CAMBRIDGE, MASS.- The MIT List Visual Arts Center announced the 2025 Max Wasserman Forum: Visions of Sustainability, taking place on April 5, 2025, at the MIT List Visual Arts Center in Cambridge, MA. This year’s Forum will focus on climate change and sustainability within arts institutions, engaging artists, curators, and scholars in discussions on the transformative role of art in addressing environmental degradation, climate justice, and sustainable futures. Through a series of panel discussions and a keynote lecture, this year’s Wasserman Forum will explore the intersections of artistic practice, ecological advocacy, and cultural systems to reconsider how the arts can respond to the climate crisis.

Bringing together leading voices in contemporary art and environmental discourse, the 2025 Wasserman Forum will feature speakers including filmmaker and artist Adam Khalil, multidisciplinary artist Beatrice Glow, and architect and cultural organizer Sahar Qawasmi, among others. Panel discussions will address sustainability in museum and gallery practices, the role of artistic interventions in ecological activism, and innovative models for climate-conscious cultural production. Established in memory of Max Wasserman (MIT Class of 1935) and endowed through the generosity of the late Jeanne Wasserman, the biannual public forum serves as a vital space for dialogue on pressing issues in contemporary art and culture. The 2025 Max Wasserman Forum is free and open to the public. Advance registration is required.

Keynote address: Torkwase Dyson

Participating artists and scholars: Amy Balkin, Beatrice Glow, Stefanie Hessler, Adam Khalil, Janelle Knox-Hayes, Mae-ling Lokko, Lee Pivnik, Sahar Qawasmi, Jen de los Reyes, Nida Sinnokrot, Lan Tuazon, and Michael Wang

Full schedule of events

Human Traces: Adam Khalil, Nida Sinnokrot, and Lan Tuazon
April 5, 10:30–11:45 AM
Moderated by Mae-ling Lokko.

This panel explores how artists navigate landscapes of extraction, displacement, and ecological change within the context of colonialism and capitalism. Panelists will discuss cultural systems, histories of enclosure and dispossession, and pathways toward reparation and collective survival.

Advocacy Work: Lee Pivnik, Sahar Qawasmi, Jen de los Reyes
April 5, 1–2:15pm
Moderated by Janelle Knox-Hayes

Artists utilizing social practice and activism to create solutions for climate change will share insights into their community-driven initiatives. This discussion will examine how participatory collaborations generate new pathways for environmental advocacy.

Rethinking Cultural Systems: Amy Balkin, Beatrice Glow, Michael Wang
April 5, 2:45–4:15pm
Moderated by Stefanie Hessler

Exploring the impact of cultural production, museum collections, and conservation methods on the environment, this panel will highlight innovative approaches to provenance research, sustainable art practices, and institutional accountability in response to climate change.

Keynote Address: Torkwase Dyson
April 5, 4:30–5:30pm

Renowned artist Torkwase Dyson will deliver the keynote lecture, offering a powerful perspective on the intersections of ecology, infrastructure, and Black spatial liberation strategies. Dyson’s work explores how space is perceived and negotiated, particularly by Black and Brown communities, and examines the relationship between art, environmental justice, and the climate crisis.

The Max Wasserman Forum on Contemporary Art was established in memory of Max Wasserman (MIT Class of 1935), a founding member of the Council for the Arts at MIT. This public Forum was endowed through the generosity of the late Jeanne Wasserman and addresses critical issues in contemporary art and culture through the participation of renowned scholars, artists, and arts professionals. The Forum is organized and presented by the MIT List Visual Arts Center.