Creative Spaces/Contested Spaces consists of two identical workshops: Session 1, June 10-14, 2024 and Session 2, June 17-21, 2024. You may choose to apply for either Session 1 or 2 or for just one specific Session. For more information, see How to Apply.
Locations
Both workshops will take place at the FIT campus (227 West 27th St.) in Manhattan and will include daily site visits to various locations throughout the city. In addition, two sessions will be hosted by the John D Calandra Italian American Institute (25 West 43rd Street) and the Center for Italian Modern Art (421 Broome Street).
Housing Information
New York City offers a wide variety of housing options, from five-star hotels to budget hostels. Accommodations can be expensive, especially when booking late, so we encourage you to make your reservations as early as possible upon acceptance. FIT has negotiated preferred rates at these nearby hotels. As FIT’s campus is close to a variety of public transportation options, you may also consider less expensive options within commuting distance, but please consider travel time as you will be expected to arrive at the workshop by 9 a.m. each day.
Transportation
The New York City area is served by three major airports, all of which have public transportation to reach the city. The FIT campus is located in the Chelsea neighborhood in midtown Manhattan, and is close to a variety of transportation hubs, including New York Penn Station (Amtrak, Long Island Railroad, and New Jersey Transit), as well as a variety of subway and bus lines. More information on how to reach campus is available here.
Schedule
Session 1 (June 10-14, 2024)
Monday, June 10
FIT / Rockefeller Center
9 – 10:00 a.m.
Welcome and introductions (light breakfast)
10:00 – 10:45 a.m.
Rebecca Bauman– Teaching Italian American Studies in NYC
11:00 – 12:30
Amy Werbel Digital Resources for Teaching Public Art / small group discussion
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch (provided)
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Michele Bogart Public Art in New York City 2:45 – 3:45 p.m. Eduardo Montes-Bradley screening of clips from The Italian Factor and discussion
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Subway to Rockefeller Center (International Building at 636 Fifth Avenue, Commerce and Industry with a Caduceus; Youth Leading Industry by Arturo Piccirilli, Four Continents; Four Periods in Italian History by Leo Lentelli); 626 Fifth Avenue, Italia; The Immigrant, by Giacomo Manzù; 40th St. Entrance, The Joy of Life by Attilio Piccirilli)
Tuesday, June 11
West Village / FIT
9 a.m.
Washington Square Park and Garibaldi Plaza (Piccirilli carvings on the Washington Square Arch; Statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi by Giovanni Turini)
9:30 – 10 a.m.
Mary Anne Trasciatti, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Memorial
11:00 a.m.
Walk to Our Lady of Pompeii Church
12- 1 p.m.
Lunch (on your own)
1:00 p.m.
Subway to FIT
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Dan Levinson Wilk and Bauman: Teaching the Triangle Fire in Context
3 – 4 p.m.
Marcella Bencivenni on radical Italian Americans
4 – 5 p.m.
Breakout sessions—small groups
Wednesday, June 12
Staten Island / Lower Manhattan
9:30 a.m.
Meet at FIT; bus to Staten Island
11 – 11:30 a.m.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Grotto (36 Amity Street)
12 – 1 p.m.
Lunch (on your own)
1 – 2 p.m.
Meucci-Garibaldi Museum (420 Tompkins Ave.)
2:30 p.m.
Bus to Staten Island Ferry to NYC
3:30 – 5 p.m.
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House (1 Bowling Green, sculptures by the Piccirilli Brothers) / Charging Bull statue (Bowling Green, by Arturo di Modica) / Mother Cabrini Memorial (Battery Park City Esplanade, by Jill Biagi and Giancarlo Biagi)
Thursday, June 13
CIMA / FIT
9 a.m.
Center for Italian Modern Art (421 Broome St, 4th floor) Welcome remarks by Nicola Lucchi and light breakfast
9:30-10:30 a.m.
Talk by Lucchi on Rockefeller Center and Fascist-era art
11-12 p.m.
Talk by John Avelluto on making art in an Italian American context
12 p.m.
Walk to NY County Supreme Courthouse (60 Centre Street, murals by Attilo Pusterla)
1-2 p.m.
Lunch (on your own)
2 p.m.
Subway to FIT
2:30 – 4 p.m.
Place-based learning pedagogy Workshop with Dr. Kyunghee Pyun (virtual); Dr. Mario Valero
4 – 5 p.m.
Breakout sessions—small groups
Friday, June 14
Calandra Institute / Central Park
9 a.m.
Calandra Institute (25 W 43rd St Suite 1700). Introduction by Joseph Sciorra
9:15 – 10:45 a.m.
Screening: Stonebreakers (2022) and discussion with Valerio Ciraci and Isaak Liptzin
11:00 – 12:00 p.m.
Roundtable with Sciorra, Laura Ruberto and Jack Tchen
12:30 – 1:15 p.m.
Columbus Circle (Columbus Statue by Gaetano Russo and the U.S.S. Maine National Monument by the Piccirilli Brothers); Central Park (Christopher Columbus statue by Jeronimo Suñol)
1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Lunch (on your own) and self-guided tour of New York Public Library (Patience and Fortitude; carvings by Piccirilli brothers; Polonsky Exhibition)
3:45 – 6 p.m.
Calandra Institute Group discussion and closing remarks; farewell reception
Session 2 (June 17-21, 2024)
Monday, June 17
FIT / Rockefeller Center
9 – 10:00 a.m.
Welcome and introductions (light breakfast)
10:00 – 10:45 a.m.
Rebecca Bauman– Teaching Italian American Studies in NYC
11:00 – 12:30
Amy Werbel Digital Resources for Teaching Public Art / small group discussion
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch (provided)
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Michele Bogart Public Art in New York City
2:45 – 3:45 p.m.
Eduardo Montes-Bradley screening of clips from The Italian Factor and discussion
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Subway to Rockefeller Center (International Building at 636 Fifth Avenue, Commerce and Industry with a Caduceus; Youth Leading Industry by Arturo Piccirilli, Four Continents; Four Periods in Italian History by Leo Lentelli); 626 Fifth Avenue, Italia; The Immigrant, by Giacomo Manzù; 40th St. Entrance, The Joy of Life by Attilio Piccirilli)
Tuesday, June 18
CIMA / FIT
9 a.m.
Center for Italian Modern Art (421 Broome St, 4th floor) Welcome remarks by Nicola Lucchi and light breakfast
9:30-10:30 a.m.
Talk by Lucchi on Rockefeller Center and Fascist-era art
11-12 p.m.
Talk by John Avelluto on making art in an Italian American context
12 p.m.
Walk to NY County Supreme Courthouse (60 Centre Street, murals by Attilo Pusterla)
1-2 p.m.
Lunch (on your own)
2 p.m.
Subway to FIT
2:30 – 4 p.m.
Place-based learning pedagogy Workshop with Dr. Kyunghee Pyun (virtual); Dr. Mario Valero
4 – 5 p.m.
Breakout sessions—small groups
Wednesday, June 19
Staten Island / Lower Manhattan
9:30 a.m.
Meet at FIT; bus to Staten Island
11 – 11:30 a.m.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Grotto (36 Amity Street)
12 – 1 p.m.
Lunch (on your own)
1 – 2 p.m.
Meucci-Garibaldi Museum (420 Tompkins Ave.)
2:30 p.m.
Bus to Staten Island Ferry to NYC
3:30 – 5 p.m.
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House (1 Bowling Green, sculptures by the Piccirilli Brothers) / Charging Bull statue (Bowling Green, by Arturo di Modica) / Mother Cabrini Memorial (Battery Park City Esplanade, by Jill Biagi and Giancarlo Biagi)
Thursday, June 20
West Village / FIT
9 a.m.
Washington Square Park and Garibaldi Plaza (Piccirilli carvings on the Washington Square Arch; Statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi by Giovanni Turini)
9:30 – 10 a.m.
Mary Anne Trasciatti, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Memorial
11:00 a.m.
Walk to Our Lady of Pompeii Church
12- 1 p.m.
Lunch (on your own)
1:00 p.m.
Subway to FIT
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Dan Levinson Wilk and Bauman: Teaching the Triangle Fire in Context
3 – 4 p.m.
Marcella Bencivenni on radical Italian Americans
4 – 5 p.m.
Breakout sessions—small groups
Friday, June 21
Calandra Institute / Central Park
9 a.m.
Calandra Institute (25 W 43rd St Suite 1700). Introduction by Joseph Sciorra
9:15 – 10:45 a.m.
Screening: Stonebreakers (2022) and discussion with Valerio Ciraci and Isaak Liptzin
11:00 – 12:00 p.m.
Roundtable with Sciorra, Laura Ruberto and Jack Tchen
12:30 – 1:15 p.m.
Columbus Circle (Columbus Statue by Gaetano Russo and the U.S.S. Maine National Monument by the Piccirilli Brothers); Central Park (Christopher Columbus statue by Jeronimo Suñol)
1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Lunch (on your own) and self-guided tour of New York Public Library (Patience and Fortitude; carvings by Piccirilli brothers; Polonsky Exhibition)
3:45 – 6 p.m.
Calandra Institute Group discussion and closing remarks; farewell reception
About our Co-Hosts
The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute is a City University of New York research institute operating under the aegis of Queens College. Founded in 1979 and located in Midtown Manhattan, the Calandra Institute is dedicated to the study of Italian American histories and cultures and to promulgating the varied experiences and creative output of people from the Italian diaspora. Institute staff conducts original research and produces regular public programming that includes lecture, documentary film, and creative-writing series, curated exhibitions, and an annual conference. In addition, the Institute publishes a semiannual academic journal, the Italian American Review, and an original nonfiction book series and is the home of Bordighera Press. It also produces Italics, a monthly program that airs on CUNY TV and streams online. The Institute’s on-site library holds numerous scholarly collections of books and journals related to Italian and Italian diaspora histories. The Institute has formal agreements with several international institutions of public learning with the shared goal of advancing Italian diaspora studies, including, beginning in 2018, the Diaspore Italiane/Italy in Movement symposia. The Calandra Institute sponsors the annual Italian Diaspora Studies Summer Seminar, a three-week professional development program open to professors and doctoral students at Roma Tre University in Rome.
The Center for Italian Modern Art (CIMA) is a 501(c)(3) public nonprofit exhibition and research center established in 2013 in New York City to promote public appreciation and advance the study of modern and contemporary Italian art in the United States and internationally. Each year CIMA presents in its spacious loft in SoHo multiple installations examining the work of modern Italian artists rarely exhibited in the U.S. These installations bring the art of inspiring masters into dialogue with contemporary artists, illustrating its impact and ongoing resonance today. The exhibitions serve as the theme for CIMA’s fellowship program, which aims to promote new scholarship and dialogue in the field through the support of emerging young scholars from around the world. CIMA’s online journal, Italian Modern Art, supports the organization’s mission to promote the advancement of new scholarship in the field of twentieth-century Italian art.