The Year of Water and fall 2019 public programs and engagement

In fall 2019, Columbia University School of the Arts presents the Year of Water. 

“Artists, writers, and thinkers working globally in multiple creative forms are deeply involved in issues surrounding water and climate change. It is exciting for the School of the Arts to spearhead the Year of Water and to play a central role in convening the institutes, schools, faculties, and programs at Columbia engaged in important research and action around these vital concerns.”
–Carol Becker, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts

A three-night presentation of the “site-wide, large-scale light installation” WATERLICHT by acclaimed Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde on Columbia’s Manhattanville campus. More.

Shaun Donovan and Kate Orff explore urban ecologies and lessons from Rebuild by Design. More.

Visual Artist Olafur Eliasson highlights his climate-related work. More.

Adama Delphine Fawundu presents Tales of the Mano River, a site-specific mural in the lobby of Miller Theatre. More.

Curator Paola Antonelli unpacks Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival, the 22nd edition of the Milan Triennial. More.

Ron Gregg and Ana Ochoa screen Ushui, a film about women shamans and their relationship to water produced by the indigenous Wiwa Bunkuaneyuman Communications Collective. More.

Mamadou Diof and Souleymane Bachir Diagne analyze Atlantics (Atlantique), the 2019 Cannes Grand Prix-winning film by Mati Diop. More.

Vijay Iyer premieres Song for Flint—an original musical composition for the Year of Water—at Miller Theatre. More.

Lenfest Kids: H2O—a new monthly series for families—navigates the world’s oceans through films such as Ponyo, March of the Penguins, and Finding Dory. More.

Architect Renzo Piano reflects on beauty, function, and experience with Columbia University President Lee Bollinger and Interim Provost Ira Katznelson. More.

Architect David Adjaye interrogates design and urban ethics with Amale Andraos and Thelma Golden. More.

Lance Weiler leads a workshop to envision water equity. More.

Leslie Jamison and Kay Redfield Jamison expound upon creativity, addiction, and mood disorders. More.

John Banville and Richard Ford discuss the novel and its discontents. More.

Dael Orlandersmith highlights racial profiling in theatre. More.

Lis Harris reads from In Jerusalem: Three Generations of an Israeli Family and a Palestinian Family, followed by a conversation with Ted Conover. More.

Students of the MFA Theatre Program produce Acting and Directing Theses. More.

Students of the MFA Visual Arts + Sound Art Programs open their studios. More.

The MFA Writing Program welcomes Robert Boyers, John Keene, Carmen Maria Machado, Sarah Manguso, Lynne Tillman, and Wendy S. Walters. More.

The MA in Film and Media Studies Program screen They Live and Land Hacks. More.

The LeRoy Neiman Gallery displays work by Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, Hank Willis Thomas, Yann Toma, Paula Wilson, and others. More.

The Office of Public Programs and Engagement at Columbia University School of the Arts hosts activities that strengthen local partnerships while highlighting contemporary scholarship, global perspectives, and compelling voices of our time.

Columbia University School of the Arts’ Lenfest Center for the Arts is a hub for cultural and civic exchange in Upper Manhattan. Featuring four flexible venues and a public plaza, this state-of-the-art facility designed by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop offers unprecedented opportunities for the presentation and generation of contemporary art across disciplines. 

Visit the website for more details and to download a copy of the fall calendar.