Enjoy a complimentary cup of coffee and join Penn graduate students for intimate conversations inspired by the ICA exhibitions on view.

Kirsten Gill, Penn History of Art MA candidate, leads a conversation prompted by the ICA exhibition Rodney McMillian: The Black Show about how science fiction has the potential to inform the way we understand premonitions of planetary crisis. Gesturing to the temporal elasticity often found in science fiction, McMillian’s exhibition suggests alternate temporalities through spatial elements such as the portal, stage, and an other worldly landscape. Participants will consider how the exhibition addresses topics such as decay, projection, slowness, and acceleration and will ask how contemporary crises—ecological and otherwise—nourish and necessitate imaginings of other dimensions.

Before Kirsten leads discussion, second-year Penn MFA candidate chukwumaa will hold Office Hours from 11AM–1PM. chukwumaa brings his insights and perspectives to The Black Show as he leads visitors through the galleries on a free tour. No need to schedule, just stop by ICA between 11AM–1PM.

Register here.

Kirsten Gill is a second-year MA student in the History of Art department at the University of Pennsylvania, studying modern and contemporary art. Kirsten holds a BA in Studio Art and French from Bates College. Her ongoing research interests include issues of race; notions of nature, land, and territory; and durational and endurance-based art.

chukwumaa is a second year MFA candidate in Interdisciplinary Art at the University of Pennsylvania. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, chukwumaa’s work takes the form of sound, performance, found/soft sculpture, and other media experiments. chukwumaa holds a BA in Studio Art from the University of Maryland, College Park. He has exhibited his work at venues including The Print Shop at MoMA PS1; The Kitchen, New York; and the National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C. both solo and as one half of SCRAAATCH with E. Jane.