An Archival Séance: The Critical Record with Marina Otero Verzier

​Presented alongside our fall exhibition Open Access: Exploring 130 Years of American Design, join us for a performance and séance led by Marina Otero Verzier, in collaboration with Paula Vilaplana de Miguel, whose work is on view in Open Access.

​Marina explores the topic of “the critical record”: How do scholars, historians, and critics actively reinterpret the official architectural record through the lens of race, exclusion, and power? Together, we will tune into the spirits of those not present in our archives, or whose voices leave traces outside the official record.

​About Marina Otero Verzier

​Marina Otero Verzier is an architect and researcher whose work lies at the intersection of critical spatial practices, ecology, technology, and activism. She is a Lecturer in Architecture at Harvard GSD and a Dean’s Visiting Assistant Professor at Columbia University’s GSAPP, where she leads the Data Mourning clinic, an educational initiative examining the relationship between digital infrastructures and climate catastrophe.

​Open Access is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Graham Foundation. Our work is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and by the Goldman Sachs Office of Corporate Engagement through a grant recommended by Goldman Sachs Community Development Grants Program.

​​​​Notice of Access, Filming, and Photography

​Van Alen is committed to ensuring that all of our events are inclusive and accessible for all participants. Van Alen Institute is on the ground floor and ADA-accessible. If you require accommodations or have any questions about access needs, please email vai@vanalen.org and we will do our best to support your participation.

​When you attend this event, you enter an area where photography, audio, and video recording may occur. By entering the event premises, you consent to such recording media and its release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction.