Join an artist talk with Jacolby Satterwhite as he delves into the multilayered process of creating An Eclectic Dance to the Music of Time (2022), his site-specific film merging the past, present, and future of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the New York Philharmonic. Satterwhite will discuss how community engagement and public projects fit within his artistic practice. He will also dive into his unique approach to creating dreamlike digital animations that synthesize performance, illustration, and painting.

Conceived for the 50-foot Hauser Media Wall in the newly renovated David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, An Eclectic Dance to the Music of Time playfully weaves archival images, live-action footage, and experimental digital animation. The film’s cast represents artists since the Philharmonic’s founding in 1842 and showcases more than one hundred music and dance students from local schools, including The Ailey School, The Juilliard School, and Professional Performing Arts School. Set against a colorful and highly detailed landscape inspired by New York City’s built environment, the film offers a more inclusive view of the history of Lincoln Center and the New York Philharmonic while envisioning a creative future that reflects the diversity of the city. An Eclectic Dance to the Music of Time was commissioned by Lincoln Center in collaboration with The Studio Museum in Harlem and Public Art Fund.

Join virtually: Register to receive a link and watch the program online.

Join in person at The Cooper Union’s Frederick P. Rose Auditorium: Registration is required and capacity is limited. Proof of vaccination or proof of a negative PCR test (taken within three days of the event) or a rapid test result (home test results are not acceptable) is necessary. Masks are encouraged.

Public Art Fund Talks are presented in partnership with The Cooper Union.

Jacolby Satterwhite is celebrated for a conceptual practice addressing themes of labor, consumption, carnality, and fantasy through immersive installation, virtual reality, painting, sculpture, and digital media. He produces intricately detailed animations and live-action films of real and imagined worlds populated by the avatars of artists and friends. Satterwhite draws from an extensive set of references, guided by contemporary visual culture, modernism, and video game language to challenge conventions of Western art through a personal and political lens. An equally significant influence is that of his late mother, Patricia Satterwhite, whose ethereal vocals and diagrams serve as the source material within a structure of memory and mythology. Satterwhite received his B.F.A. from the Maryland Institute College of Arts, Baltimore, and his M.F.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. His work has been presented in numerous exhibitions and festivals internationally, including at Haus der Kunst, Munich, 2021; Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, 2021; and Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH, 2021. Satterwhite has collaborated with several musicians, including Solange Knowles in 2019 on her visual album “When I Get Home,” The 1975 in 2020 on the music video for “Having No Head,” and Perfume Genus in 2022 on his album “Ugly Season.”

About the Talks Public Art Fund Talks, organized in collaboration with The Cooper Union, connect compelling contemporary artists to a broad public by establishing a dialogue about artistic practices and public art. The Talks series features internationally renowned artists who offer insights into artmaking and its personal, social, and cultural contexts. The core values of creative expression and democratic access to culture and learning shared by both Public Art Fund and The Cooper Union are embodied in this ongoing collaboration. In the spirit of accessibility to the broadest and most diverse public, the Talks are offered free of charge.