Spring 2027 Courses

Professor Laura Harris

ASPP-UT 2031 (Graduate section)

ASPP-UT 1031 (Undergraduate section - juniors, seniors,  sophomores with permission)

Mondays, 2-5:35pm

4 points

Cedric J. Robinson argues that “…the political seems to have as a characteristic the quality of arranging the relationship of things and of people within some form of society. It is an ordering principle, distinguishing the lawful or authorized order of things while itself being the origin of the regulation.  We associate, then, the political with power, authority, order, law, the state, force, and violence— all of these are phenomena which restrict the outcome, deflect the extraneous, limit the relevant forces."  If the notion of the political is rooted in the idea of a polis, as bounded territory and restricted polity, how else might we imagine the organization of social life?  What other formations can emerge within and against this idea of the political which has been brutally imposed and maintained through colonial and postcolonial states across the globe?  Taking some recent feminist, queer, anticolonial art works as our starting point, we will consider the ways in which art works might register, accommodate or set off other, irregular or unruly formations, other ways of living and thriving together.  We will also consider, in conversations with guests and with one another in class, the relays and convergences between the aesthetic practices out of which these works emerge and the kinds of critical reading, viewing and listening practices that inform and extend them.   Potential artists and critics include Denise Ferreira da Silva and Arjuna Neuman, Natalie Diaz, Sky Hopinka and Kengo Kuma, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Ronald Rose-Antoinette, Youmna Chlala, Sandra Ruiz and Hypatia Vourloumis, Constantina Zavitsanos, Park McArthur and Carolyn Lazard, among others.

Dean Emerita Allyson Green

ASPP-GT-2022-001

Tuesdays, 10am-1:35pm

4 points

What does it mean to lead through the arts? How can imagination, empathy, collaboration, and creative practice inform the ways we build organizations, engage communities, and shape our collective futures? What can the processes of artistic creation and curation teach us about leadership, not only within cultural institutions but across a broad range of professional and civic settings?

This graduate seminar explores the relationship between the arts, leadership, and curation, considering the vital role that artists and cultural organizations play in shaping communities, fostering dialogue, challenging assumptions, and creating opportunities for connection and change. We will examine leadership as both a practical responsibility and a creative act, one that requires vision, curiosity, adaptability, ethical judgment, and the ability to bring people and ideas together.

Through readings, discussions, case studies, guest speakers, and visits to cultural organizations, we will investigate different models of leadership in nonprofit and for-profit institutions, independent artistic initiatives, festivals, and community-based organizations. We will consider how local and national cultural policies influence artistic practice, access, funding, and institutional priorities, while also exploring international approaches to cultural leadership and public engagement.

How do we translate an artistic vision into an organization, program, or public event? What makes a compelling mission statement, and how do an organization's values inform its decisions? How do leaders build effective teams, develop partnerships, cultivate boards, raise funds, manage resources, and communicate with diverse audiences? We will explore the practical dimensions of organizational leadership, including staffing, governance, development, networking, strategic planning, marketing, and social media, alongside questions of accountability, equity, sustainability, and community participation.

Curation will be considered broadly, not simply as the selection and presentation of artistic work, but as a way of bringing ideas, people, disciplines, and communities into meaningful relationships. We will examine the creation of festivals, exhibitions, performances, and interdisciplinary initiatives, asking how partnerships across organizations can expand audiences, strengthen resources, and generate new possibilities for artistic and civic engagement. Who participates in shaping cultural programs? Whose voices are represented, and how can cultural leaders create environments that encourage participation, experimentation, and shared ownership?

An important focus of the seminar will be the human dimensions of leadership. What can collaborative artistic processes and dialogue practices teach us about listening, negotiation, trust, and working across differences? How do we navigate conflict, uncertainty, and change? How can leaders cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and practices of care for themselves, their colleagues, and the organizations they serve?

Students will engage with case studies from New York City and internationally, drawing upon the experiences of artists, curators, cultural organizers, and institutional leaders. Through research and collaborative exercises, students will develop an original proposal for an artistic initiative, festival, organization, or community-based project, articulating its objectives, mission, values, curatorial vision, organizational structure, potential partnerships, and strategies for public engagement. 

The seminar welcomes students from diverse artistic, academic, and professional backgrounds who are interested in leadership as a creative, collaborative, and socially engaged practice. No previous experience in arts administration is required.

Professor Kathy Engel

ASPP-GT 2070 (Graduate section)

Wednesdays 2 - 5:35pm

4 points

Professor Sheril Antonio and Professor Kathy Engel

ASPP-GT 2004-001 (MA Arts Politics majors only)

Wednesdays 3:30 7:05pm

2-3 points

The spring semester 2-3 credits Methods and Criticism II, is the last core class in the one-year Masters in Arts Politics Program. The course offers a framework for synthesis, dialogue, and collaboration. Students are encouraged and supported to further deepen the work they’ve begun during the first semester and to work collaboratively based on shared interests and modes of working. In addition collaborations will be benefiting from the skills and insights of the whole cohort. There will be opportunities to engage with alumni and others in the field. Students will design projects that build on the work they’ve begun or something new may emerge that’s important to develop while in the program. The work can take any number of forms, including creating a map for a future project, developing a performance or art work, researching and designing a panel/presentation, or writing that may lead to further study.  With support from the professor, each other, and other networks, students will also identify pathways for their practices after graduation. We will discuss a limited number of texts and engage with different artistic expressions. We will meet with guest artist/scholar/activists, and alumni.

Whether building on the work of the first semester or starting something new this will be both a challenging and supportive space. At the close of the semester, we will curate two sessions devoted to presenting your project, your work-in-process. These offerings can be in the form of panels, performances, visual work, writing, or a combination.

Professor Michael McElroy

ASPP-GT 2047-001 (Graduate only)

Wednesdays 10am - 1:35pm

4 points

Public Policy and African American Music is a course designed to spark critical and creative thinking regarding the relationship between art and policy.  Focusing on the music birthed by African American artists and public policies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Public Policy and African American Music aims to identify the ways in which public policy inspires, provokes, and motivates the artist and the music they create. Centering the music of Black America, while honing research skills, students will build presentations which offer a glimpse into key moments in our country’s history, the policies created, the African American artists, and the new music genres they produced. Public Policy and African American Music’s objective is to fine tune research abilities, strengthen presentation skills and ultimately through exploring past intersections of policy and art, offer students a space to gain a deeper understanding of their voices as artists, art creators and policy makers. As we enter into a time of seismic shift in our country’s policies on art making, arts education and art advocacy, it is vital that students have a deeper understanding of the rich legacy that has come before them. Beginning by researching socio-political moments as the spark of public policies, students will move towards the artists to understand the power, brilliance, and contribution that African American contributed to the evolution of music in America. By inviting students to enter into the world of a particular period in history, students will identify the patterns related to how African Americans utilized music to speak to their lived experiences.  And in doing so, gave voice to the humanity that unifies us all. Public Policy and African American Music will require students to immerse themselves in multiple modes of research.  They will be required to study the world as it exists in the time of the policy’s creation; the values, mores, beliefs, traditions held in society; how the socio-political moment intersected with the culture to create policy, the policies, the African American art makers birthing music, as well as the specific genres created.  Through weekly assignments, students will utilize critical and creative research tools to holistically bring the world to life, and weave the connections between policy and art.  In doing so, Public Policy and African American Music will challenge students to gain a greater understanding of the interplay of public policy, art making, and in today’s political climate, gain a deeper connection of two forces which shape our world. Field  trips will include Bobst Library, New York Library of Performing Arts, and The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Professor Anna Deavere Smith

ASPP-GT 2013-001 

Sundays, 12pm - 5pm

January 24 – April 11 excluding holidays

Graduate Students Only (with instructor’s permission)

4 points

This is a studio class in which students will use performance exercises designed by the professor, as well as celebrated works of art, to deepen their experience and understanding of emotions. This will entail examining the texture of their own emotional life, both past and present. It will also include observing and experiencing how emotions are a source of power in public life and in smaller more intimate groups of collaborators, friends or families. On a practical level, the class will increase each student’s range of personal and artistic expression. It will also encourage the development of enhanced communications skills for use in professional and daily life.

Each student will create and refine an original performance. The semester will conclude with a presentation of the performance to a curated audience. The class is conducted like an intensive workshop and meets once weekly on Sundays from 12-5 pm, excluding Sundays that are University holidays. Each student is expected to take responsibility for creating a supportive environment in which risk taking, innovation and community building can thrive.

Students from all disciplines are welcome. Students from other professional schools at NYU, who are not studying artistic forms, but who wish to use performance as a way of knowing, are also welcome. The course is open to graduate and undergraduate students. Visits from guest artists will also be integrated into the curriculum.

Admission to this course is by application. To apply for this class, please record a one-to-two-minute video in which you describe why you are interested in having a deeper experience with your emotional energy and the emotions expressed in the world and in art.

Submit your video via an email to ads2@nyu.edu and yumin@annadeaveresmith.org. For more information, contact Professor Smith at ads2@nyu.edu.

Professor Elizabeth Mikesell

ASPP-UT 1009 (Undergraduate section - sophomores, juniors, seniors)

ASPP-GT 2009 (Graduate section)

Thursdays, 11am - 2:35pm

4 points

In this course, you will develop the skills you need to write about your own work. A series of guided reading, research, and writing exercises will help you think about what your work is, what it means, and why it matters, so that you will be able to craft language that accurately and effectively represents you as an artist and thinker. We will study a variety of personal statements, project descriptions, manifestos, and other artist writings, examining them for their relative strengths and weaknesses with an eye towards gathering effective expressive strategies. You will use the writing you’ve generated in your assignments as the groundwork for several final artist statements that approach and represent your work from different perspectives.  

After we explore a variety of public and private sources of funding, fellowships, and residency opportunities in the US, you will identify several opportunities that would be appropriate for your work. You will then prepare applications for two opportunities of your choosing (three for graduate students). You will exit the course with writing that you might revise and reuse for many different purposes in your professional creative life.

This course will count toward elective credit for undergraduate students.