2018 LECTURES
PREVIOUS LECTURES
Janet Echelman - April 2017
Janet Echelman is an artist who defies categorization. She creates experiential sculpture at the scale of buildings that transform with wind and light. The art shifts from being an object you look at, to a living environment you can get lost in. Using unlikely materials from fishnet to atomized water particles, Echelman combines ancient craft with cutting-edge technology to create artworks that have become focal points for urban life on four continents.
Echelman is a Florida native with ties to Jacksonville. Echelman's portfolio includes a stunning collection of public art that has been exhibited in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. In 2011 Echelman gave a TED talk titled “Taking Imagination Seriously,” which has been translated into 34 languages with nearly two million views. Echelman was the recipient of the 2014 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award in Visual Arts.
Echelman is a Florida native with ties to Jacksonville. Echelman's portfolio includes a stunning collection of public art that has been exhibited in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. In 2011 Echelman gave a TED talk titled “Taking Imagination Seriously,” which has been translated into 34 languages with nearly two million views. Echelman was the recipient of the 2014 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award in Visual Arts.
Mark Amerika - January 2017
Mark Amerika is an artist, theorist, novelist, and Professor of Art and Art History at the University of Colorado. He holds a Masters in Fine Art (MFA) in Creative Writing from Brown University (1997). Amerika has exhibited his art in many international venues, including: the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, USA), the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, USA), the Denver Art Museum (Denver, USA), the Institute of Contemporary Arts (London, England), ZKM (Karlsruhe, Germany), La Biennale de Montreal (Montreal, Canada), and the Museum of the Moving Image (New York, USA).
Michael Holman - June 2016
Michael Holman is a filmmaker, artist, writer, and musician, based in New York City. A pioneer in the Downtown New York Art Scene and Uptown Hip Hop Scene, Holman founded the band Gray – an industrial atmospheric, noise group – with painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, as well as created and produced the first Hop Hop television show, Graffiti Rock in 1984.
Julien de Casabianca - November 2015
Julien de Casabianca is a visual artist and movie maker. His work is always related to the street. His first feature-length film, titled “Passing By,” was shot during three years in the streets of 44 cities in 22 countries. It included only anonymous passers by. After his first movie, Julien de Casabianca was chosen by Costa-Gavras and Jean-Jacques Beineix to become a member of ARP, the legendary French guild of 150 authors, directors, and producers.
Christo - April 2015
Christo, with his late wife, Jeanne-Claude, have created monumental works enveloping rural and urban structures for more than half a century, including “Surrounded Islands” in Miami, the “Wrapped Reichstag” in Brewlin, and “The Gates” in New York City’s Central Park. Their works, although temporary in nature, are some of the most recoganizable in the world due to their large scale, impact on the viewer, and the artists’ commitment to preservation through film and photography.
Vito di Bari - March 2015
Vito Di Bari maintains a global reputation of excellence as the world’s premier futurist, innovation strategist, and most amazingly charming and entertaining keynote speaker. Vito is the only keynote speaker who has been invited to present for TEDx conferences on all five of the world continents. Vito is an esteemed former professor of Project Design and Management of Innovation at the Polytechnic University and Bocconi University of Milan. He has also served as the Executive Director for the MI Institute of UNESCO. Vito is the acclaimed author of over ten bestsellers and his many achievements have been features by more than 100 media outlets including the Harvard Business Review, Wired and Architectural Digest. The Financial Times has deemed Vito Di Bari “The New European Guru of Innovation.”
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