About this Exhibition Reception
Please join faculty and students from across CUNY community colleges, and teaching artists for a discussion and exhibition reception of Pressing Public Issues to learn about their experiences designing and facilitating creative modes of research, expression, knowledge-production and public scholarship to spark challenging and productive conversations within their campuses, their local communities, the broader CUNY community, and across New York City.
Students, faculty and teaching artists from three of the six Pressing Public Issues courses will share their creative work, and speak about their semester-long process of exploring particular issues of importance to them through a variety of creative mediums:
In ‘Poetry and Public Life’ at Guttman Community College, students researched and enacted projects that use poetry to engage public audiences in thinking through local, national, and global issues. In collaboration with poet Carlos iro Burgos, the class proposed their projects and performed poems at the famed Nuyorican Poets Café; took their work public in print, video, and online media; and will hold a roundtable discussion on June 3rd at the James Gallery. This project was led by CUNY faculty instructor Nate Mickelson and poet Carlos iro Burgos .
In 'Environmental Ethics' at Guttman Community College, students learned the theoretical roots of the environmental movement and explored the role of public art in environmental and community activism. Students researched critical environmental issues in their communities and created posters and a class zine addressing their concerns about these issues for display and distribution at the James Gallery, and also on campus and throughout their neighborhoods. This project was led by CUNY faculty instructor Kristina Baines and artist Vaimoana (Moana) Niumeitolu.
In ‘Early Childhood Practicum II: Pedagogy for Infants and Toddlers’ at Borough of Manhattan Community College, students learned how to use environmental portraiture, interior photography, still lifes, and photographic sequencing to document infant toddler care-giving environments, and aspects of the environment that support learning. The students created photobooks based on their journals and photographs. This project was led by CUNY faculty instructor Leslie Craigo and artist Res.
Spearheaded by a partnership between the James Gallery, the Teaching and Learning and Center, and the CUNY Humanities Alliance, Pressing Public Issues has brought together a cohort of six teaching artists and six faculty teaching courses in various disciplines at CUNY community colleges in Spring 2019.
The Pressing Public Issues exhibition of students’ work from all six CUNY community college courses will be on public display at the James Gallery from May 30th – June 15th, 2019. Gallery hours: Wed 2-4pm, Thu 2-7pm, Fri 2-4pm.
Co-sponsored by the James Gallery, the Teaching and Learning and Center, and the CUNY Humanities Alliance.
