Spring 2019 public programs and engagement

In spring 2019, Columbia University School of the Arts welcomes an array of filmmakers, performers, writers, visual and theatre artists, historians, theorists, and activists to present and discuss their work at the new Lenfest Center for the Arts and other campus venues:                    

Mickalene Thomas and Darnell Moore discuss art, religion, and politics. Moderated by Kellie Jones and organized by Josef Sorett. More

Producer Albert Berger and Writer and Director Elizabeth Chomko screen What They Had, a “landmark Alzheimer’s film [that] is heartbreaking, inspiring, funny and true,” according to AARP. More

Shelly Silver and Kadambari Baxi explore the architecture of Silicon Valley domesticity in Silver’s film, A Strange New Beauty. More    

Richard Axel and Sarah Sze discuss the construction of reality in the first of a new series of conversations between artists and neuroscientists on Columbia’s Manhattanville campus. Moderated by Carol Becker and Rui Costa. More

Brenda Hillman reads from Extra Hidden Life, Among the Days and other books for the Max Ritvo Poetry Reading Series. More

Rob King presents eleven adaptations of fiction by Cornell Woolrich in the Second Annual Dr. Saul and Dorothy Kit Film Noir Festival. Ticketing and more

Writer Margaret Atwood and actor Lisa Dwan in conversation. More

Ann Hamilton discusses Chorus, a marble mosaic of text from the Declaration of Independence and the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in New York City’s Cortlandt Street subway station. More

Lynette Wallworth presents her virtual reality films, Collisions and Awavena. More

The LeRoy Neiman Gallery displays work by Mary Sibande as well as prints by Gregory Amenoff, Sanford Biggers, Mark Dion, Valerie Hammond, Michael Joo, Nicola López, Kiki Smith, Sarah Sze, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Tomas Vu, and Craig Zammiello. More

New York City high school students read their creative writing. More

MFA Film students present screenplays and films at the 32nd Annual Columbia University Film Festival (CUFF).

MFA Theatre students produce Directing Theses and the annual New Plays Festival. More

MFA Visual Arts students display work at the annual MFA Visual Arts Thesis Exhibition. More

The MFA Writing Program welcomes Ana Luísa Amaral, Nicholson Baker, Margaret Jull Costa, Renee Gladman, Katie Kitamura, and Elizabeth McCracken. More

The Second Annual Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Reading Festival welcomes Pablo Manzi (Chile), Blanca Domenech (Spain), and Blandine Savetier and Waddah Saab (France and Turkey) for readings of their plays. Organized by Carol Becker and David Henry Hwang. 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 spring calendar.