The College of Arts and Architecture will host a screening of "Raising Renee," the HBO documentary about artist and Penn State alumna Beverly McIver’s experiences caring for her mentally disabled sister, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, in the Palmer Lipcon Auditorium, Palmer Museum of Art on the University Park campus of Penn State.

In addition, McIver will speak as part of the Penn State Forum Speaker Series on from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, April 19, at The Penn Stater, Presidents Hall. For more on the Forum event, visit http://pennstateforum.psu.edu/2013/04/beverly-mciver.html.

McIver, who won a College of Arts and Architecture Alumni Award in 2003 and was named a Penn State Alumni Fellow in 2010, is currently Sun Trust Endowed Chair Professor of Art at North Carolina Central University. She is Renee’s legal guardian and they reside in Durham, N.C.

McIver is widely acknowledged as a significant presence in contemporary American art and has charted a new direction as an African-American woman artist. She is committed to producing art that consistently examines racial, gender, social and occupational identity. Renee and other family members are frequent subjects in her work.

“Beverly McIver has gained nationwide recognition not just for her paintings, but for the topics they address. She is talented, thought-provoking, determined and generous,” said Barbara Korner, dean of the College of Arts and Architecture. “The college is honored to present a screening of 'Raising Renee,' and we are thrilled Beverly is returning to Penn State to share her experiences and wisdom with the University community.”

McIver’s work is in the collections of the North Carolina Museum of Art; Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro, N.C.; Baltimore Museum of Art; North Carolina Central University Museum of Art; Asheville Museum of Art; Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, Calif.; and Nelson Fine Arts Museum on the campus of Arizona State University.

Prior to her appointment at North Carolina Central University, McIver taught at Arizona State University in Tempe for 12 years, in addition to positions at Duke University and North Carolina State University. She also has held residencies at many of the nation’s leading artist communities, including Yaddo, the Headland Center for the Arts, Djerassi and Penland School of Crafts. She has served on the board at Penland School of Crafts and currently serves on the board of directors at Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

McIver’s work has been reviewed in Art News, Art in America, The New York Times and a host of local newspapers. She has received numerous grants and awards, including an Anonymous Was A Woman Foundation Grant, a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, a Radcliffe Fellowship from Harvard University, a Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation Award, a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award and a Creative Capital Grant.

McIver received a bachelor’s degree in art from North Carolina Central University, a master of fine arts degree in painting from Penn State and an honorary doctorate from North Carolina Central University.

For more on "Raising Renee," visit http://westcityfilms.com/raising_renee.html.