Melvin Edwards: A Celebration of Life

Sunday, September 13, 2026, 2 - 5pm

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Portrait of Edwards in a brown shirt

Alexander Gray Associates and the Edwards family are honored to present a celebration of the life of Melvin Edwards (1937-2026). Please join us to commemorate Melvin Edwards's extraordinary life and work. The program will include speakers and performers reflecting the many facets of Edwards's life and legacy—family, friends, artists, poets, musicians, curators, community leaders, and those who defy categorization. 

RSVP is required to attend the Celebration of Life.

Located in The Great Hall, in the Foundation Building, 7 East 7th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues

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  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.