To Transform: fall 2022 public programs and engagement

The 2022–23 Public Programs and Engagement series at Columbia University School of the Arts is organized around the concept of “To Transform.” Here we will present conversations, screenings, readings, and research about work that enacts transformation on physical, social, political, and psychic landscapes and the complexities that ensue. Most events take place in the Lenfest Center for the Arts on Columbia University’s Manhattanville campus.  

This month, Margo Jefferson and Deborah Paradez will discuss Jefferson’s new memoir, Constructing a Nervous System. More.

In October, acclaimed writer Marina Warner will present new research on the role of storytelling in “living through exile and dislocation, and surviving somewhere that is not home.” More.

The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory will host an open house. Visitors can learn about tree rings, volcanoes, climate science, and more. 

Writing professors Susan Hartman and Lis Harris will discuss City of Refugees: The Story of Three Newcomers Who Breathed Life Into A Dying American Town, Hartman’s portrayal of Utica, New York. More.

Inspired by their lifelong correspondence, Carol Becker will read from her new essay about the complex lives and dreams for a future society of Ernesto Cardenal and Thomas Merton: Poets, Priests, Mystics and Revolutionaries. More. 

In November, renowned visual artist Duke Riley will present work on the occasion of his solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, DEATH TO THE LIVING, Long Live Trash. More.

Celebrated visual artist Tania Bruguera presents work in conjunction with the exhibition Sin Autorización: Contemporary Cuban Art at the Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery. More. 

Lenfest Kids, a monthly film screening series about transformation and change for children and families, includes Honey I Shrunk the Kids; Hidden Figures; Spirited Away; School of Rock; and Big. More.

Visit the School of the Arts website for the full season of events. 

Columbia University School of the Arts recognizes Manhattan as part of the ancestral and traditional homeland of the Lenni-Lenape and Wappinger people. We continue to address issues of exclusion, erasure, and systemic discrimination through ongoing education and a commitment to equitable representation.

*Image above: As a result of cleaner waters (and climate-induced warming of traditional habitats), humpback whales are now sighted off the coast of Rockaway Beach, New York.