Online
September 18–December 14, 2021, 7pm
The IDS public lecture series, designed as an introduction to some of the most pressing questions driving contemporary thought and practice, consists of lectures by artists, theorists, scientists, activists, writers, and other practitioners involved in the arts from positions that embody an interdisciplinary approach or that imply new uses for disciplinary traditions. Each lecture is part of The Cooper Union’s Intra-Disciplinary Seminar (IDS). The seminar and series are organized by Leslie Hewitt and Omar Berrada.
This year’s IDS lectures are organized along three general directions: Modeling, where we think through spatiality, perception, and interpretation as tools for contending with complexity; Mark-making, where we bear witness to processes of inscription and sedimentation as we consider history beyond linear time; Aftermath, where we wonder how worlds are unmade and remade in the wake of disaster.
The IDS lectures take place on Tuesdays at 7pm ET unless otherwise specified. They are free and open to the public upon registration.
Fall 2021 IDS public lectures
September 18 (Saturday, 12pm ET)
Ilze Wolff
September 21
Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-Rahme
September 28
Omar Dewachi
October 2 (Saturday, 12pm ET)
Grada Kilomba
October 12
Shimabuku
October 26
Natalia Brizuela
November 2
Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa
November 9
Gloria Elizabeth Chacón
November 16
Mashinka Firunts Hakopian
November 30
Mezna Qato
December 7
Mohammad Al Attar
December 14
Forest Young
All registration links will be available on our website. Closed captioning is available for all lectures. Please contact us directly for any specific accessibility needs.
The Cooper Union School of Art
Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture, and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences. The School of Art is firmly committed to a generalist curriculum that encompasses all the fundamental disciplines and resources of the visual arts. Each student is educated not only in specific disciplines, but also in the complex interrelationships of all the visual vocabularies. This philosophic premise relates to all the objectives of the School of Art and is the foundation upon which all teaching, creative work, service and research are based. The Studio curriculum along with the Art History and General Studies components of the BFA program all have as their goal the acquisition of communication skills, the development of critical perspective, and the mastery of the materials and intellectual premises of the study of societies and people. Throughout eight semesters, students become socially aware, historically grounded, creative practitioners. They are taught to be critical analysts of the world of contemporary visual communications, art, and the culture at large.
General support and funding
The IDS public lecture series is part of the Robert Lehman Visiting Artist Program at The Cooper Union. We are grateful for major funding from the Robert Lehman Foundation. The IDS public lecture series is also made possible by generous support from the Open Society Foundations.
