October 11 -- The Assignment Book: Conversation Between Luis Camnitzer, Christiane Paul and Trebor Scholz

Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
The New School, Wollman Hall
55 West 11th Street (enter at 66 West 12th Street), 5th floor
New York City
Free admission

From October 10 through 16, The New School presents MobilityShifts International Future of Learning Summit (mobilityshifts.org), a university-wide discussion on the de-institutionalization of learning. In collaboration with MobilityShifts, the Vera List Center hosts a conversation between artist Luis Camnitzer and curators Christiane Paul and Trebor Scholz on the transfer of knowledge from the academy to the street; collective research in pedagogy and artistic practices; how the notion of "assignments" must be redefined to meet the needs of a mobile population; and how to expand learning beyond bounds of schools and universities.

Their conversation finds its material counterpart in Camnitzer's exhibition The Assignment Book, organized by Paul and Scholz, presented from September 21 through October 16 at the Aronson Gallery, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons The New School for Design.

The Assignment Book consists of many unresolved conundrums and questions concerning the current status of institutional education. The exhibition intends to stimulate critical multidisciplinary thinking on the questions raised while prompting visitors to leave responses that serve as new stimuli for dialogue. Taking cues from the blog format, the exhibition challenges the traditional role of the artist/teacher by offering a platform for the artist, curators, and visitors to enter into conversation as equal partners, and learn from each other.

Participants:

Luis Camnitzer, artist
Christiane Paul, Director of Graduate Programs, Department of Media Studies and Film, The New School for Public Engagement
Trebor Scholz, Assistant Professor, and Chair, The Politics of Digital Culture conference series, The New School for Media Studies