The Graduate Forum
an interdisciplinary forum at New York University
Abby McEwen
Abby McEwen is a graduate student at the Institute of Fine Arts. She is currently in the beginning stages of research for her dissertation on the cultural politics of abstraction in Cuba in the mid-twentieth century and the ideology of its avant-garde. Abby's other research interests include the early work of Brazilian conceptual artist Cildo Meireles and the trans-Atlantic culture of early republican Cuba in the 1920s and 1930s.
Abby's reflections on her experience in the forum
"It has been a true privilege to belong to the Graduate Forum and to engage with such a bright, committed, and intellectually curious group of people every month. For me, the most rewarding part of the Forum has been the opportunity to talk to people outside of my discipline about the nature and commonalities of academic life and research across fields. The Forum provides an amazingly open intellectual space in which learning and ideas are taken seriously, and that freedom to speak honestly and without fear has been a great luxury. It is rare to have such a thoughtful, friendly audience as that of the Forum, one that invests itself fully in the topic and interrogates its questions and methodologies with such care. I am constantly fascinated by the research of my colleagues and the passion that they bring to their work, and our monthly eetings are often a great inspiration: what better motivation for one's own work than the innovative and fascinating projects of nine rather extraordinary colleagues!"