CUNY graduate students: Apply to the open call for the 2024–25 SPCUNY Actionist Fellowship

SPCUNY is pleased to announce the open call for the 2024–25 SPCUNY Actionist Fellowship. We’re accepting applications through April 28, 2024. Actionists are CUNY graduate students with a serious art practice, often but not always from MFA programs, who are working to develop an independent project at the intersection of art and social justice. Selected through an open call, this group will be part of a wider SPCUNY 2024-25 cohort, which includes CUNY faculty/practitioners, all of whom are also developing their own projects. Actionists participate in a weekly seminar in the Fall and Spring semesters that includes all student members of the cohort, and they receive $3,000 in the form of CUNY fellowships towards the fulfillment of their public-facing project.

Gardening Angel: opening and walkthrough

Morningside Park Morningside Dr., New York, NY, United States

"Gardening Angel" is a site-specific sculpture by SPCUNY Student Fellow V Tineo representing growth and community prosperity. Join the official walkthrough at noon in Morningside Park with artist Coby Kennedy and Deputy Borough President Keisha Sutton-James.

@ WORK

New York Public Library 18 West 53rd Street, New York, NY, United States

A celebration of the workers who keep New York City moving. From now to the end of August, six of the banners will be on view at the 53rd Street Branch at the New York Public Library.

Citation Needed Book Launch

Printed Matter St Marks 38 St Marks Pl, New York, NY, United States

Citation Needed is an experimental publishing initiative, dedicated to fostering the creation of artist books created by 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. After many months of creation and production, the authors are thrilled to share their work with the public. This launch party serves as an opportunity for intergenerational conversation and to celebrate the authors' detailed, hilarious, and chaotic new books!

Resilience Thinking Walkscape

Endale Arch Prospect Park, 11 East Dr, Brooklyn, NY, United States

A meditative group-walk through the northern end of Prospect Park that is designed around thinking through ecologies of resilience. Following an infinity-loop pathway, participants will begin making quiet observations about sites in the park both spectacular and mundane. As the walk continues, the group will focus more on radical collaboration and the creation of new liberatory communities. Touchpoints will include utopian urban planning, histories of queer cruising, and ways of seeing Prospect Park as a radically resilient public sphere.

Part of the Practice – SPCUNY Podcast Launch

Francis Kite Club 40 Loisaida Ave, New York, NY, United States

What is social practice, and how does it affect the ways we navigate our lives and make change in the world? Join faculty, staff, and students from Social Practice CUNY for a fun evening hosted by Catherine LaSota, as we celebrate the launch of Part of the Practice, our new podcast about the role of socially-engaged art in our communities and the current moment. Enjoy food, music, special giveaways, and more — and meet some of the guests from our inaugural season. Let’s revel in the end of the summer together. This is a party you don’t want to miss!

Dark Lab / Afro-Asia Group Open House

Hunter College

(POSTPONED, NEW DATE TBA) Open House for the Dark Laboratory, a climate research lab at Hunter College led by SPCUNY Faculty Fellow Tao Leigh Goffe. RSVP required. Learn about new initiatives related to racial and climate justice.

Cabaret Chispas

Save the date 9/21 (rain date 9/28) for a one night only showing of CABARET CHISPAS, a cosmic urban parable about South American Indigenous leaders + activists + organizers from NYC gathering in 2023 at CASA MISTICA (Alicia’s house in the Bronx) for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Come join us as we occupy third-space and put on a guerilla outdoor production with a live fire, shadow puppets, live music, DJ, and so much more.

Embodied Mapping and Urban Transformation at the Creative Time Summit

BRIC Arts Media 647 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY, United States

Led by SPCUNY alum Nora Almeida and collaborators andrea haenggi, Jordan Packer, Estefania Mompean Botias, this workshop uses somatic counter-mapping to transform urban spaces and perceptions. Part of the Creative Time Summit 2024, running from September 20–22 under the theme States of Emergence: Land After Property and Catastrophe.

Tactical Media: Collective Brainstorm & Poster Swap with SPCUNY Co-Director Gregory Sholette and Viva Ruiz

CTHQ 59 E 4th St, Floor 7, New York, NY, United States

How do you intervene in fast-paced media narratives by engaging art and design? What does it look like to subvert hyperstimulation towards a political means? Inspired by Creative Time’s powerful and iconic public media campaigns that served as direct provocations, this event brings together artists and organizers Viva Ruiz and Gregory Sholette to reflect on their work spanning multiple contexts and social frameworks.

Free

Public Knowledge: The hidden hands of artistic (re)production

Camden Art Centre Arkwright Rd., London NW3 6DG, United Kingdom

The myth of the artist working alone in the studio overlooks the contributions of many uncredited workers involved in the production, circulation, display, and maintenance of artworks. To highlight their contributions, participants—including academics, practitioners, and art workers—will share their experiences and explore historical practices across various facets and geographies of the art world. SPCUNY Co-Director Gregory Sholette is among the speakers.