About
On January 31, join artists Myriam Boulos (Beirut, Lebanon), Nolan Oswald Dennis (Johannesburg, South Africa), and Denisse Ariana Pérez (Barcelona, Spain) virtually for a conversation with Artistic & Executive Director Nicholas Baume. The artists will discuss themes of subjectivity, consciousness, and imagination through the lens of their newly-commissioned works for Global Positioning.
This past summer, Public Art Fund invited 20 artists from 17 countries across six continents to create new works that help us begin to understand our reshaped and ever-changing world. The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted how we interact with one another, emphasizing our shared vulnerability. Concurrently, it has revealed and sharpened many divisions that have been unequally distributed among demographic groups, communities, and regions. The conversation will explore these artists’ approaches as well as the role of public art and its ability to serve as a vital tool in our creative and spiritual reconnection.
Register to watch virtually for free
Public Art Fund Talks are presented in partnership with The Cooper Union
About the Artists
Myriam Boulos was born in 1992 in Lebanon. At the age of 16 she started to use her camera to question Beirut, its people, and her place among them. She graduated with a master’s degree in photography from Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts in 2015. Boulos has taken part in both national and international collective exhibitions, including “Infinite identities” (Amsterdam), 3ème biennale des photographes du monde arabe (Paris), and “C’est Beyrouth” (Paris). Today she uses photography to explore, defy and resist society. In 2021 she was awarded the Grand Prix ISEM and she joined Magnum Photos.
Nolan Oswald Dennis is an interdisciplinary artist from Johannesburg, South Africa. Their practice explores the material and metaphysical conditions of decolonization, questioning the politics of space (and time) through a system-specific, rather than site-specific approach. They hold a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and a Masters of Science in Art, Culture and Technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dennis is a research associate at the Visual Identities In Art and Design (VIAD) research centre at the University of Johannesburg.
Denisse Ariana Pérez is a Caribbean-born, Barcelona-based copywriter, published author and photographer. Focusing on people, nature, gender, culture, and words, and how they interact with one another, her work finds itself at the intersection of fantasy and reality, art and social commentary, particularly in regards to marginalized communities. Denisse’s works have been featured in publications such as Dazed, It’s Nice That, i-D, The Guardian, British Journal of Photography, Atmos, Marie Claire, El Pais, Elephant Magazine, VICE, Paper Journal, Another Magazine, Boys by Girls, Gaze, Afropunk, Hunger, Ignant, Paulette, Sand Magazine, and Accent Magazine. Her first monograph Agua was published in March 2021.
About the Talks
Public Art Fund Talks, organized in collaboration with The Cooper Union, connect compelling contemporary artists to a broad public by establishing a dialogue about artistic practices and public art. The Talks series feature internationally renowned artists who offer insights into artmaking and its personal, social, and cultural contexts. The core values of creative expression and democratic access to culture and learning shared by both Public Art Fund and The Cooper Union are embodied in this ongoing collaboration. In the spirit of accessibility to the broadest and most diverse public, the Talks are offered free of charge.
Gallery
Public Art Fund Talks are made possible in part by Con Edison and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, as well as by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Public Art Fund is supported by the generosity of individuals, corporations, and private foundations including lead support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, along with major support from Abrams Foundation, the Charina Endowment Fund, the Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, The Fuhrman Family Foundation, The Marc Haas Foundation, Hartfield Foundation, William Talbott Hillman Foundation-Affirmation Arts Fund, the Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust, Red Crane Foundation, and The Silverweed Foundation.
