COD featuring six artists in public lecture series
Six artists will be on the College of DuPage campus for lectures and workshops as part of the 2017-18 Visiting Artists Series.
The free public series is designed to provide opportunities for the community to interact with leaders in the fields of contemporary arts, design and culture. This year's series highlights artists who are committed to engaging with social and environmental issues.
Unless otherwise noted, all lectures take place in the Playhouse Theatre of the McAninch Arts Center on campus, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn.
The Visiting Artists Series begins at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, with a lecture by interdisciplinary artist, environmental activist, naturalist and wild forager Jenny Kendler. Additionally, Kendler will be working on a weeklong project with students and the community in collaboration with COD's Russel R. Kirt Prairie.
Graphic designer Renata Graw shares her experience as founder and creative head of Normal, a small, independent team of creative thinkers, at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18. Graw's work has been featured in Communication Arts, Eye, and Print magazines and has been recognized by the AIGA 365, Art Directors Club, Type Directors Club and STA Archive.
Interdisciplinary artist Alison Ruttan discusses her work, much of which focuses on appetite, sexuality and aggression, at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14. Ruttan also will lead a hands-on workshop for students and the community in COD's ceramics facilities.
Builder Faheem Majeed discusses how his work is inspired by his neighborhood and surrounding areas at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018. Majeed was the inaugural artist-in-residence for University of Chicago's Arts in Public Life Initiative in 2012, and has been an artist-in-residence at MANA Contemporary Chicago and Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
His lecture coincides with his solo show in the MAC'S Cleve Carney Art Gallery, which runs Feb. 8 to April 7, 2018.
Sculptor, writer and lecturer Marissa Lee Benedict discusses how her work is motivated by a curiosity about function and dysfunction of social, ecological and industrial systems at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 22, 2018.
She has exhibited nationally and internationally, most recently at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, EXPO Chicago, the DePaul Art Museum and Contemporary Art Brussels in Belgium.
In addition to her lecture, Benedict will lead a hands-on workshop for students and the community.
Art historian Giovanni Aloi closes out the series with a discussion of his work and career at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 18, 2018. He teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Sotheby's Institute of Art New York and London, and Tate Galleries.
Aloi has curated art projects involving photography and the moving image and is a BBC-TV and radio contributor. In addition to his lecture, Aloi will lead a seminar discussion of his writing and work for students and the community.
For information on the Visiting Artists Series, visit cod.edu/news-events/news/17_september/17_visitingartists.aspx.