Join us for an evening of conversation about fashion and sustainability with renowned designers Henrik Visbskov (Denmark) and Brunela Ramirez (Peru). Our guests will discuss their design philosophies & how to create a collection from idea to fabrication. Original designs and garments to be showcased!
5 – 6:30pm Designer Conversation
6:30 – 8pm Reception with food and drink
Co-sponsored by A&S Dean’s Challenge Grant, Professor Connection Program, Center for Community Engaged Learning, Fashion Studies, Art & Engagement at the Visual Arts Program and Gabelli School of Business. Organized by Fashion Studies Program Director Robb Hernández & Fashion Studies Executive Board members Alexandra M. Thomas & Catalina Alvarez.
Once a space of wealth and restriction, this former bank in Brooklyn New York was transformed into a soft, surreal stage. Inflatable structures pressed against the architecture, between floor and ceiling, like swollen memories of security, like the last breath of the institution trying to hold its place in a world that’s moved on. The printed bank boxes hinted at past obsessions with protection and power. They fluttered, flew off with the slightest breeze, turning the walls into living symbols of financial volatility.
Dancers, dressed as bankers, performed a 10-minute ritual at regular intervals— echoing, mocking, and ultimately shedding the gestures of the financial world : Their gestures mimiced the mechanical rituals of old finance: stamping papers, tightening ties, shaking invisible deal hands. But gradually, their movements loosened, their rhythm broke, the suits become costumes rather than uniforms. A farewell to a broken system. A welcoming of creative chaos.
All visitors received a key to the bank box when they arrived at The Bank.
Fordham University – Henrik Vibskov- The Bank Is Dead – Victor Jeffreys II – mode PR
Presented in partnership with Fordham’s Art & Engagement & Fashion Studies programs and the Center for Community Engaged Learning. Fordham partnership organized by Catalina Alvarez, in conjunction with April 29th event “Iridescent Worlds“.
Who is Henrik Vibskov?
Henrik Vibskov is a renowned and award-winning Danish fashion designer, artist, curator and musician.
Although commonly associated with fashion and the twisted yet tantalising universes created around each collection, Henrik’s creative practice covers multiple platforms.
Working in the intersection between art and design, his work ranges from fashion collections to installation, performances and exhibitions, always exploring creativity without limits and adapting the design approach to the changing contexts.
Since his graduation from Central St Martin’s in 2001, he has produced more than 40 fashion collections and exhibited in several international design fairs, festivals and museums all over the world, including MoMA in New York, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa and the ICA in London, to name a few.
Next to the biannual fashion collections, he has also designed costumes for numerous operas and performances, including collaborations with Hotel Pro Forma, the Oslo Opera House, The Swedish National Ballet and the Brussels Opera House.
Most recently he designed the costumes for the ballet “Hammer” by Alexander Ekman at the Gothenburg Opera in Sweden. As a musician, Henrik keeps himself occupied as a drummer currently with his band Luksus, who are to perform at Syd For Solen Festival 2023 in Copenhagen. He has also played with Hess is More, his own project Mountain Yorokobu, Mikael Simpson and Trentemøller, who he toured the world with for 6 years.
Jarrett Key Visits “Arts, Social Justice & Human Rights” Class ?>
Arts, Social Justice, and Human Rights: Foundations (THEA 4050) is a course that explores the relationship between arts and politics, and arts and community organizations. Taught by Professor Fadi Skeiker, students are encouraged to consider the transformative potential of “Theatre of the Oppressed” and applied theatre in empowering marginalized communities. This semester, students are working on a cumulative project, Two Islands, a play that explores themes of division, cultural identity, and reconciliation.
On March 25th, students in this class had the incredible opportunity to work with Jarrett Key, an artist whose unique background in both fine art and performance brought a fresh and important perspective to their creative process. Known for their powerful work in sculpture, painting, and performance, Key guided the students through a series of devised theater exercises that allowed them to break out of their comfort zones and consider new framework for their class project.
Meet Jarrett Key:
Jarrett Key (b. 1990, Seale, AL) is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Growing up in rural Alabama, Key’s practice draws deeply from their upbringing and the oral histories of the South, while also embracing contemporary modes of expression. After graduating from Brown University in 2013, Key pursued their fine art practice in New York City, later earning an MFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2020.
Key’s work integrates sculpture, painting, and performance to create objects that embody multiple forms within one frame. The artist’s exploration of the intersections between history, memory, and contemporary issues is evident in their work, which often addresses the lost stories and historical conditions that shape their life. Their work has been featured in major exhibitions, including their first solo show, From the Ground, Up at 1969 Gallery in 2022, and their recent 40ft mural commission for HMTX Industries in 2023.
A Journey into Land Art and Performance
The workshop began with a presentation by Key, who introduced the students to iconic examples of land art and performance art, such as Richard Long’s “A Line Made By Walking” and Antti Laitinen’s “It’s My Island”. These examples sparked new ideas in the students’ minds, encouraging them to think about how their bodies and the environments around them could serve as effectual tools in creating their own theatrical work. Key’s ability to draw connections between land art, performance, and their own practice gave the students a new perspective on how they could use their bodies and the spaces they inhabit in unforeseen and dynamic ways.
“A Line Made By Walking” by Richard Long“It’s My Island” by Antti Laitinen
Devised Theater: A Creative Collaboration
Devised theater, which emphasizes collaboration and collective creation, was the perfect framework for Key’s exercises. The students were encouraged to think beyond traditional scripts and explore how physical movement, space, and sound could work together to tell a story. Key led the students through several interactive exercises that encouraged them to tap into their creativity and push the boundaries of their performance. This included a “Song + Dance” Excercise where students were asked to create spontaneous movements and sounds alongside with lyrics they had previously created for Two Islands.
Students also participated in an exercise called “Walking on the Grid” where they walked along a imaginary grid while experimenting with movement, timing, and space. This exercise mirrored the practices of previously discussed land and performance artists, allowing students to explore how their bodies could interact with physical spaces in new and intentional ways. This exercise challenged students to think about how structure and freedom can coexist in performance, and how they might incorporate this into their play.
The FitzSimons Civics and Civility Initiative presents: Films Worth Talking About Even If Difficult: Akira. Directed in 1988 by Katsuhiro Otomo, based on his 1982 manga Akira.
Thursday, April 3, 6 pm, LC Visual Arts Complex Screening Room SL 24L. All are welcome. Pizza!Sponsored by the FitzSimons Civics and Civility Initiative in collaboration with the Visual Arts Program
Faculty panelists: Nushelle de Silva, Assistant Professor of Art History; Terrence Mosley, Adjunct Professor, Theatre Program; Anthony A. Berry, FitzSimons Fellow; Rachel Annunziato, Professor of Psychology, Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives; and Stephan Apicella-Hitchcock, Clinical Professor, Head of the Visual Arts Program
One randomly chosen lucky winner will take home Volume 1 of Otomo’s AKIRA manga.
The following faculty will lead an open discussion about the film with attendees:
Nushelle de Silva, Assistant Professor of Art History. A historian of the built environment; her research is broadly concerned with the relationships between architecture and mobility from the mid-nineteenth century to the present.Terrence Mosley, Adjunct Professor, Theatre Program.
Terrence I. Mosley is a narrative-based director, writer, and performer. He is committed to exploring how collective and personal traumas shape our world. Through that exploration, he aims to build healthier, more equitable social systems.
Anthony A. Berry, FitzSimons Fellow. In this role, he helps coordinate events, programs, and other opportunities across Fordham’s various campuses, engaging the community in how to approach difficult topics with civility and how to engage the different levers of democracy.
Rachel Annunziato, Professor of Psychology, Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, Fordham College at Rose Hill, upcoming Vice Dean for Undergraduate Education. Dr. Annuziato is concerned with the transition to adulthood for medically ill adolescents/young adults, healthcare care management in adolescents with a medical illness, and Interactions between medical and psychiatric symptoms.
Stephan Apicella-Hitchcock, Clinical Professor, Head of the Visual Arts Program. He leads a study abroad course in Tokyo and is a bit of an Akira nerd.
Considered the most influential feature-length anime film ever made, groundbreaking in the cyberpunk genre, Akira has had an extraordinary impact on popular culture and effectively advanced anime and Japanese popular culture worldwide. The film unflinchingly takes on challenging topics, and societal messages abound pertaining to nuclear holocaust, political corruption, social unrest, the dangers of unchecked power, and the misuse of technology, as well as themes of individuals exploring identity, power, friendship, and the effects of their decisions. Akira powerfully demonstrated the potential of animation to address complicated and mature themes and became a cultural phenomenon, inspiring countless films and anime for almost four decades after its release.
Synopsis: “In 1988, the Japanese government dropped an atomic bomb on Tokyo after ESP experiments on children went awry. In 2019, 31 years after nuking the city, Kaneda, a bike gang leader, tries to save his friend Tetsuo from a secret government project. He battles against anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists, and a powerful military leader until Tetsuo’s supernatural power suddenly manifests. A final battle is fought in the Tokyo Olympiad, exposing the experiment’s secrets.” —Rotten Tomatoes (91% rating).
Introduction to Kalamkari | Workshop with Nikita Shah ?>
Kalamkari is a 3,000-year-old textile craft that originated as a medium of storytelling using a bamboo pen and natural dyes. This traditional art form involves at least 23 individual stages and is currently practiced only in Sri Kalahasti, India.
This workshop given by Fashion Designer Nikita Shah consists of a live demonstration and a simultaneous critical discussion of its history. Participants learn to create a simple piece of kalamkari.
WORKSHOP STRUCTURE: Brief presentation on history of Kalamkari (30-40 mins) Demonstration & creation of kalamkari piece (1-2 hours)
Fordham University Visual Arts 2025 Senior Thesis Exhibitions
The Fordham University Galleries Fordham University at Lincoln Center map 113 West 60th Street at Columbus Avenue New York, NY 10023 fordhamuniversitygalleries
Fordham University Visual Arts is pleased to announce the start of the 2025 Senior Thesis Exhibitions. Please follow our talented emerging artists as they exhibit throughout the spring semester in our Ildiko Butler Gallery and Lipani Gallery.
For further information on the exhibition, please contact Vincent Stracquadanio. For the Visual Arts Department Website: click here.
The Fall 2024 semester of “Art and Action on the Bronx River” at Fordham culminated in an array of 12 individual student projects ranging from a mini-documentary, to a dance piece, to a 24-mile walk, as well as a number of other artworks. Taught by Professor Matthew López-Jensen, the course explores the intersection of art, ecology, and history, specifically focusing on the Bronx River and the communities surrounding it. For their final projects, students were tasked with creating ambitious works that responded to the river in creative and thought-provoking ways.
REFLECTIONS: GRACE ON THE WATER
Emerging artist Tori Garcillano has taken to the Bronx River to create a statement piece that implores viewers to consider the ways in which the art of dance can allow people to honor their bodies and surroundings. Her question is as follows: dance does not only exist in studios or on stages but in the very way that we interact with the world around us.
In this video piece, Garcillano dances her choreography on a dock atop the Bronx River at Starlight Park, directly across the way from the Bronx River House. In between moments of choreography, she has added brief clips of sights from the riverbank, focused mostly on the movement of the water. Just as water creates reflections, Garcillano views her movement as a reflection on the ways in which dance is an expansive art form that exists beyond the body itself.
When asked to describe her piece, collage artist Julia Mancini said it all began with a question- “Can take your picture?” From here, she collected body parts: a foot from a friend, her sister’s leg, and her own two hands. Her goal was to create a physical creature, a conglomeration of the people in her life, to bring to the river. “I wanted to exaggerate the inaccessibility of reaching the river and construct a reality where I could bring all of these people there, a reality where they could even swim in it.” She sought to create a symbolic creature with Photoshop to be blown up, printed, and then secured to an outstretched cardboard box and sealed with clear packing tape.
24 MILES, 19 FRAMES, 1 DAY
Patrick Dolan embarked on a 9-hour trek spanning the entire 24-mile length of the Bronx River. His journey took him from the busy metropolis to the small forests of our city, capturing the diverse ecosystems that exist within the city’s veins.
The journey began at Kensico Dam in Valhalla, NY, and ended Soundview Park, where the Bronx River meets the East River, with the goal of trying to stay as close to the river as possible during the journey. The Bronx River, once a vital waterway, now flows through a landscape transformed by urbanization, offering a unique perspective on the intersection of nature and human development.
“Sound Waves of the Bronx River” BY CHRISTIANA STAUB
Artworks by students Maxanne Millerhaller, Nikki Phillips, Emily Torres, Olivia Griffin, Sofia Cordero, Guadalupe Vargas, Kelly Stanton, and Jonas Guzman.
URBAN DEVOTIONS: Images of Faith in the City, A Photographic Exhibition by David Gonzalez ?>
The Fordham University Galleries Lipani Gallery January 21 – February 17, 2025 Fordham University at Lincoln Center map 113 West 60th Street at Columbus Avenue New York, NY 10023 fordhamuniversitygalleries
RECEPTION JANUARY 23rd, 6-7:30PM
New York has been a city of faith, whether it’s small devotions in unexpected nooks or bold public declarations of belief. And with a global city reshaped every few generations, traditions offer a familiar and comforting touch, if not hope itself, in every corner of the city if you look. Indeed, as the writer Oscar Hijuelos once said to me about New Yorkers who go about their days oblivious to the nuances of faith: “They are like tone-deaf. They hear a piano being played and they only hear ‘thunka-thunk.’ There is this wild jazz going on called religion and some people don’t have the chops.” -David Gonzalez
EMBODYING THE RECORD at UnionDocs Center for Documentary Art ?>
On October 12, 2023, UnionDocs collaborated with Fordham University and our Center for Community Engaged Learning and Visual Arts Program, to ask how we might embody found histories.
Fordham students and Lincoln Square community members display collages they created through a workshop with Crystal Z Campbell the day before.
Workshop participants included Helen Cahill, Luisa Coutinho Gazio, Dana Ebralidze, Nicole Estelami, Matthias Lai, Nicole Miceli, Manpreet Singh, Marie Stephen, Herbert McMillon and Michael Nelson.
Beforehand, students had read excerpts from After 1921: Notes from Tulsa’s Black Wall Street and Beyond, a collection of poems, essays, and images edited by artist Crystal Z Campbell and co-published by their Archive Acts (archiveacts.com) and VSW Press.
UnionDocs hosted Crystal Z Campbell and Catalina Alvarez to present work that approaches embodiment and performance of underknown or erased histories. Crystal Z Campbell shared and unpacked their concept of “underloved archives” while Catalina Alvarez shared sequences from Sound Spring, a film that shares resonant overlaps and methodologies.
