Symposium: Art at Water’s Edge

Artists, activists, and designers engage the meeting of land with water. Facing climate change and rising sea levels, this event links New York with communities across the nation and globe that sit at water’s edge. This afternoon activation is inspired by acclaimed director Peter Sellars’ call to “listen to the oceans,” and by director and scholar May Joseph’s call for cosmopolitan citizenship in “fluid New York.” From the work of Indigenous water protectors who challenge extractive futures to urban planners responding to waterfront access, Art at Water’s Edge will offer an intergenerational forum for the imagination in action.

Schedule of events:

Session 1: Opening Sessions: Listening to the Ocean

11:00am–12:30pm: Opening Plenary
Keynote conversation with Peter Sellars

1:00pm: Film Screening Room Opens

Session 2: Mid-day Sessions: Water, Ritual, History

2:00pm–3:30pm: Concurrent Sessions

Session 3: Second Sessions: Where Do We Go From Here?

4:00pm–5:15pm: Concurrent Sessions

5:30pm: Closing Remarks
Concluding remarks by May Joseph and forum with Tavia Nyong’o

The Sacred and the Profane
Pamela Sneed and Kiyan Williams in conversation with Journey Streams

Knowledge of Wounds
SJ Norman, Joseph Pierce, and devynn emory in conversation

Your Eyes Will Be An Empty Word
Coco Fusco in conversation with Adrienne Edwards

underCURRENTS
Nia Love in conversation with Jerome Haferd

Metabolism | Photosynthesism
Michael Wang in conversation with Eng-Beng Lim

Little Island
Signe Nielsen

At the Sea’s Edge
Macarena Gomez Barris and Sarah Cameron Sunde

Atlantic is a Sea of Bones
Tourmaline