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Artists Find Inspiration Through Inaugural Residency Programs at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai

Posted on December 2, 2024, modified on December 2, 2024 by Maxine P

Nester kneels with headphones on on the edge of a boat. A dolphin fin can be seen in the water in the distance.

Nester recording dolphins in the Arabian Gulf

Artists in residence enrich a university community by bringing new ideas and inspiring new questions, and that’s exactly what the inaugural artists in residence at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai did this past year in the sites’ programs.

NYU has long hosted artists in residence, but a global expansion allows the community to flourish in unexpected ways. “It’s understanding what people do, what their work involves, and then hopefully coming up with something together that we can explore that opens up both of our minds,” Sam Nester, the inaugural artist in residence at NYU Abu Dhabi, says. Nester, a trumpet player, composer, and sound artist who grew up in Australia, didn’t come in with a scientific background—but that was the point. As an artist he could learn from the scientists and vice versa. “The creative process is just like the scientific process,” he says. “There’s lots of learning and questions.”

Sam Nester

During Nester’s residency, he worked with the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology to turn human genomes into sound, and partnered with scientists like Dr. John Burt, PhD, to place microphones in the Arabian Gulf—one of the warmest bodies of water in the world—to record the sounds of dying coral reefs onto plastic “vinyl” plucked from the ocean. “We’re tracking the changes of those sounds,” he says, explaining that “changes in acoustic properties might help us understand what happens with biodiversity with heat stress.”

Not only do artists in residence foster a sense of innovation and creativity on campus, but they work in various roles, and can also help students think outside the box. Lei, a Shanghai native, was NYU Shanghai’s inaugural artist in residence, along with Dennis de Bel, an artistic researcher, educator, and radio amateur.

Lei taught for the first time during his residency, and while the University had originally proposed he complete a project by himself, Lei decided to slowly involve his students. He created a wall installation of wooden musical instruments that experimented with how we experience sound, and he let his students join in the performance when he exhibited them. He also curated exhibitions for his students to display their own work. “We need this kind of courage to do something new,” says Lei, who has a background in music, engineering, and the visual arts. “So I played that kind of role [to encourage students], but they also supported me because it was the first time I’ve taught.”

A group of people holding and looking at Lei's wooden instruments

The NYU Shanghai community got to engage with Lei’s wooden musical instruments at the final exhibition.

Lei says ultimately, the final project was less important than the relationships he cultivated with his colleagues, students, and the Shanghai community—especially everyone who came out for the final exhibition. “We shared that moment together, and I think that was the most beautiful part,” he says. Nester echoes those sentiments. “One of the things that was very special about this residency…is that I’ve also made some really wonderful friends and colleagues that I never would have had the opportunity to unless I was there,” Nester concludes. “I feel like part of my heart is left there as well, which is a beautiful and wonderful thing.”

Written by Marti Trgovich

NYU Tulsa Kicks Off with Alternative Spring Break

Posted on September 9, 2024, modified on September 18, 2024 by Maxine P

Select NYU community members became the first to experience the University’s newest global site at NYU Tulsa through the Alternative Breaks program earlier this year.

A group of students and staff smile at a person speaking to them

NYU students and staff learn about Gathering Place before volunteering begins.

NYU Alternative Breaks emphasize exploring the integration of service, education, and reflection to create meaningful change in communities. The Tulsa trip focused on community development and outdoor recreation while providing opportunities for students to learn more about the area’s rich history and culture.

A group of 12 students as well as two staff advisers spent one week volunteering at Gathering Place, a world-class riverfront park. Like its name suggests, Gathering Place functions as a space for the Tulsa community to experience nature together. Volunteers connected with guests through play, engagement, and surveying; performed horticulture duties; and learned about the park, its vision, and its goals. “It is not your typical park,” says Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development sophomore Amanda Wang. “It truly serves as a place for people of all ages, backgrounds, and identities to come together.” For Amanda that often involved using the park’s unique resources to interact with children—playing instruments with them at the outdoor music stage or making arts and crafts in the makerspace.

A person stands in front of a screen with a map and key of Gathering Place and talks to a table of students and staff

A Gathering Place representative introduces the NYU alternative spring break cohort to the geography and offerings of the park.

“By engaging in volunteering, students immerse themselves in a new community, broadening their perspectives,” explains Casey Duffy, the manager for domestic study away career development. Duffy accompanied the students to Tulsa as a staff adviser. “These hands-on experiences offer practical learning outside the classroom, providing them with valuable skills and a deeper understanding of real-world issues.”

Tulsa is an area with rich history, reflected in upcoming classes that focus on Native arts, Black economic freedom, subnational policymaking, and clean energy. During their trip, students got a taste of the city’s complex past and colorful present with excursions to historic sites and cultural centers.

They visited the historic Greenwood District and Black Wall Street, spending hours at the Greenwood Rising history center, which tells the story of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

The Woody Guthrie Center

Additionally, they traveled to Pawhuska, home to the Osage Nation, one of Oklahoma’s 39 tribes. They rounded out the trip with visits to cultural sites, including the Bob Dylan Center, Woody Guthrie Center, Philbrook Museum of Art, and the Tulsa Artist Fellowship and Arts District. “The arts and writing scene is incredibly rich in Tulsa, and we had the opportunity to see what local artists were working on,” Amanda shares. “Their work has a meaningful purpose, touching upon identity, race, and gender.”

NYU Tulsa officially launches in spring 2025, providing a range of unique opportunities. “No matter what you’re studying, Tulsa can offer so many opportunities for you to dive deeper into your passions and interests. The community there is really what makes the city so special,” Amanda concludes.

Written by Sarah Bender

Global Programs Booklist

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Katie L

Inspired by the first NYU Bookstore display collaboration between the Office of Marketing Communications and the Office of Global Programs, this list of books representing NYU’s global locations promises to broaden your perspective and enrich your knowledge.

NYU Abu Dhabi

Temporary People
By Deepak Unnikrishnan

The skylines of Abu Dhabi and Dubai are recognizable around the world by their resplendent glittering towers—but how did they get there? Deepak Unnikrishnan, an Indian-born writer raised in the United Arab Emirates and associate arts professor of literature and creative writing at NYU Abu Dhabi, knows the answer: a foreign labor force was brought in to construct them. Using a series of clever and surreal linked stories, Unnikrishnan gives voice to a humanitarian crisis that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

NYU Accra

The Hundred Wells of Salaga
By Ayesha Harruna Attah

Based on a true story, The Hundred Wells of Salaga tells the tale of two women from very different backgrounds whose lives converge in an unexpected way. It’s a novel that will entangle you emotionally, while offering you crucial insight into precolonial Ghana, particularly the slave trade and its impact on a people.

NYU Berlin

No Photos on the Dance Floor! Berlin 1989–Today
Edited by Heiko Hoffmann and Felix Hoffmann

History books offer what we think is a full story, but this photography book provides a peek into the city’s after-hours culture through the club scene that blossomed in 1989 after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It’s not only a delightful visual romp but also a history book in its own right, telling the story of a city in transformation, one party at a time.

NYU Buenos Aires

The Aleph and Other Stories
By Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges might seem like an obvious choice for Argentina—for a country that produced so many famous writers, he is arguably the most famous. Still, who can deny this selection? The brilliant, inventive tales of The Aleph and Other Stories will surprise and stimulate, and they are must-reads for diving into Argentine culture. Borges, after all, makes magic happen in the most unexpected ways.

NYU Florence

The Monster of Florence book cover featuring a close-up image of Giambologna's The Rape of the Sabine sculpture

The Monster of Florence: A True Story
By Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi

The Monster of Florence has developed a bit of a cult following in recent years, and for good reason—it’s a wild ride. American Douglas Preston moved to Florence with his family and quickly discovered that their olive grove was the site of one of Italy’s most infamous double murders. As he works with investigative journalist Mario Spezi, a Florentine, to get closer to the truth, things really begin to spiral. The Monster of Florence is a propulsive thriller that offers valuable, and often shocking, insight into the Italian justice system.

NYU London

White Teeth
By Zadie Smith

White Teeth is a rare novel that is entertaining while simultaneously layered with so much richness, one might want to read it all over again as soon as it’s over. Starting with two unlikely friends whose stories blossom into a poignant yet funny family saga, Zadie Smith’s debut novel keenly witnesses the immigrant experience in London, traveling to other continents as well while navigating the relationship between tradition and change.

NYU Los Angeles

Slow Days, Fast Company book cover featuring a distorted image of a woman

Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, the Flesh, and L.A.
By Eve Babitz

This slim book offers stories as wild and wanton as Los Angeles itself. Unapologetically hedonistic, Slow Days, Fast Company is also a clever, windy ride through the Los Angeles of the 1960s and 1970s. It has all the usual Angeleno archetypes, but Eve Babitz elevates them with her incisive and acerbic insights into life in Hollywood. Isn’t it funny that, decades later, so much has changed but so much remains the same?

NYU Madrid

Ghosts of Spain book cover featuring images of Spain

Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past
By Giles Tremlett

Worth a read to understand a post-Franco Spain, Ghosts of Spain is a well-rounded, curious, and admittedly fun romp through the country, albeit prompted by the author’s questions about its devastating civil war. British author Giles Tremlett combines keen cultural reporting with memoir and quirky sidebars that add levity to what begins as a serious interrogation. While it’s intellectually critical, it’s also a love letter to Spain. After all, there’s a reason Spain is Tremlett’s adopted country.

NYU Paris

The Years book cover featuring an image of a woman looking at the viewer with the silhouette of a person looking down a hallway

The Years
By Annie Ernaux

Annie Ernaux’s whole oeuvre is masterful, but many critics cite The Years, first published in 2008, as her magnum opus. In this brilliant collage of a memoir, Nobel Prize winner Ernaux examines her life and the generation that she grew up in, favoring “we” over “I.” The result is a personal history tied to the collective experience of a generation in France during the 20th century. Ernaux weaves her memories into a story that offers cultural notes on topics from consumerism and immigration to unemployment and the threat of nuclear war.

NYU Prague

Havel: A Life book cover featuring an image of Václev Havel with his hand atop his head

Havel: A Life
By Michael Žantovský

In many ways, Václav Havel’s life mirrors the zeitgeist of Prague: it’s political, literary, antiauthoritarian, surreal, and somehow, even at its most serious moments, darkly humorous. If that sounds like a lot, it’s because Havel, like the city itself, was a complex figure. Michael Žantovský was a trusted friend, so this biography reads as an intimate and true portrait (faults and all) of a man loyal to his people, his values, and his art. Žantovský succeeds in showing the many dimensions of the iconoclast—playwright, political dissident, prisoner, president—who, in the end, was just as human as the rest of us.

NYU Shanghai

Shanghai Future: Modernity Remade
By Anna Greenspan

This brilliant book contextualizes China’s largest and most cosmopolitan city through the lens of modernity. Author Anna Greenspan, an associate professor of contemporary global media at NYU Shanghai, reexamines the changing landscape of the city as it steps well into the 21st century and takes its place on the world stage.

NYU Sydney

Mirror Sydney: An Atlas of Reflections
By Vanessa Berry

A fun and unexpected romp, Mirror Sydney takes us on a tour of the harborside city via engaging essays and clever hand-illustrated maps. Based on a blog Vanessa Berry started more than a decade ago, Mirror Sydney is clearly more than a mere guidebook—it’s too much fun to be that typical. Moreover, it tends to direct the reader to the kinds of places the average tourist wouldn’t care to know about or explore anyway.

NYU Tel Aviv

The Bibliomaniacs: Tales from a Tel Aviv Bookseller
By J.C. Halper

On Allenby Street in Tel Aviv, J.C. Halper—originally from New Jersey but now an Israeli for four-plus decades—runs the city’s most popular secondhand bookshop, containing a dazzling 60,000 books. And in 2022 he published this book of clever, often funny short stories from the point of view of a shop owner. While the stories are allegedly fiction, one can’t help but wonder if we’re learning more about real locals than the author lets on.

NYU Washington, DC

Lost in the City
By Edward P. Jones

It’s a joy to read anything by Edward P. Jones, the gifted, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer. His debut collection of short stories, Lost in the City, is no exception and first cemented his literary reputation. These 14 tales tell the everyday encounters and struggles of Black citizens in Washington, DC. But Jones has a gift for making even the most mundane situation meaningful, and his rich, textured stories give weight to life’s most quotidian moments as viewed through the lens of the Black experience in the nation’s capital.

Written by Marti Trgovich

Student Reporting in Buenos Aires

Posted on November 13, 2023 by Katie L

Maureen Zeufack

When Maureen Zeufack, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development Class of 2023, researched options for studying away, she wanted to explore somewhere new and was immediately drawn to NYU Buenos Aires. A Media, Culture, and Communication major, Maureen found the opportunity to immerse herself in Argentina’s unfamiliar yet vibrant and multicultural lifestyle too good to pass up. “I wanted to go somewhere I didn’t have a connection to, somewhere completely out of my wheelhouse,” Maureen explains. “Academically, I wanted to improve my Spanish. Plus, the media classes aligned with my major, so it really was the perfect fit.”

The daughter of Cameroonian immigrants, Maureen has family in Africa and Europe, and she lived in Asia as a child. What she didn’t expect while studying in Buenos Aires? Finding a slice of home in a place she’d never been.

Maureen was intentional about her class selection, especially when it came to choosing Santiago O’Donnell’s course Reporting Buenos Aires. “I took the class because I knew the semester would go by quickly, and I wanted to have an excuse to explore the city, get more familiar with the culture and the people, and dive into everything,” says Maureen. O’Donnell, a former staff writer at both the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post, assigns students stories that require them to engage with the surrounding city. This way they learn more about the city’s culture by putting themselves in new situations, observing their Argentine neighbors, and meeting people they may not otherwise encounter. “Since I’m Cameroonian American, I was interested in seeing what the African diaspora is like in Buenos Aires and, if there are Africans in the city, what’s going on in their communities,” says Maureen.

Maureen poses for the camera in El Buen Sabor Africano restaurant

Maureen inside El Buen Sabor Africano restaurant

For one of the class assignments, Maureen was tasked with writing a restaurant review. She was surprised to find there was only one African restaurant in all of Buenos Aires. Even more surprising? The owner and head chef, Maxime Tankouo, is also from Cameroon. And not only that—he and Maureen are from the same tribe.

“I thought, ‘What are the odds that in this country, where there aren’t many Black people or Africans in general, that not only is he Cameroonian, but he is also from the exact same tribe and the same part of the country as me?’” Maureen says with a laugh. “That was something we really bonded over.”

While sitting inside the walls of Tankouo’s restaurant, El Buen Sabor Africano, Maureen says she “immediately felt at home.” Although she was far from her familial home, there were pieces of it right there in Buenos Aires, from the music Tankouo played to the decor that filled his restaurant’s walls. She enjoyed a full meal—grilled corvina fish bathed in orange and red African spices, perfectly cooked sweet plantains, and a dish of spicy sautéed red beans and vegetables—all under the gaze of a large, painted lion, Cameroon’s national symbol, on the restaurant’s wall.

A plated meal of fish, plantains, onion, sauteed beans and vegetables

A filling meal of African flavors at El Buen Sabor Africano

Maureen gained more than just a good story for her class. “I know now that I’m especially interested in exploring the African diaspora experience in Argentina,” she says, which is what she focused her final class project on. She adds, “I realized the world is a lot smaller than you think. For something like this to happen while I was there, in a place where sometimes you don’t see a lot of people who look like you, it was necessary and refreshing. It was nice to see a familiar face and know that someone there had a similar background as me.”

Written by Kelly Stewart

Faculty Spotlight: Justin Randolph Thompson

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Maxine P

Three students of color talking with the Florence Duomo in the distance.

NYU Florence students enjoying the view of the Duomo from Piazzale Michelangelo

One marker of success when spending extended time in a new place (especially as a student) is how comprehensively one engages with the local culture. At NYU Florence, students are immersed in Italian and, specifically, Florentine culture through a range of courses and activities. And for over six years, Global Lecturer Justin Randolph Thompson has worked to ensure that experience includes the rich history of Black people in Italy.

In addition to his role as a lecturer at NYU Florence, Thompson, an artist, cultural facilitator, and educator, is the cofounder and director of Black History Month Florence, a multifaceted exploration of Black histories and cultures in the context of Italy. He also works with faculty and students to provide support for study abroad programs, offer internships and workshops, and share a space to connect with Black culture abroad. As a young man living in Italy, Thompson, who has lived between the United States and Italy since 1999, found that his relationship to Blackness was very much shaped by his environment.

Black History Month Florence

The first Black History Month Florence was created in 2016 to inspire much-needed connection—as a way to link Thompson’s projects to institutions in Florence and elevate his message. “Blackness extends into antiquity; there has never been a time in Italian history when there were not Black people here. But the country needed a framework to engage in more expansive conversations about Blackness.” Therefore, Thompson and cofounder Andre Thomas Halyard worked to build a network of like-minded people, artists, and writers to engage people with this history.

“In 1926 historian Carter G. Woodson established Black History Month because there was a need to tell a more complete story about the United States. And 90 years later, there was a need to tell a more complete story about Italy,” Thompson explains. This year’s celebration, which began on February 1, has expanded to include about 50 events, and its network now stretches across Italy and beyond. “It’s a huge cultural moment,” Thompson says. “Every single time we’re able to pull this together thanks to a range of partners, it is an incredible demonstration of what’s possible.”

The Recovery Plan

Now that Thompson’s work has grown, Black History Month Florence is but one piece of a much more comprehensive puzzle. The Recovery Plan, which developed from the success of Black History Month Florence, is a Black cultural center that examines the history and contemporary legacy of Blackness in a global context. The center hosts a range of exhibitions, performances, lectures, seminars, workshops, and residencies designed to reflect upon Italy as a historic site for cultural exchange.

The Recovery Plan collaborates with organizations and institutions throughout and beyond Italy, supporting young Black Italian artists. The center also nourishes an archive and library for the study of Afrodescendent cultures while helping to provide training and support to its partners.

“This is the work that really needs to happen in order to safeguard layers of history that have been consistently excluded,” Thompson says. “These absences impact all of society.”

The Work Together Is the Reward

Thompson has exhibited and performed at institutions all over the world, including the Contemporary at Blue Star art institution in San Antonio, Texas; Villa Romana in Florence, Italy; the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, New York; and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain. He has also won a number of awards, including a 2022 Creative Capital Award, a 2020 Italian Council Research Fellowship, and a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Competition award.

These awards have given Thompson the freedom to experiment and push the boundaries of his work, beginning projects and bringing on new partners even if he doesn’t know the outcome from the start. As an educator, he follows a similar philosophy: “My teaching—and the way I live my life—is about developing a relationship where we can question everything and exchange what it is that we do know,” he says. “Together, we create a more complete picture. Every one of us can contribute such important things to this world.”

Written by Sarah Bender