ISCP 25th Anniversary Symposium: Cultural Exchange and the Life of the Metropolis offers a free two-day symposium with more than fifteen renowned speakers focusing on contemporary art and cultural exchange. In a keynote address by art critic Holland Cotter, as well as a series of roundtable and panel discussions, the symposium will foreground the crucial role that art plays in civil society, and the broad impact of international cultural discourse in the metropolis, now and in the future.

On December 5 at 7pm, Holland Cotter will present a keynote lecture. Holland Cotter is co-chief art critic and a senior writer at The New York Times. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism and was given a Lifetime Achievement Award for Art Writing by the College Art Association.

The second day of the symposium on December 6 from 10am to 5pm will encompass a range of vantage points on cultural diplomacy, the interrelationships of contemporary cultures, questions of national identity, the ethical responsibilities and commitments of institutions in supporting exchange, new identities, and artistic freedom. Scholars, writers, funders, and artists will reflect upon their own work in relation to broader questions about how residency programs create connections across cultures and build appreciation of differences.

This symposium is organized on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of ISCP, which is the fourth-largest visual arts residency program in the world, and a global leader in its field. ISCP supports the creative development of artists and curators, and promotes exchange through residencies and public programs. Housed in a former factory in Brooklyn, with 35 light-filled work studios and two galleries, ISCP organizes exhibitions, events and offsite projects, which are free and open to all, sustaining a vibrant community of contemporary art practitioners and diverse audiences.

All sessions are at the SUNY Global Center at 116 East 55th Street in Manhattan.

This is event is free and open to all.

Symposium Program

Thursday, December 5

7-9:30pm
Keynote address by Holland Cotter, Co‑chief art critic, The New York Times, followed by a reception

Click here for Part I of the keynote audio recording; click here for Part II of the keynote audio recording. 

Friday, December 6

10-10:30am
Check-in and welcome

10:30-11:45am
Funding Residencies Roundtable Discussion
Speakers: Çelenk Bafra, Director, SAHA Association, Istanbul; Yen-Chang Chou, Cultural Officer, Taipei Cultural Center in New York; Michelle Coffey, Executive Director, Lambent Foundation, New York; and Marja Karttunen, Board Member, Saastamoinen Foundation, Helsinki
Moderator: Susan Hapgood

Click here for Part I of the roundtable audio recording; click here for Part II of the roundtable audio recording. 

12-1:15pm
Border Thinking: Panel Discussion on Cultural Exchange
Speakers: Iftikhar Dadi, Associate Professor of History of Art and Director, South Asia Program, Cornell University; Tao Leigh Goffe, Assistant Professor of Literary Theory and Cultural History, Cornell University; M. Neelika Jayawardane, Associate Professor of English, SUNY Oswego and Research Associate at the Visual Identities in Art and Design (VIAD), University of Johannesburg; and Suzanne Nossel, Chief Executive Officer, PEN America
Moderator: Iftikhar Dadi

Click here for Part I of the panel discussion audio recording; click here for Part II of the panel discussion audio recording. 

1:15-2:15pm
Lunch break

2:15-3:30pm
ISCP, New York: Artists’ Alumni Roundtable Discussion
Speakers: Dylan Gauthier, Camilo Godoy, Steffani Jemison, MDR (Maria D. Rapicavoli) and Marjorie Welish
Moderator: Dylan Gauthier

Click here for Part I of the roundtable audio recording; click here for Part II of the roundtable audio recording. 

3:45-5:00pm
What Matters Today: Panel Discussion on Art, Ethics and New Identities
Speakers: Luis Camnitzer, artist and Professor Emeritus of Art, SUNY Old Westbury; Aruna D’Souza, writer and author of Whitewalling: Art, Race, and Protest in 3 Acts; Howardena Pindell, artist and Distinguished Professor of Art, SUNY Stony Brook; and Jillian Steinhauer, journalist and editor
Moderator: Jillian Steinhauer

Click here for Part I of the roundtable audio recording; click here for Part II of the roundtable audio recording.

Reminder: All sessions will take place at SUNY Global Center at 116 East 55th Street, New York, NY

Admission is free but registration is requested here. Seating is on a first come, first served basis.

This program is supported by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in New York; Hartfield Foundation; New York City Council District 33; New York City Council District 34; New York City Council Member for the 33rd District Stephen T. Levin; New York City Council Member for the 34th District Antonio Reynoso; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

ISCP thanks the many sponsors, contributors and individual donors for their generous support since our founding 25 years ago. ISCP is also grateful to the members of Director’s Circle for their largesse: Anne Altchek, Tansa Ekşioğlu, Samar Maziad, and Laurie Sprayregen.