Public Art Fund Talks: Edra Soto with Carla Acevedo-Yates and Marcela Guerrero

Artist Edra Soto will be joined by Carla Acevedo-Yates, Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Marcela Guerrero, DeMartini Family Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art; and Melanie Kress, Senior Curator, Public Art Fund for a conversation hosted on the occasion of Graft, Soto’s first large-scale public art exhibition in New York City.

February 26, 6:30–7:30pm ET
The Cooper Union, Frederick P. Rose Auditorium
41 Cooper Square
New York, NY 10008

The discussion will delve into the themes of architecture and belonging explored in Soto’s Public Art Fund commission, which, like many of her sculptures and installations, draws from the rejas—patterned wrought iron gates—found in post-war Puerto Rican architecture. In consideration of Soto’s longtime explorations of the built environment, the artist and curators will discuss ways that Soto’s sculptures and installations have been presented and interpreted both in private museums and the public realm. The talk will examine how her decade-long project Graft engages with ideas of cultural memory, Afro-Caribbean heritage, and the complex feelings of both connection and dislocation that accompany migration. This event offers an opportunity to reflect on how art can create spaces for community and dialogue within the urban landscape of New York City.

Soto’s work GRAFT (2022) was presented in the exhibition no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria (2022–2023) curated by Guerrero at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Graft (2023) was featured in the exhibition entre horizontes: Art and Activism Between Chicago and Puerto Rico (2023–2024), curated by Acevedo-Yates at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

Attend in person at The Cooper Union’s Frederick P. Rose Auditorium. Registration is required, and capacity is limited. Seating is first come, first served so please arrive early. Your registration does not guarantee a seat. Doors will close at 6:45pm.

Accessibility: Email Gabriela López Dena, Associate Curator of Public Practice, at glopez@publicartfund.org with questions and requests for accessibility. Please send any needs for services or accommodations to support your participation in this program, including ASL interpretations, hearing aids, and simultaneous translation, by February 14.