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Columbia University’s premier art gallery. Free and open to the public Wed. through Sun, 12 noon-6pm, on 6th floor of the Lenfest Center for the Arts.

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Five stills from Allan Sekula's 2006 film "The Lottery of the Sea", 179 minutes, color, sound. English, Spanish, Gallego with English subtitles. Camera, Writing, Voice: Allan Sekula. Editing: Elizabeth Hesik.

Screening on the afternoon of November 7, 2026, Allan Sekula’s "Lottery of the Sea" offers a portrait of maritime life in moving images. Filmed and narrated by the artist while traveling at sea and to ports including Panama City, Barcelona, Athens, and New York City, among others, the work is being shown in conjuction with the Wallach Art Gallery exhibition "Allan Sekula: Fish Story" and its meditations on maritime landscapes, mythologies of the sea, and globalization.

"The Lottery of the Sea" also addresses environmental disasters at sea with extended footage of the 2002 MV Prestige oil spill and subsequent clean up. Sekula described this meditative video montage as “a meandering, essayistic voyage from seaport to seaport, waterfront to waterfront, coast to coast.”

The screening is introduced by Alexander Alberro, Virginia Bloedel Wright '51 Professor of Art History, Barnard College, Columbia University.

Allan Sekula wrote the following about the film: "'The Lottery of the Sea' takes its title from Adam Smith, who, in his famous Inquiry into the 'Wealth of Nations' (1776) compared the life of the seafarer to gambling. Thus notions of risk were introduced by Smith through an allegory of the sea's dangers, especially for those who did the hard work, and then, secondarily, for those who invested in ships and goods.

The film asks, is there a relationship between the most frightening and terrifying concept in economics, that of risk and the category of the sublime in aesthetics? We know that the sea a primordial source of sublimity, especially in the 18th century.

This film is an offbeat diary extending from the presumably 'innocent' summer of 2001 through to the current 'war on terror' all by way of a meandering, essayistic voyage from seaport to seaport, waterfront to waterfront, coast to coast."

Register at wallach.columbia.edu/events or see Link in bio. #allansekula #fishstory #sekulastudio #lotteryofthesea #wallachartgallery taken in Lenfest Center for the Arts at Universty Columbia Manhattanville Campus by @wallachartgallery

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4 days ago

Thanks to all who attended the Preview of 'Allan Sekula: Fish Story" at Wallach Art gallery on October 1, 2026. The exhibition remains on view through December 20, 2026. #allansekula #fishstory #wallachartgallery #columbiauniversity #photographyexhibitions taken in Wallach Art Gallery by @wallachartgallery

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9 days ago

The Wallach Symposium "Revisiting Allan Sekula's Fish Story" takes place on Saturday, October 31, 2026.

Please join us from 1–4:30pm at the Lenfest Center for the Arts on Columbia University's Manhattanville campus for presentations by:

Gail Day, Professor of Art History and Critical Theory, University of Leeds

Steve Edwards, Manton Professor of British Art and Director of the Manton Centre for British Art, Courtauld

Joe Riley, Assistant Professor of Art, Reed College

Ben Young, Clinical Assistant Professor, HIDA School of Art, Arizona State University.

"Revisiting Allan Sekula's Fish Story"
Saturday, October 31, 1–4:30pm
The Lantern
Lenfest Center for the Arts | 8th Floor
629 W 129th Street New York, NY 10027

Visit wallach.columbia.edu/events for more information or to register

#allansekula #wallachartgallery #steveedwards #columbia #photographyexhibitions #photographysymposia #gailday taken in Wallach Art Gallery by @wallachartgallery

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18 days ago

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 conversations 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 on this Tuesday, September 29th event, or to register to attend, scan the QR code.

#committeeonglobalthought, #columbiaglobal, #wallachartgallery, #columbiauniversity, #vishakhadesai, #columbiauniversitypress taken in Pulitzer Hall by @wallachartgallery

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25 days ago

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 (10/2–12/20/2026) is the first time this seminal research-based photo essay is presented in New York in its entirety.

#allansekula, #photography, #wallachartgallery, #columbiauniversity, # taken in Wallach Art Gallery by @wallachartgallery

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25 days ago

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

#jasonfarago, #nytimes, #allansekula, #sekulastudios, #wallachartgallery, #columbiauniversity taken in Wallach Art Gallery by @wallachartgallery

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a month ago

Betty Blayton was the legendary Executive Director of The Children’s Art Carnival from 1969 - 1997. Today Sunday, September 13th is the last day to see the monumental exhibition curated by @souleouniverse @wallachartgallery featuring the works of artists that have a history with the career building non profit that still serves the creative community in Harlem.

I went back for a second visit yesterday and if you haven’t seen this show, don’t miss it.

@bettyblayton #contemporaryart #artliveshere taken in Lenfest Center for the Arts at Universty Columbia Manhattanville Campus by @wallachartgallery

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a month ago

The 2026 edition of Wallach Art Gallery's "Uptown Triennial" series is the first major exhibition to reveal the impact of the Children's Art Carnival on the work of contemporary artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Janet Olivia Henry, Dindga McCannon, Tschabalala Self, and Beverly Semmes.

"Children's Art Carnvial in Harlem: The Making of Contemporary Artists" is closing at 6 pm on Sunday, September 13, 2026.

Curated by Souleo, the exhibition features artworks by 30 former and current students, instructors, and interns at this seminal community art center, where creative freedom, experimentation, and communal bonds have flourished for over half a century.

A 1969 expansion of a Museum of Modern Art free outreach program, the Children's Art Carnival in Harlem was led from the start by the visionary artist Betty Blayton-Taylor (1937–2016), who, in 1974, transformed it into an independent nonprofit organization based in a brownstone on Hamilton Terrace.

Blayton-Taylor believed that individual expression, cultural awareness, and community were the basis of self-discovery, and this continues to guide the Carnival today.

"Children's Art Carnival: The Making of Contemporary Artists"

Through September 13, 2026

12 noon-6 pm Saturday and Sunday

Wallach Art Gallery
Lenfest Center for the Arts, 6th Floor
615 W 129th Street
New York, NY 10027

More info: wallach.columbia.edu taken in Wallach Art Gallery by @wallachartgallery

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a month ago

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 in our link in bio.

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

#Uptown2026 #ChildrensArtCarnival #WallachArtGallery #Harlem #ElisabethKley taken in Wallach Art Gallery by @wallachartgallery

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a month ago

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 in our link in bio.

#Uptown2026 #ChildrensArtCarnival #WallachArtGallery #Harlem #SanaMusasama taken in Wallach Art Gallery by @wallachartgallery

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Puppetry was frequently used within the Carnival's Creative Reading through the Arts program as a holistic approach to art education. Children not only created puppets, but also wrote a script, performed in, and even recorded their own puppet shows on video, leading to improved reading, vocabulary, and communication skills. The program also had an effect on its teaching artists, such as the puppeteer, Brad Brewer.

Translating his intuitive artmaking process into a clear and concise lesson plan challenged Brewer to think more critically about his own creative methods, further hone his mastery of foundational artmaking principles, and enhance how he communicated his thoughts on the art of puppetry. In an interview he once stated, "I consider myself still a student of puppetry and...every time I'm working with any audience, especially young people, I feel like I'm still learning:"

“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 in our link in bio.

Brad Brewer
The Duke, 1994
Foam rubber, ping pong balls, and fabric
Courtesy of the artist

This puppet, named after the jazz legend, Duke Ellington (a.k.a. The Duke), is from a production of Duke's Place, an original coming-of-age story featuring Ellington's music. The show was created and written by Brewer, founder of the Brewery Puppet Troupe, a groundbreaking all-Black puppet company he established in 1974.

#Uptown2026 #ChildrensArtCarnival #WallachArtGallery #BradBrewer #Harlem taken in Wallach Art Gallery by @wallachartgallery

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a month ago