New York—The New Museum announces its summer 2018 season of public programming. Highlights of the season include discussions related to the exhibitions “John Akomfrah: Signs of Empire,” “Thomas Bayrle: Playtime,” and “Aaron Fowler: Bigger Than Me”; programs organized in conjunction with the New Museum’s annual art and social justice residency and exhibition with the Black School (Joseph Cuillier and Shani Peters) and Kameelah Janan Rasheed; and Rhizome’s annual Seven on Seven conference.
Seven on Seven 2018
Saturday May 19, 12–6 PM
Rhizome and the New Museum present Seven on Seven, the flagship art-meets-tech event that pairs seven leading artists with seven visionary technologists and asks them to “make something”: an artwork, a prototype, a provocation—whatever they imagine. What they create in their short time together premieres at the conference, yet its effects ripple beyond that day.
Library Hours in the Resource Room with Kameelah Janan Rasheed
Thursday May 31, August 23, and September 6, 7–8:30 PM
Saturday June 23 and July 21, 3–5 PM
Educator and artist-in-residence Kameelah Janan Rasheed shares materials from her personal archival collection of printed matter, including small press publications, magazine articles on independent black schools, textbooks and curriculum sets from the mid-1970s, course catalogues, independent black periodicals, and contemporary texts. During these library hours, visitors are welcome to explore the archival materials and engage in informal discussions. Presented on the occasion of “The Black School x Kameelah Janan Rasheed” through the Department of Education and Public Engagement.
Publishing Center
Thursdays June 7–July 12 (excluding July 5), 6:30–8:30 PM
This free series, taught by Rasheed, restages the publishing center from her elementary school to focus on black traditions of self-publishing, literacy, and independent schools. The series focuses on historical inquiry and experimentation with printing and binding techniques, with practical application toward a final product and its dissemination. Sessions include: 1. History of Black Publishing and Printing 2. The Xerox Machine and Radical Movements 3. The Risograph Machine 4. Bookmaking and Bookbinding 5. Bookmaking and Bookbinding Continued, and Dissemination. Presented on the occasion of “The Black School x Kameelah Janan Rasheed” through the Department of Education and Public Engagement.
Lex Brown and Aaron Fowler: C.E.
Saturday June 9, 4 PM
In conjunction with Aaron Fowler’s installation “Bigger Than Me,” on view in the Storefront Window of the New Museum’s 231 Bowery building, Fowler has paired with fellow artist Lex Brown in a new collaborative performance titled C.E. (2018).
Family Meals: Sharing Histories
Wednesday June 13, 7 PM
Inspired by the generative learning that occurs during meals in domestic, familial, and community settings, Rasheed invites artists, organizers, community members, and educators to two potluck dinners that will draw upon histories and futures of independent black schools. Rasheed will introduce this meal with excerpts from the documentary Dreams of a City: Creating East Palo Alto (dir. Michael Levin, 1997), which traces the history of Nairobi College, a community-created college and day school founded in her hometown of East Palo Alto. Held in conjunction with “The Black School x Kameelah Janan Rasheed” through the Department of Education and Public Engagement.
Thomas Bayrle in Conversation with Massimiliano Gioni
John Akomfrah in Conversation with Curator Gary Carrion-Murayari
Wednesday June 20, 6:30 PM & 7:30 PM
The New Museum will host a conversation between Thomas Bayrle and Massimiliano Gioni, Edlis Neeson Artistic Director, on the occasion of “Thomas Bayrle: Playtime,” the first major New York museum survey of work by the German artist. Following this conversation, John Akomfrah and Gary Carrion-Murayari, Kraus Family Curator, will discuss “John Akomfrah: Signs of Empire,” the first American survey exhibition of the work of the legendary British artist, film director, and writer.
Mass Appeals: Thomas Bayrle’s Objects of Desire
Saturday June 23, 3 PM
This panel discussion—including speakers Christine Mehring, Sarah Nicole Prickett, and moderator Bettina Funcke—will consider Thomas Bayrle’s long-standing inquiry into the relationship between mass media, political spectacle, and consumerism, presented on the occasion of his first major New York museum survey, “Thomas Bayrle: Playtime.”
Collective Imaginings: Legacies of the Black Audio Film Collective
Thursday July 12, 7 PM
This panel discussion—with Coco Fusco, Tobi Haslett, Kara Keeling, and moderator Ashley Clark —will explore the importance of returning to Black Audio Film Collective’s work in our current political and cultural moment, not only in terms of their radical approach to documentary film, but also their broader commitment to supporting new voices of color in video production by organizing workshops, roundtable dialogues, and public forums. Presented on the occasion of “John Akomfrah: Signs of Empire.”
Drop-In Sessions with the Teen Apprentice Program
Fridays July 13–August 17, 3 PM
First-come, first-served drop-in workshops for visitors will be led by the Teen Apprentice Program. Teens, as teachers, will facilitate an art-making project for visitors and guide their use of The Black School Process Cards, cards for generating artist-activist tactics to inspire responses to community needs. Between July 10 and August 17, students in the program will also be available Tuesday through Friday each week to assist visitors in exploring the past and futures of black critical pedagogies in the exhibition “The Black School x Kameelah Janan Rasheed,” presented through the Department of Education and Public Engagement.
Social Fabric: Thomas Bayrle’s Expanded Network
Thursday July 19, 7 PM
Bringing together a new generation of artists interested in Thomas Bayrle’s legacy—including Lena Henke and Jordan Wolfson, with moderator Alex Kitnick—this panel, presented on the occasion of “Thomas Bayrle: Playtime,” will look at how these artists take up questions around corporate production, political spectacle, digital technology, and urban planning in their own work.
Space for Learning: Within and Beyond Walls
Thursday July 26, 7 PM
Architect and historian Mabel O. Wilson joins the Black School and Rasheed for a panel discussion considering the politics and role of visual culture, art, and architecture in the creation of spaces centering black teachers, learners, and knowledge within conditions of systemic and institutionalized racism. Throughout US history, from slavery to Jim Crow segregation to present day inequities and marginalization, people of color have created space for learning through diverse strategies including mobile, temporary, domestic, and built forms. What might present and future spaces for education gain from engaging these often-suppressed histories? Presented on the occasion of “The Black School x Kameelah Janan Rasheed” through the Department of Education and Public Engagement.
Black Love Committee
Saturday July 28, 11 AM–1 PM: Utopia, at Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling
Saturday August 4, 11 AM–1 PM: Spectacle, at New Museum
Saturday August 11, 11 AM–1 PM: Action, at New Museum
Sunday August 19, daylong: Enactment at Black Love Fest NYC 2018, at Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling
The Black School will lead a series of three free tactic-specific sessions on arts activism for an intergenerational audience, culminating in a presentation at Black Love Fest NYC at the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling. The Black School will facilitate sessions in which the group will identify a shared community desire and collaborate on art-making and direct action. Space is limited. Advanced registration required. Presented on the occasion of “The Black School x Kameelah Janan Rasheed” through the Department of Education and Public Engagement.
Family Meals: Sharing Futures
Wednesday September 12, 7 PM
Inspired by the generative learning that occurs during meals in domestic, familial, and community settings, Kameelah Janan Rasheed invites artists, organizers, community members, and educators to two potluck dinners that will draw upon histories and futures of independent Black schools. Conversation at this meal will focus on responding to questions that have arisen over the course of the exhibition and residency. Presented on the occasion of “The Black School x Kameelah Janan Rasheed” through the Department of Education and Public Engagement.
Off-Site Event
Symposium: Experiments in Art & Technology: 1960s & Today
Saturday May 12, 10 AM–6 PM at Mana Contemporary
Organized on the occasion of the exhibition “Only Human” presented by NEW INC and Nokia Bell Labs at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, this daylong symposium will delve into some of the ideas, themes, and technological research being explored in the works on view by artists Sougwen Chung, Lisa Park, and Hammerstep
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