Naomi Natale, the Artistic Director of the Art of Revolution, will deliver the sixth annual Da Vinci Lecture Friday, Sept. 25, at Marshall University.
The lecture, which is free to the public, is called “The Art of Revolution.”
“Her focus is quite different from our previous speakers, but just as timely and impactful,” said Dr. Nicki LoCascio, interim dean of the MU Honors College. “I am looking forward to welcoming Naomi to Marshall.”
The lecture will take place at 7 p.m. in Marshall’s Visual Arts Center in downtown Huntington. The sixth annual Da Vinci luncheon, for faculty and staff, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, beginning at 11:30 a.m., in the John Marshall Dining Room inside the Memorial Student Center on the Huntington campus.
Natale is the Artistic Director of the Art of Revolution, a project that uses art to enact social change. With an art degree from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Natale uses her skills in photography and installation art – described as art that is created, constructed, or installed on the site where it is exhibited, often incorporating materials or physical features on the site – to change the world.
Natale is a TED Senior Fellow who raises awareness and funds for social justice. In 2008, she founded and directed The Cradle Project, raising $90,000 through an art exhibit that shed light on the estimated 48 million children affected by disease and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 550 cradles were created and submitted by artists from around the world.
She also is known for One Million Bones, an art installation featured in Washington, D.C., that brought attention to international victims of ongoing genocide. One Million Bones was a three-and-a-half-year social practice that resulted in over one million bones displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as a symbolic mass grave and visual petition against ongoing genocide and mass atrocities.
Natale has been a featured author for The Huffington Post, has spoken at global TED conferences, and continues to be awarded for her work. In addition to her TED fellowships, she was awarded the Carl Wilkens Fellowship in 2010 and the Professional Achievement Award by her alma mater in 2009.
The DaVinci Lecture is sponsored by Marshall University’s Office of the Provost, the Honors College and Phi Kappa Phi.
