News Announcements

January 2013

 

SINGER JUDY COLLINS AND FRIENDS TO BRING THE WORDS OF LINCOLN TO LIFE IN COOPER UNION

New York, NY-- Legendary folk singer Judy Collins; folk pop icon Dar Williams; Broadway star André DeShields; award winning actor Stephen Lang; and The Classical Theater of Harlem will bring the words and ideas of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass to life on Wednesday, February 13th at 6:30 p.m. in the Cooper Union Great Hall, 7 East 7th St., NYC 10003 (b/w 3rd and 4th Aves) in a special program entitled, “The Civil War in Words and Music.”  The program, sponsored by Cooper Union, the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation, and the New York State Archives Partnership Trust, is free and open to the public. 

The program will feature signers Collins and Williams in concert, reprising songs of the Civil War.  The musical portion of the program will be balanced with dramatic readings of speeches by the 16th president and famed abolitionist Douglass by Lang and DeShields.  Gospel music will be provided by The Classical Theater of Harlem. The Classical Theatre of Harlem is a not-for-profit professional theatre company that presents original adaptations of works by well-known and contemporary playwrights.

According to famed Lincoln scholar, senior vice president of external affairs for the Metropolitan Museum, and chair of the national Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation Harold Holzer, organizer of the event and master of ceremonies for the evening, the participating artists were selected to capitalize on their talents, strengths and past experiences. 

“Throughout the nation, there are few living artists who better chronicle the narrative of our country through song than Judy Collins.  We consider ourselves extraordinarily fortunate to have the participation of this incomparable artist, who has inspired us with her music for more than 50 years, in this program,” Holzer said.

Holzer continued, stating that Williams was selected for her thoughtful approach to storytelling through music and her commitment to social consciousness.  DeShields and Lang, both known for distinguished and award-winning careers on stage and in television and film, have appeared together on the stage of the Great Hall once before in a similarly themed program.  “The power of the interpretation of Andre (DeShields) and Stephen (Lang) is sure to forever sear the words of Lincoln and Douglass in the minds of those present,” he said.

For more than a century, the Great Hall of the Cooper Union has served as a bastion of free speech and a witness to the flow of American history and ideas.  The venue will forever be known as the site of one of President Lincoln’s most powerful early speeches.

“The Civil War in Words and Music” is part of a series of programs created by the three sponsoring organizations to commemorate the Civil War Sesquicentennial which, nationally, extends through 2015.

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is a distinguished private college of art, architecture and engineering founded in 1859 by Peter Cooper, an inventor, industrialist and philanthropist.

For more information on this program, go to www.cooper.edu; events@cooper.edu or call 212-353-4195

Certificate in Digital Representaion and Fabrication Now Offered by the Department of Continuing Education at the Cooper Union
 
Digital representation and fabrication continues to be a truly disruptive innovation, transforming manufacturing processes in the 21st century as much as the steam engine did in the 18th.  To prepare creative professionals to take full advantage of these technologies and update their skill set, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art has expanded its program to provide a new, comprehensive Certificate in Digital Representation and Fabrication in its Department of Continuing Education. With the increased accessibility to digital prototyping machines, Cooper Union’s certificate program enables those working in art, architecture, design, science and other related fields to become more knowledgeable about digital interfaces and 2- and 3-D fabrication, a growing requirement in today’s competitive professional and creative environment. 
 
 

Environmental Design Considerations in 20th Century Architecture, 1925 - 1970  

Opening Reception: Tuesday, January 29 at 6:30pm

Arthur A. Houghton Jr. Gallery
7 East 7 E. 7th St. (b/w 3rd and 4th Aves.) NY, NY 10003

Lessons From Modernism examines selected works of architecture completed between 1925-70 through the lens of sustainability. This analysis of the use of environmental strategies — long before they were commonly used in 21st century buildings — opens at The Cooper Union’s Arthur A. Houghton Jr. Gallery on January 29th.  Through an analysis of the influence of nature and the environment in architectural design, Lessons From Modernism provides new insights into works achieved by a diverse selection of architects, including Le Corbusier, Paul Rudolph, Jean Prouvé and Oscar Niemeyer. The exhibition demonstrates how these architects integrated environmental concerns into their designs and explores the extent to which these practices have produced environmentally performative and distinctive architecture.

 

Archived Events, Exhibitions, & Media Advisories (PDFs)

Fall 2012

December | November | October | September

Summer 2012

August | July | June

Spring 2012

May | April | March | February | January

Fall 2011

December | November | October | September

Innovator Educator Jamshed Bharucha Inaugurated
Media Advisory: Inauguration of Jamshed Bharucha
The Critical Moment: Architecture in the Expanded Field

Spring 2011

Jeff Madrick - Greed: The Triumph of Finance and the Decline of America
Chris Hedges: The Death of the Liberal Class
Cooper Union to Participate in the Festival of Ideas
Art Benefit for Emilie Gossiaux: Sale and Silent Auction
Tim Flannery: Here On Earth, A Natural History of the Planet
Landscapes of Extraction: The Collateral Damage of the Fossil Fuels Industries
Juhani Pallasmaa: The Touch of Light
Annual Egg Drop Competition
100 Years After: The Triangle Fire Remembered and Rethought
First Annual Service to Sustainability Awards
Bruce High Quality Foundation to Kick Off "Teach for Amerika" Tour
Izzeldin Abuelaish: I Shall Not Hate
House for Musicians: A Great Architecture by Raimund Abraham
Dr. Alexander J.B. Zehnder: Opportunities and Challenges on the Way to Sustainability
The Last Mountain: A Screening and Panel Discussion
Cooper Union Alumni Film Festival

  • 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.