futures. We are particularly interested in exploring and celebrating work that centers Black, feminist worldmaking. We aim to showcase research, writing, and creations that explore the rich intersection between the Humanities and STEM fields, and highlight the way that humanistic reasoning, perspectives, and methods help to show us how to build the kind of world(s) we want to live in.

This event will be ticketed. EventBrite tickets available to Wellesley College faculty, staff, and students will open on Monday, November 4th at 8:00pm ET. 

Dress code: black and white. 

This event will be livestreamed via Zoom. In order to join this webinar, you will need to be signed in to your wellesley.edu Zoom account. Please first sign in to your Zoom web portal by logging in to MyWellesley and select the Zoom icon in the blue banner. Then go to your email/the event page with the Zoom link and select the link to join.