Professor Anna Campbell has been selected for the Social Architecture Cohort for NEW INC, a cultural incubator run by the New Museum in New York. During the yearlong program, Campbell will be working on two site-specific research-based bodies of art.
Against Our Erosion is a multi-year art project to engage with the environment, history, and people that define the People’s Beach at Jacob Riis Park, a critical site for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. A former hospital and stone jetty bordering the beach once offered privacy, but in 2023 the hospital was torn down and the jetty was buried in sand, leaving the beach exposed. In response, community members led by trans women of color have organized to preserve the beach for those who have relied on it as a safe space.
Latent Erotics in the Archive: Queer Histories of Remembering is a research-based visual art project on archival practices and collections across the case studies of three London archives and the remains of queer nightlife and bar culture in the city of London itself, considering each as unique repositories for queer histories but also queerly erotic sites in their own right. The project focusses on latent erotics across two channels: elements of queer culture that have or have not been able to be captured in archives; and encounters with archival holdings that are mediated through ritual and the use of custom gear.
As a NEW INC member, Campbell will be working in community with artists, designers, activists and entrepreneurs to develop this work. They look forward to innovating strategies for art that addresses public spaces, amplifying under-recognized publics, and prioritizing audience engagement in the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea.