“The gatherings in Giverny allow international participants to develop ideas, build relationships, and create meaningful proposals for how public institutions––in America and across the globe––can thrive at a time of multiple pressures, offering precious space and time for serious discussion and reflection. The subsequent convenings at Whitechapel Gallery will bring together audiences with American, British, and international artists, writers, thinkers, and policymakers to collectively imagine alternative visions. At a time when public discourse is often marked by heated claims and fractious disputes, these open sessions offer a vital opportunity for connection and collaboration.”
The New School’s “Orozco Mural Cycle Long-Term Preservation and Conservation Project” supports the care and longevity of the New School’s Orozco Mural Room, home to Orozco’s five-panel mural cycle, A Call to Revolution and Table of Universal Brotherhood (1930–31). The renovation of the room, an adjacent hallway, and the building exterior ensure the stability and preservation of the space and artworks within it. In addition to the construction work, the project supports a cross-disciplinary advisory panel focused on the material conservation of the Orozco murals. The importance of preserving and studying Orozco’s work in the U.S. and deepening our understanding of the artist’s creative dialogue with American muralists, as well as the New School’s longstanding role as a pedagogical innovator, aligns this project with the Terra Foundation’s commitment to expanding narratives of American art.
Silvia Rocciolo, Orozco Preservation Project Director at the New School, described the Orozco murals as “not only foundational to the New School’s DNA but part of our global cultural heritage. New School President Joel Towers noted that, the murals are, ‘the university’s physical embodiment of the commitment to the role of the arts in education.’” Rocciolo added, “The Terra Foundation grant is critical to supporting this commitment through the stewardship of these rare works of art. By bringing together conservators, scientists, designers, educators, and art historians in an inclusive, cross-disciplinary collaboration, we aim to explore and assess past and present conservation efforts in order to forge a path towards innovative, contemporary methodologies in fresco conservation. This project’s assembled group of advisors has the potential to reset standards of care for these important murals and ultimately lead to designing sustainable, long-term preservation strategies so that Orozco’s New School murals can continue to spark, inspire, and provoke future generations.”
Funding for the Vision & Justice initiative supports upcoming projects that examine the role of art and visual culture in shaping narratives of race, democracy, and citizenship in the United States. The initiative brings together artists, scholars, and civic leaders to explore how American art informs and reflects broader questions of justice and representation.
