Center for the Arts at Northeastern

We’re excited to welcome seven Ph.D. student affiliates to our growing community! Based out of the Interdisciplinary Design and Media Ph.D. program at College of Arts, Media and Design (CAMD) at Northeastern University, these affiliates are already deeply involved in the arts within and outside of the university. As our inaugural class of Ph.D. affiliates, this group will play a big role in shaping what graduate engagement looks like for the future. Our Ph.D. students include: • Sutanuka Jashu • Ximena Lainfiesta • Alayt Issak • Jessica Roseman • Sydney Purdue • Josephine Ross • Monica Storss Learn more about our Ph.D student affiliates at bit.ly/cfa-phd-affiliates

On Tuesday, May 26 from 11am-12pm in the Studio Theatre, please join us for an open rehearsal of @ilya.vidrin ’s Proxies. In this multidisciplinary production at the intersection of dance, music, and computational design, performers wear custom-designed sensors on their hands and feet—technology that tracks and surfaces the subtle and often invisible give-and-take of physical connection. The data flows in real time to musicians, weaving together movement and sound in a continuous loop of responsiveness. This project is being developed as part of Ilya’s Choreographic Research Residency with support from the Center for the Arts and will premiere at Jacob’s Pillow in July. ___________ Photo by Malakhai Pearson / ArtLab at Harvard University.

The Center for the Arts is thrilled to welcome our founding cohort of core faculty and affiliates to our community! This group will help shape the center’s evolving interdisciplinary research agenda, developing projects and programs in Boston and Oakland starting in Fall 2026. Please join us in giving our new cohort a warm welcome ⬇️ 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐘: •Clareese Hill •Sarah Hirschmann •Hubert Ho •Psyche Loui •Andrew Mall •Sylke Rene Meyer •Bill Stout •Gloria Sutton •Ilya Vidrin 𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒: •Cristine Blanco •Samantha Boehm •Jonathan Carr •Briar Hardy •Stephanie Hanor •Sarah Kanouse •Clifford Lee •Jiabao Li •Deirdre Loughridge •Celia Pearce •Yulia Pinkusevich •Molly Rapp •Suzanne Schmidt •Casondra Sobieralski •Sam Stowe •Johannes Valvur 𝐏𝐇.𝐃. 𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒: •Alayt Issak •Sutanuka Jashu •Ximena Lainfiesta •Sydney Purdue •Jessica Roseman •Josephine Ross •Monica Storss 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏: •Dani Snyder-Young •Juliana Barton

This Monday at 1pm in 350A Snell! Join us for a book talk with Art + Design Prof. Sylke Meyer. ⁠ ⁠ Her recent book, "Soviet Narratology and Spatial Story Design," provides a fascinating take on what Russian formalism can teach us about spatial storytelling. ⁠ ⁠ Since the tradition emphasizes structure over content, what a narrative is “about” matters less than its form, structure and the location in which it takes place. ⁠ ⁠ That shift also downplays the author as the primary source of meaning and moves toward space as a carrier of narrative meaning.⁠ ⁠ Spatial story design is about shaping the probabilities of how a user behaves inside that space. You don’t control everything, but you can guide experience through design.⁠ ⁠ Register at the 🔗 in bio! ⁠ _______⁠ ⁠ 🗓️ Monday, Apr. 6 ⁠ ⏱️ 1-3pm ⁠ 📍350A Snell Library

The final CfD Conversation of the spring semester highlights Civic Data Theatre. 💭 What if your community meeting was a play? This panel examines how Civic Data Theatre bridges the gap between quantitative government data and lived community experience, using a Boston climate action case study to demonstrate a model for more inclusive democratic participation. Join Rahul Bhargava, Jonathan Carr, Michael Arnold Mages, Dani Snyder-Young and Moira Zellner at the Center for Design on Tuesday, April 14, at 12 p.m. ET. This event is hybrid. Register at the link in our bio. This event is co-sponsored by @nu_cfa . Image credit: Amelia Cordischi

It was great to hear more last Friday about the process and ethos behind "Touching Toxicity" and "Soft City," and how the dynamic duo of just practice has evolved their collaborative practice over the years. ⁠ ⁠ Sophie Chien and Amanda Ugorji first started felting together while working on "Soft City" as roommates in grad school at Harvard GSD. In their makeshift apartment studio, they spent a grueling few weeks putting the massive series of rugs together. By the end of that process, Chien's hands were exhausted—she vowed she'd never felt again. ⁠ ⁠ Luckily, our commission for "Touching Toxicity" brought them together again for more textile work. This time, Chien and Ugorji were in different time zones, carefully divvying up the production work asynchronously to produce a striking and cohesive series of panels. ⁠ ⁠ Thank you to everyone who made Friday's event so engaging! Be sure to check out "The Data at Hand" before it closes on Apr. 4 💫 ________ Photos by Devyn Rudnick.

Next Monday from 4-6pm! Join us for an open house-style launch celebration for Dani Snyder-Young’s new book, “Sticking Stigma.” In the book, Dani examines a set of activist performance projects attempting to use the force of stigma to redistribute and recenter social power. At Monday’s event, there will be brief remarks followed by mingling and light refreshments. 📚 About the author: Dani Snyder-Young is an Associate Professor of Theatre (@theatre_nu ) at Northeastern. She leads the Data Theatre Collaborative, developing innovative methods for translating quantitative data into theatrical experiences that support community deliberation.

There's just three weeks left to see "The Data at Hand" at Gallery 360! As we get into the home stretch of this show, we're excited to welcome artist duo @just__practice to campus next Friday for a conversation about their "Soft City" and "Touching Toxicity" projects and process.⁠ ⁠ Following the discussion at @nu_cfd , we'll move to the gallery for a reception and some light refreshments. ⁠ ⁠ If you're interested in learning more about just practice's work or meeting the artists, now is your chance! ⁠ ⁠ Sign up at the 🔗 in bio⁠ _________⁠ ⁠ Installation view of "The Data at Hand: Data Physicalizations of Earth and Space" at Gallery 360, Boston, 2026. Photo: Tim Correira.⁠

On the inaugural CAMD Day on Mar. 17 at 11am, join Ilya Vidrin for an open rehearsal of “Proxies.” In this multidisciplinary production at the intersection of dance, music, and computational design, performers wear custom-designed sensors on their hands and feet—technology that tracks and surfaces the subtle and often invisible give-and-take of physical connection. The data flows in real time to musicians, weaving together movement and sound in a continuous loop of responsiveness. In a world where connection is increasingly mediated by screens and sensors, “Proxies” puts bodies front and center—exploring what technology reveals and what slips through. ____________ Image of Ilya Vidrin’s “Proxies,” a multidisciplinary performance production at the intersection of dance, music, and computational design. Photo by Malakhai Pearson / ArtLab at Harvard University.

Thank you to everyone who came out to our open house last week! We had so much fun sharing the exhibition with you all. ⁠ ⁠ We have some more events to look forward to in March—particularly with @nu_cfd for Design Research Week—so please stay tuned!⁠ ______⁠ ⁠ Photos by Devyn Rudnick.

This Wednesday from 3-5pm! Join us for an artist tour and open house reception at Gallery 360 with exhibiting artist Nathalie Miebach (@miebachsculpture ). ⁠ ⁠ Free and open to the public. Register at the 🔗 in bio or at bit.ly/the-data-at-hand-tour

We’re excited to announce some changes over here at the Center for the Arts! This year, we welcomed Dani Snyder-Young as our first-ever Faculty Director. In this new role, she’ll be working in shared leadership with Juliana Barton, the Director of Center for the Arts and University Art Collections, to expand the offerings and scope of the Center. Previously, Center for the Arts programming was largely aligned with Gallery 360 exhibitions and programs; moving forward, we will welcome a cohort of core and affiliate faculty to develop an arts research arm alongside gallery programming. Here’s some info about Dani: She’s an Associate Professor of Theatre (@theatre_nu ) at Northeastern. Her artistic research centers on community-partnered projects examining how theater practices support human thriving in public health and public policy contexts. She leads the Data Theatre Collaborative, developing innovative methods for translating quantitative data into theatrical experiences that support community deliberation. Dani’s work has been supported by the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development, and the American Association of University Women. Welcome, Dani! We’re so thrilled to have you join the Center.