The Museum of Capitalism has arrived in New York City – the dynamic crossroads of global capitalism – opening at the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery at the New School on October 30, 2019.
The Museum of Capitalism makes capitalism strange as a way of engaging visitors to speculate – collectively and in solidarity – on how to build a better future.
This installation will feature new commissions of art, artifacts, and exhibits created and repurposed by Daniel Bejar, Dr. Jeffrey Caren, Center for Tactical Magic, Maia Chao, Cheyenne Concepcion , Mark Curran, Jennifer Dalton, Sharon Daniel, Burak Delier, Clare Dibella, Blake Fall-Conroy, Paul Farber, Gabriele Galimberti and Paolo Woods, Marisa Jahn, Nina Katchadourian and Julia Meltzer, Matt Kenyon, Gelare Khoshgozaran, Jessica Kingdon, Michael Mandiberg, Nyeema Morgan, Tim Portlock, Related Tactics, Eva Rocha, Sayler / Morris, Jesse Sugarmann, Igor Vamos, Walmart and Banksy.
A range of educational events and other programming will take place before the Museum of Capitalism closes on December 11, 2019.
Part of a year-long collaboration between the artist collective FICTILIS and New School students and faculty, the Museum of Capitalism is supported by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, the Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies, Eugene Lang College for Liberal Arts at the New School, and the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons School of Design.
New School students interested in learning more about creative activism should enroll in Arts of Change: Creative Activism in History and Practice (LHIS 2345), taught in Fall 2019 by FICTILIS.
All Events:
Fri, Oct 4: Museum of Capitalism Artifact Drive
University Center (Rm U 502/503), 4:00–6:00 PM
The New School University Center, Rooms U502/503
63 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003
Free and open to the public. Advance registration strongly recommended.
Thurs, Oct 31: Haunting Display: a Museum of Capitalism film program
5:00–7:00 PM, KELLEN AUDITORIUM (Rm N 101), SHEILA C. JOHNSON DESIGN CENTER, 66 5TH AVE
Escape Halloween and experience capitalism’s haunting infrastructures of display with a double feature of films documenting the visual landscapes of retail and wholesale distribution, including an endless expanse of US strip mall facades (Ben Bigelow’s Ellipsis) and China’s largest wholesale market (Jessica Kingdon’s Commodity City).
Fri, Nov 1: Museum of Capitalism Artifact Drive* CANCELLED, to be rescheduled
3:30–5:00 PM, “BARK ROOM” (Rm M104), SHEILA C. JOHNSON DESIGN CENTER, 2 WEST 13TH STREET
*Advance appointments required (museumofcapitalism.org)
Members of the public are invited to bring in objects, documents, and other artifacts from the era of capitalism to be considered for future exhibitions and related programming. Includes brief consultation with museum researchers and photographic documentation. For more information about the donation process and to schedule an appointment, visit museumofcapitalism.org or email collections@museumofcapitalism.org.
Thurs, Nov 7: Museum of Capitalism opening reception
6:00–8:00 PM, KELLEN GALLERY (Rm L 106), SHEILA C. JOHNSON DESIGN CENTER, 2 WEST 13TH STREET
Fri, Nov 8: Recontextualized: Artists Beyond the Museum
5:00–7:30 PM, “BARK ROOM” (Rm M 104), SHEILA C. JOHNSON DESIGN CENTER, 2 WEST 13TH STREET
A chance to meet some of the artists involved in Museum of Capitalism exhibits and artifacts, who will be giving brief presentations related to their work in the exhibition. Featuring Mark Curran, Cheyenne Concepcion, Tim Portlock, Sharon Daniel, Jasper Waters, Eva Rocha, and more.
Wed, Nov 13: Imagined Futures and Capitalist Dynamics
2:00–3:30 PM, WOLFF CONFERENCE ROOM (Rm D 1103), ALBERT & VERA LIST ACADEMIC CENTER, 6 EAST 16TH STREET
In a capitalist system, consumers, investors, and corporations orient their activities toward a future that contains opportunities and risks. How do actors assess the future when it is open and uncertain? In this talk based on a recently published book, Professor Jens Beckert (Director, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, and 2019-20 Theodor Heuss Professor at The New School for Social Research) will demonstrate how fictional expectations drive modern economies—or throw them into crisis—when imagined futures fail to materialize.
Mon, Nov 18: New Materialisms: Sayler/Morris & Arts of Political Ecology
7:00–8:30 PM, KELLEN AUDITORIUM (Rm N 101), SHEILA C. JOHNSON DESIGN CENTER, 66 5TH AVE
Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris (Sayler/Morris) will discuss their work in the Museum of Capitalism exhibition and their recently released book, Water Gold Soil, in conversation with Maris Moran Jahn, whose current work explores complex historical and personal relationships between humans and copper.
Tues, Nov 19: Museum of Capitalism Book Launch
7:00–8:30 PM, INTERFERENCE ARCHIVE, 314 7TH ST, BROOKLYN, NY 11215
Join us to celebrate the launch of the second expanded edition of Museum of Capitalism, published by Inventory Press, with readings by authors Ben Davis, Rose Linke, Lester K. Spence, and other contributors to the book. This event coincides with the Museum’s first NYC exhibition, from Oct 30 – December 10 at The New School.
Thurs, Nov 21: “Slave Rebellion Reenactment”: a reflection with Dread Scott
5:00–6:30 PM, KELLEN AUDITORIUM (Rm N 101), SHEILA C. JOHNSON DESIGN CENTER, 66 5TH AVE
Artist Dread Scott will share reflections on his recent experience of staging a reenactment of the US’s largest slave revolt, in conversation with special invited guests (TBD).
Fri, Nov 22: Proto-Monopolies, Anti-Monopolies, and Other Monopolies*
8:00–10:00 PM, UC EVENT CAFE (Rm UL 103), THE NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY CENTER, 63 5TH AVE
A live game-play event featuring several different “Monopolies”—historical precedents and contemporary variations on the famous board game, with a brief presentation by special guests Mary Pilon (author of The Monopolists), and discussion with Colleen Macklin (Associate Professor of Transdisciplinary Design, Parsons) and other game designers at Parsons. Pre-registration encouraged: museumofcapitalism.org/monopolies.
Thurs, Nov 28: No events, gallery closed for holiday
**Galleries/buildings closed Nov 28-Dec 1 for break
Thurs, Dec 5: Movements Within and Against: a Museum of Capitalism film program
5:00–6:30 PM, KELLEN AUDITORIUM (Rm N 101), SHEILA C. JOHNSON DESIGN CENTER, 66 5TH AVE
A selection of short films about capitalism and the human body, including dance and other somatic practices. Featuring Burak Delier’s Crisis Control and Songs of the Possessed, short films by Vicky Virgin, and more.
Mon, Dec 9: “Walls of Our Own?” Paul Farber in conversation with Julia Sonnevend
5:00–6:30 PM, ARNHOLD HALL, HIRSHON SUITE (Rm I 203), 55 W 13TH ST, NEW YORK, NY 10011
Paul Farber discusses contemporary controversies over monuments and borders in relation to his new book A Wall of Our Own: An American History of the Berlin Wall (University of North Carolina Press, 2019), in conversation with Julia Sonnevend, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Communication at The New School.
Thurs, Dec 12: After the Museum, After Capitalism: a panel discussion
5:00–7:00 PM, KELLEN AUDITORIUM (Rm N 101), SHEILA C. JOHNSON DESIGN CENTER, 66 5TH AVE
The Museum of Capitalism closes with a panel discussion — featuring its own researchers, contributors, advisors, and critics — that will consider the role of history and art in activism and speculate on the future of the museum and the afterlives of capitalism.
