Award-winning, internationally renowned artists and writers will headline the 2024-25 Oxy Live! Speaker Series.
The flagship series, curated by OXY ARTS, brings a diverse lineup of cultural luminaries to Occidental College’s campus in Eagle Rock. Tickets for all Oxy Live! events will soon be available on the Oxy Live! website.
The first event, hosted in partnership with LAist, will feature visual artist Tavares Strachan on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 7:00 p.m. in the College’s Thorne Hall. Strachan will speak about his award-winning work, including his sculpture “The Encyclopedia of Invisibility,” which features thousands of entries focused on historically marginalized individuals. The sculpture will be on display at OXY ARTS as part of the gallery’s collaboration with Getty’s “PST ART: Art and Science Collide,” Southern California’s landmark arts event.
This season’s slate of programming will also feature journalist and podcast host V Spehar, best known for their TikTok account “UnderTheDeskNews”; visual artist Ed Ruscha, whose “Now/Then” career retrospective exhibition is currently on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); boundary-breaking artist Miranda July, whose most recent book, “All Fours,” was published in May 2024; and theoretical physicist and writer Kip Thorne. Each speaker’s event will be hosted by acclaimed interviewer and cultural interlocutor Paul Holdengräber, the founder and director of The New York Public Library’s “Live from the NYPL” cultural series.
Founded in 2023, Oxy Live! is made possible by a generous gift from Occidental College trustee and alumna Lisa Coscino ’85 and ongoing support from the College’s Class of 1974. Previous speakers have included artist and activist ALOK, writer Rebecca Solnit, visual artist Julie Mehretu, and artist Laurie Anderson.
