Wallach Art Gallery

09/17/2026

Thank you to Jason Farago and The New York TImes for including the Wallach Art Gallery's Allan Sekula exhibition, "Fish Story," among the 25 upcoming openings highlighted from around the world.

When it opens on October 2, 2026, the Wallach exhibition will be the first time the full nine-chapters of Sekula's magnum opus will be presented in their entirety in New York City.

Sekula (1951–2013) was a renowned American photographer, writer, filmmaker, theorist, and critic, who sought to make visible the wide-ranging disruptions caused by containerized shipping and its impact across the globe.

"Fish Story" offers meditations on maritime landscapes, mythologies of the sea, and the changing nature of cargo shipping as a way to explore how the neoliberal shift toward globalization plays out in the lives of workers and the sea ports where they reside.

"Allan Sekula: Fish Story"
October 2–December 20, 2026
Wallach Art Gallery
Lenfest Center for the Arts
615 West 129th Street | 6th Floor
New York, NY 10027

wallach.columbia.edu

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09/16/2026

How have protest and activism reshaped the visual arts over the past decade, from the streets of Chile and Iran to museums grappling with restitution across Europe and the United States?

How have artists acted as catalysts for change and how are institutions reckoning with their pasts across protest art, museum ethics, restitution, and institutional transformation?

Wallach Art Gallery Director and Chief Curator Betti-Sue Hertz joins distinguished panelists for on these topics and more to celebrate the publication of "Politics of Visual Arts in a Changing World: 2014-2024" (Columbia University Press), a new volume edited by Vishakha Desai-- the product of the Committee on Global Thought's signature research project of the same name.

For more information, or to register to attend, scan the QR code.

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09/16/2026

Wallach Art Gallery is pleased to present "Allan Sekula: Fish Story" (1988–1995), the magnum opus by the renowned American photographer, writer, filmmaker, theorist, and critic who sought to make visible the wide-ranging disruptions caused by containerized shipping and its impact across the globe.

On loan from the Walker Art Center, "Fish Story" offers meditations on maritime landscapes, mythologies of the sea, and the changing nature of cargo shipping as a way to explore how the neoliberal shift toward globalization plays out in the lives of workers and the seaports where they reside.

The Wallach Art Gallery exhibition is the first time this seminal research-based photo essay is presented in New York in its entirety.

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09/14/2026

Thank you to Jason Farago and The New York TImes for including the Wallach Art Gallery's upcoming Allan Sekula exhibition, "Fish Story," among the 25 upcoming openings highlighted from around the world.

When it opens on October 2, 2026, the Wallach exhibition will be the first time the full nine-chapters of Sekula's magnum opus will be presented in their entirety in New York City.

Sekula (1951–2013) was a renowned American photographer, writer, filmmaker, theorist, and critic, who sought to make visible the wide-ranging disruptions caused by containerized shipping and its impact across the globe.

"Fish Story" offers meditations on maritime landscapes, mythologies of the sea, and the changing nature of cargo shipping as a way to explore how the neoliberal shift toward globalization plays out in the lives of workers and the sea ports where they reside.

"Allan Sekula: Fish Story"
October 2–December 20, 2026
Wallach Art Gallery
Lenfest Center for the Arts
615 West 129th Street | 6th Floor
New York, NY 10027

wallach.columbia.edu

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09/11/2026

09/11/2026

09/10/2026

Like most of the Carnival's teaching artists, Elisabeth Kley taught a range of projects, from puppetry to printmaking. It was the latter that resonated most deeply with her own artistic practice and introduced her to a new artmaking process. The project involved teaching the children to make prints using Styrofoam meat trays—an example of the Carnival's inventive use of everyday materials. "I actually started making Christmas cards out of that same way," she said. "And then I made more elaborate prints... that definitely stuck with me the most."

After her years at the Carnival, Kley made prints using the technique she learned there. Those prints featured decorative patterns similar to the ones in this installation. This immersive, heavily geometric environment— composed of a mural and ceramic sculptures-draws from a range of historical sources, including Wiener Werkstätte, Sergei Diaghilev's Ballet Russes dance company, and ancient Egyptian design. The latter influence is especially apparent in the pyramid-like sculptures on the shelves and the arches framing the works, suggesting the spiritual gravity and architectural grandeur of a temple.

“The Children’s Art Carnival in Harlem: The Making of Contemporary Artists,” is on view at the Wallach Art Gallery from June 26 to September 13, 2026. Learn more: https://wallach.columbia.edu/content/childrens-art-carnival-harlem-making-contemporary-artists

Elisabeth Kley
Teaching Artist, Children's Art Carnival, Late 1980s-Early
1990s
Wall Painting for Children's Art
Carnival, 2026
Charcoal and Flashe wall painting with glazed earthenware
Courtesy of the artist and CANADA,
New York

09/09/2026

Sana Musama's experience at the Carnival, which she likened to "world travel underneath one roof," shaped her commitment to celebrating diversity. "Our common ground was being brown people, our common ground was our multi-material, our common ground was our love of Africa. Our common ground was our identity... lt was, like, a very big stepping stone to have that kind of experience as a young artist."

Confronting America's history of systemic attempts at Black erasure—particularly during enslavement, when some historians believe Black children were either prohibited from having dolls in their own image or given only racist caricatures—Sana Musasama created a series of ceramic dolls, which she describes as "a celebration of identity."

Sana Musasama
Teaching Artist, Children’s Art Carnival, circa 1970s
I See Me Dolls (I-V), 2023-26
Ceramic with mixed media
Courtesy of the artist

These works are reinterpretations of a doll the artist's mother made when she was a child, to help her appreciate her own natural Black beauty. Rejecting White supremacist ideals of beauty and style, Musasama fashions dolls with Black phenotypes and hairstyles that reflect both her own image and those of people within her community. Pipe cleaners and beads arranged into spiky hairstyles reference woolly and kinky hair textures, while the dolls' ceramic bodies of varied colors evoke the broad spectrum of skin tones found throughout the Black diaspora.

“The Children’s Art Carnival in Harlem: The Making of Contemporary Artists,” is on view at the Wallach Art Gallery from June 26 to September 13, 2026. Learn more: https://wallach.columbia.edu/content/childrens-art-carnival-harlem-making-contemporary-artists