The Interdisciplinary Arts Department would like to extend a warm welcome to our new MA and MFA students and a heartfelt welcome back to all of our returning students. We hope you have had a restful, productive and energizing summer break – and are ready to dive in to all that is coming up. We would like to especially extend our welcome to our Visiting Lecturer Miriam Schaer, who joins us for Academic Year 09/10 and who will be teaching classes in Book and Paper including Thinking Through Making, Visual Environments and Advanced Print Media. Miriam is a multimedia book artist who has exhibited extensively. You can learn more about Miriam’s work at her website: www.miriamschaer.com. Welcome, Miriam!
All graduate students, faculty and staff are invited to attend a welcome reception on Friday, September 18th, at the gathering space on the second floor of the 916 S. Wabash building starting at 6pm. Its a pot-luck event, bring your favorite tasty foods and join us to meet, greet and welcome one another!
There are many exciting activities coming up this Fall that we would like you to know about and put on your calendars. Coming up, a Visiting Artist, Interdisciplinary Architect Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss, will be giving a lecture the evening of November 11 and studio visits on November 12. Srdjan is an Assistant Professor at Tyler School of Art_Architecture at Temple University and lectures at Harvard and Penn. His books: Almost Architecture explores architecture vis-à-vis emerging democratic processes; Lost Highway Expedition Photobook is a witness to rapid urbanization of Europe’s South East. Contact Assistant Professor Melissa Potter at mpotter@colum.edu for more details about signing up for a studio visit.
The Book and Paper Center exhibition: Pearl of the Snowlands: Buddhist Printing at the Derge Parkhang will open on September 11 and run through December 5. Founded in 1729, the Derge Parkhang (also called the Derge Sutra Printing Temple) is a world cultural treasure, a repository of the cultural memory, literature and art of the Tibetan people. This exhibition, officially sanctioned by the Derge Parkhang, will consist of artifacts, photographs, and interviews. In coordination with the show, there will be a Panel discussion entitled History, Printing and People featuring Patrick Dowdey, Wesleyan University; Clifton Meador, Columbia College; Yudru Tsomo, Lawrence University; James Canary, Indiana University as well a Workshop on The Himalayan Book with James Canary in November. More information about the show can be found at the Center for Book and Paper Website.
The student organizations have been busy organizing many activities: With the support of the Office of Student Engagement at Columbia College and direction from Pulp, Ink, and Thread (PIT); Book and Paper students are heading to NYC the weekend of November 6. Guided tours with Dieu Donne Papermill, Center for Book Arts, and Lower East Side Printshop have been generously funded by the Interdisciplinary Arts Department. Artist studio visits, and other museum tours are also planned. For further information contact Melissa Potter or PIT.
In collaboration with the Department of Exhibition and Performance Spaces (DEPS) at Columbia College Chicago, Interdisciplinary Arts and Media student and IMAGe Unit member Laura Miller & Fiction Writing Graduate Student Eliza Fogel are organizing a juried exhibition of graduate interdisciplinary artwork in the C33 Gallery opening November 11th and running through February 13th. Significantly, the show will be up and running during the CAA Conference which is visiting Chicago in February 2010! This is an excellent opportunity to show your work to a large number of arts professionals from around the world who will be visiting the conference. There will be an open call for proposals coming out shortly; check the DEPS website for more information.
We’ve only just touched upon the myriad of opportunities ready for you, so keep an eye on our new department Calendar located online for a list of important dates and events, and be sure to say hi to all the new faces you run into down at school – its going to be a great year!
