Madison Square Park Conservancy and School of Visual Arts present Dreaming Public Art, a symposium that invites participants to explore public art possibilities.
This event is free and open to the public, but you must RSVP to [email protected].
Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to the event, and seating is first come, first served.  The event will conclude at 10:00PM.
Featuring a keynote conversation with artist Martin Puryear and Columbia University art historian Dr. Kellie Jones. Martin Puryear’s Big Bling will be on view in Madison Square Park from May 16, 2016 through January 8, 2017.
Brooke Kamin Rapaport, Director and Martin Friedman Senior Curator, Mad. Sq. Art, will deliver opening remarks. Following the keynote, writer and critic Michael Brenson will moderate a panel discussion with artists Sharon Hayes, Josiah McElheny and Krzysztof Wodiczko. Each artist will be free to approach the idea of a dream project any way he or she wishes. Each can present a work or ideas for a work unconstrained by pragmatic concerns and institutional requirements — a project with no boundaries. Artists can conceive of a project that enables site, scale, content and materials. Brenson will frame a conversation that moves between lifetimes of experience and achievement and the fault line between the possible and impossible. How do artists respond to the challenges or potential perils of possibility? An audience question and answer session will follow the panel discussion.
The event is sponsored by the following SVA departments:  BFA Fine Arts, BFA Visual & Critical Studies, MA Curatorial Practice, MFA Art Writing, and MFA Fine Arts.
About Mad. Sq. Art and Madison Square Park Conservancy:
Mad. Sq. Art is the free contemporary art program of Madison Square Park Conservancy. Since 2004, Mad. Sq. Art has commissioned and presented thirty-three premier installations in Madison Square Park by acclaimed artists ranging in practice and media. Mad. Sq. Art has exhibited works by artists including Bill Beirne, Jim Campbell, Tony Cragg, Richard Deacon, Mark di Suvero, Rachel Feinstein, Teresita Fernández, Bill Fontana, Ernie Gehr, Orly Genger, Sandra Gibson & Luis Recoder, Antony Gormley, Paula Hayes, Jene Highstein, Tadashi Kawamata, Mel Kendrick, Sol LeWitt, Olia Lialina & Dragan Espenschied, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Charles Long, Iván Navarro, Jacco Olivier, Roxy Paine, Rachel Feinstein, Giuseppe Penone, Jaume Plensa, Shannon Plumb, Martin Puryear, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Alison Saar, Jessica Stockholder, Leo Villareal, and William Wegman.
Madison Square Park Conservancy is the not-for-profit organization whose mission is to protect, nurture, and enhance Madison Square Park, a dynamic seven-acre public green space, creating an environment that fosters moments of inspiration. The Conservancy is committed to engaging the community through its beautiful gardens, inviting amenities, and world-class programming. Madison Square Park Conservancy is licensed by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to manage Madison Square Park and is responsible for raising 98% of the funds necessary to operate the Park, including the brilliant horticulture, park maintenance, sanitation, security, and free cultural programs for Park visitors of all ages. Fore more information please visit madisonsquarepark.org.
Guests are subject to change.