Year of Water: spring public programs

In spring 2020, 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

Composer and pianist Arturo O’Farrill premieres Mundoagua, a new musical composition commissioned by the School of the Arts and Miller Theatre for the Year of Water. More

Dorothea Lasky convenes a daylong exploration of poetry and water, featuring Jordan Abel, Abigail Chabitnoy, CAConrad, Timothy Donnelly, Matthea Harvey, Douglas Kearney, Luna Miguel, Shane McCrae, Celina Su, Cecilia Pavon, Phillip B. Williams, and Lynn Xu. More

Environmental lawyer Jim Olson and anthropologists Nadia Gaber and Catherine Fennell discuss water activism in Detroit, Flint, and the Great Lakes. More

Vincent Carelli and Wewito Piyãko screen Antonio and Piti, a film that explores rebel love along the Amônia River, produced by the indigenous Ashaninka Vídeo nas Aldeias collective. More

Visual artist and choreographer Phoebe Osborne presents an outdoor public performance that reclaims the word hydra as an empowering term. Commissioned for the Year of Water. More

Lenfest Kids: H2O—a new monthly family film series—navigates the world’s oceans through films such as Lu Over the Wall, Happy Feet, Moana, WALL-E, and Treasure Island. More

Butler Library’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library, for its Spring 2020 Chang Octagon exhibition, will present selections from the Book Art Collection that have water as a theme in some way. Featuring books by Toni Morrison with silhouettes by Kara E. Walker, Edgar Allan Poe, Nedim Sonmez, Sandy Gellis, and many others. More

Henk Ovink and Alex Halliday analyze the essentiality of water to health, economy, biodiversity, food security, conflict, and power. More

Critic Eric Fan Feng and curator Betti-Sue Hertz explore the ancient concept of shan shui — “mountain water painting” — in contemporary Chinese art. More

The third annual Dr. Saul and Dorothy Kit Film Noir Festival highlights the pivotal roles played by Jewish filmmakers in the creation of the genre. Ticketing and more

Louise Glück reads from Faithful and Virtuous Night and other books for the Max Ritvo Poetry Series. More

Writer-Director Kitty Green and Co-Producers Scott Macauley and James Schamus screen their new film The Assistant, followed by a conversation with Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature Denise Cruz. More

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

MFA Film students present screenplays and films at the 33rd Annual Columbia University Film Festival (CUFF). More

The MFA Writing Program welcomes Lewis Hyde, Alexandra Kleeman, Catherine Lacey, Terese Marie Mailhot, Mike McCormack, Joyelle McSweeney, Belinda McKeon, Sally Rooney, Claire Vaye Watkins, and others. More

The LeRoy Neiman Gallery displays work by Aika Akhmetova, Tamar Ettun, Rochelle Feinstein, Rachel Stern, Kiyomi Taylor, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and others. More

Columbia Artist/Teachers (CA/T) and Our Word invite Crystal-Angelee Burrell, Sophia Dawson, Kristin Dodson, Malcolm Hansen, Victor Lavalle, and others to discuss writing and representation. 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. 615 West 129th Street (between Broadway and 12th Avenue), New York, New York, 10027

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