Desert Unit for Speculative Territories 2017

The Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts is pleased to announce the 2017 edition of Desert Unit for Speculative Territories (DUST), a project conceived and organized by Abinadi Meza and Ida Soulard.

DUST is an experimental research program working at the intersection of spatial practice, critical theory and contemporary art. This program consists of public events, symposia, seminars, and a three-week intensive studio conducting fieldwork from the gulf coast city of Houston to the Trans-Pecos/Chihuahuan Desert borderlands of Texas, concluding with public events and exhibitions in Marfa, Texas. DUST is a collaborative project of the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts at the University of Houston and École Supérieure des Beaux-arts de Nantes Métropole. DUST public programming is open to all; the DUST studio program is open by application to a limited number of MFA students from the University of Houston and ESBAN.

Navigating the Site, the 2017 edition of DUST, focuses on navigation as a series of gestures, instruments and figures shaping and generating new cognitive and concrete landscapes, and as a key concept in contemporary philosophical and artistic debates. Lecturers in the 2017 program include: Melanie Bühler, David Dove, Juan Garcia, Mariam Ghani, Fabien Giraud, Ed Keller, Jacob Kirkegaard, Brandon Lamson, Scott Magelssen, Jill Magid, Geoff Manaugh, Abinadi Meza, Roberto Minervini, Ivette Román-Roberto, Javier Sanchez-Martinez, Jasleen Sarai, Ida Soulard, Jeff VanderMeer, and Eyal Weizman. Lecturers in Deserting the Site, the 2016 edition of DUST, were: Olga Bannova, Benjamin Bratton, Jennifer Burris-Staton, Andy Campbell, Charles Curtis, Keller Easterling, Natilee Harren, Alvin Lucier, Gabriel Martinez and Derek Woods.

In 2016–17 the following MFA students participated in the DUST studio program: Charis Ammon, Carole Baron, Léa Bertail Domarchi, Sarah Bonnet, Léa Bouanich, Michaël Branchu, Erin Carty, Jimmy Castillo, Tracey Ceniceros, Alton DuLaney, Trey Duvall, Inès Elichondoborde, Arthur Escabasse, Elliot Eugénie, Margaux Foucret, Jesus Gonzalez, Karl Heymann, Karen Martinez, Alex Naumann, Melissa Noble, Zitian Pang, Jonathan Read, and Elise Weber.

Our 2017 programming will include Marfa Sounding 2, a Memorial Day weekend of events focused on the work of Anna Halprin, featuring performances, screenings, public workshops and discussions. Marfa Sounding 2 is organized by Jennifer Burris-Staton in collaboration with Marfa Live Arts and Fieldwork: Marfa. Please visit the DUST website for event and program details, archived audio, video, and more. DUST is supported by the FACE Foundation, New York, Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, and École Supérieure des Beaux-arts de Nantes Métropole. For more information contact Abinadi Meza, Director of Interdisciplinary Initiatives, Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts: ameza [​at​] central.uh.edu