Socially minded events on the season’s calendar include virtual talks, a film screening and a conversation with photographer and activist Nan Goldin and artist Jack Pierson.
There are so many ways to stay engaged in current events and exercise activism through art, including a handful of events this fall at the School of Visual Arts. As election season approaches, this roundup includes prestigious guests speaking on the power of looking at global and national issues through an artistic lens.
On Wednesday, October 11, MFA Photography, Video and Related Media will welcome legendary photographer and activist Nan Goldin to the SVA Theatre, for a conversation with fellow celebrated photographer and artist Jack Pierson, moderated by faculty member Lyle Rexer. The two will discuss their work in connection with themes of identity on the occasion of Pierson’s latest exhibition, “Pomegranates,” at New York City's Lisson Gallery, on view through Saturday, October 14.
The following week, on Wednesday, October 18, MFA Social Documentary Film will host a screening of 20 Days in Mariupol, the Sundance-winning film by Ukrainian journalist Mstyslav Chernov, who is in New York to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for his courageous work documenting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Following the screening, faculty member Thom Powers will interview Chernov in a live taping of his Pure Nonfiction podcast.
An installation view of artist Jack Pierson’s exhibition, “Pomegranates at Lisson Gallery,” the subject of the upcoming event A Conversation With Nan Goldin and Jack Pierson, presented by MFA Photography, Video and Related Media.
Over in the virtual realm, the SVA Honors Program and BFA Visual & Critical Studies will host a talk with Peruvian-born historian Dr. Renzo Aroni, a humanities fellow at Columbia University, on Tuesday, October 24, about the role of music during the recent political unrest in Peru under President Dina Boluarte. Aroni has an MA in anthropology, with a focus on ethnomusicology, from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, and his research experience includes social movements, revolutions, indigenous peoples and human rights in Latin America, particularly at their intersection with culture, memory and political violence. On Tuesday, November 14, the Honors Program and BFA Visual & Critical Studies will welcome back political scientist and activist Frances Fox Piven for “Way Beyond Normal,” her latest U.S. elections postmortem. Piven, a distinguished professor emerita of politics at the City University of New York, has been among the most incisive, humane and engaged voices on the left for decades in the struggle for voter rights, welfare rights, working people’s rights and social reform.
On Friday, November 17, SVA Continuing Education will present its annual Art + Activism event at the SVA Theatre. A celebration of the art and design of hip-hop, this year’s event will be an evening of music and guest speakers, including artists Eric Haze and Janette Beckman, and Gil Vazquez, executive director and president of the Keith Haring Foundation. More details, including a dedicated events page, will be coming soon.
These are just a handful of the events on offer at SVA this fall, along with curator roundtables, visiting artist lectures and expert talks on wide-ranging topics like AI and therapy, as well as free workshops, open studios and, of course, plenty of exhibitions. For more information, visit sva.edu/events, and to sign up for the College’s weekly newsletter, Continuing Education bulletins and/or monthly events calendar, visit sva.edu/subscribe.
The trailer for 20 Days in Mariupol, a documentary by Pulitzer Prize-winning Ukrainian journalist Mstyslav Chernov. Chernov will present his film, and take part in a Q&A following the screening, at an MFA Social Documentary Film event at SVA on Wednesday, October 18.