Coco Fusco added to UF’s School of Art + Art History
August 3, 2015
The University of Florida College of the Arts is pleased to announce that interdisciplinary artist and writer Coco Fusco will join the faculty of the School of Art + Art History as a professor and Andrew Banks Family Endowed Chair in January 2016.
“Coco Fusco is a prolific interdisciplinary artist, writer and critic who exemplifies the importance the arts and culture have in framing the critical issues of our times,” said UF Provost Joseph Glover. “It is with great enthusiasm that we welcome her to our faculty.”
Fusco has performed, lectured, exhibited and curated around the world for nearly three decades. Her work explores the politics of gender, race, war and identity. Working in a variety of formats, she has staged multimedia productions incorporating large-scale projections, closed-circuit television, web-based live streaming performances with audience interaction, as well as performances at cultural events that actively engage with visitors.
“Coco Fusco is an artist of international repute who will greatly contribute to the School of Art + Art History and the College of the Arts’ mission of fostering creative activity, scholarly and artistic excellence and innovation across disciplines,” said Lucinda Lavelli, dean of the College of the Arts. “Her appointment is another tangible benefit of the essential role the arts play at the University of Florida.”
Fusco was MIT’s MLK Visiting Scholar for 2014-2015 and is the recipient of many prestigious awards. Through the years, her work has been shown at the Tate Liverpool, The Museum of Modern Art, The Walker Art Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona. Her most recent performance, “Observations of Predation in Humans: A Lecture by Dr. Zira, Animal Psychologist,” revives the character from “Planet of the Apes” to offer a commentary on contemporary forms of aggression that is supplemented by multimedia illustration.
“This position offers me a wonderful opportunity to join a vibrant intellectual and creative community and to advance my own research on contemporary Cuban culture,” said Fusco. “I am happy to see that the University of Florida provides such strong support to its arts students and faculty.”
She is an editor and author. Her new book, “Dangerous Moves: Performance and Politics in Cuba,” will be published in October by Tate Publications in London.
Fusco received her B.A. in semiotics from Brown University, her M.A. in modern thought and literature from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in art and visual culture from Middlesex University (2007). For more information about Fusco, visit cocofusco.com.
The School of Art + Art History is one of the University of Florida College of the Arts’ three institutionally accredited schools. The School of Art + Art History supports the College of the Arts’ mission of serving as an educational, professional and cultural resource in the visual arts for the campus, community, state and region.
The College of the Arts is one of the 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes at the University of Florida. To learn more, visit www.arts.ufl.edu.