Rachel Vera Steinberg is a curator based in New York City. Her work explores cultural mythmaking, the world-building methodologies found in science fiction, as well as political and historical distinctions between facts and fictions. Since the beginning of her career, she has focused primarily on the presentation of time-based media. Through her work in New York-based nonprofit institutions, she is committed to examining the roles of alternative art spaces and artistic agency. Her research on science fiction as an exhibition-making modality culminated in the group exhibition A faint hum at the Hessel Museum.
She is the curator and director of exhibitions at Smack Mellon in Brooklyn, NY, where she oversees the production of ambitiously scaled installations and exhibitions. She was the 2019–20 fellow at the Curatorial & Research Residency Program at the Julia Stoschek Collection in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she curated the exhibition JSC ON VIEW: MYTHOLOGISTS (2021–22). She was the director of SOHO20 Artists Inc from 2015–18 and the assistant director of NURTUREart Non-Profit Inc from 2010–15, where she founded exhibition- and event-based programs promoting time-based media and gender equity. She is the co-founder of Custom Program (2017–19), a micro-gallery in Brooklyn focusing on humor, irreverence and site specificity. Exhibitions that she has curated have been written about in Hyperallergic, Artsy, KUBA Paris, Brooklyn Magazine, Art F City and more. As an independent curator, she has curated exhibitions locally and internationally and spoken at universities throughout the US. She has an MA from Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies and a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY.
Courses
Fall 2024 Courses
CTC 3002-01 - COMPUTATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND CULTURE INTERDISCIPLINARY CRITIQUE
LevelUndergraduate
UnitExperimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Computation,Technology, and Culture
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
FormatSeminar
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
CTC 3002-01
COMPUTATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND CULTURE INTERDISCIPLINARY CRITIQUE
LevelUndergraduate
UnitExperimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Computation,Technology, and Culture
PeriodFall 2024
Credits3
FormatSeminar
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: T | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PMInstructor(s): Rachel SteinbergLocation(s): Waterman Building, Room 33Enrolled / Capacity: 15Status: Closed
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Computation, Technology, and Culture Interdisciplinary Critique is an advanced course for juniors, seniors, and graduate students who have already demonstrated a high level of commitment to pursuing art/design work that involves computational platforms, software systems, and digital technologies, and which explores associated histories, theories, and practices. In this course, students work on an individual project that incorporates research and theoretical exploration of a topic of their choice, with the aim of producing a refined body of work or large scale piece that advances their understanding of and practice with computation and technology. Students regularly meet individually with faculty and receive feedback in recurring group critiques. Additionally, seminar discussions are held focused on pertinent readings, screenings, and lectures. Successful completion of any CTC course or equivalent coursework is preferred, but not required.
Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00
Requirement | CTC Concentration
Elective
DM 7103-01 - MEDIA PERSPECTIVES: HISTORY OF MEDIA ART
LevelGraduate
UnitDigital + Media
Subject Digital + Media
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
FormatSeminar
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
DM 7103-01
MEDIA PERSPECTIVES: HISTORY OF MEDIA ART
LevelGraduate
UnitDigital + Media
Subject Digital + Media
PeriodFall 2024
Credits3
FormatSeminar
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: T | 1:10 PM - 4:10 PMInstructor(s): Rachel SteinbergLocation(s): Center for Integrative Technologies, Room 402Enrolled / Capacity: 15Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
In this historical survey, we analyze the aesthetic conventions, narratives, and formats of works in new media. We examine the impact digital technologies and new media have had on existing media, as well as the ways in which new media function as a unique system of communication. While investigating the aesthetic conventions, economic conditions and infrastructures that affect the production of new media, we address the social and political contexts in which new media are disseminated, interpreted and privileged. We make connections across decades by focusing on the recurring themes of language, futurism, simulation, hyper-reality, transnationality and information.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Digital + Media Graduate Students.
