Symposium: Art, Science, and the Nuclear Legacy

The nuclear age has left traces in landscapes, bodies, and communities across the globe—shaping our geopolitics, our environments, and the burdens carried across generations. This symposium brings together artists and nuclear experts to grapple with these consequences, drawing connections across science, policy, personal history, and creative practice.  

The morning session features Jim Walsh, a nuclear policy expert and senior research associate at MIT’s Security Studies Program who has testified before Congress and traveled to Iran and North Korea for diplomatic talks on nuclear issues, and David Richardson, an epidemiologist and associate dean for research at UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health whose research on cancer among nuclear workers and atomic bomb survivors has informed international radiation policy. Following a midday break to view Atomic Dragons in the Nichols and Lenzner Galleries, the afternoon brings members of SWANS together for a moderated conversation exploring the history behind the work. 

Coffee and a light lunch will be served.
 

This program is made possible by the Murray Pepper and Vicki Reynolds Pepper Distinguished Visiting Artist & Scholar Lecture Endowed Fund at Pitzer College.  

Image: Installation view: elin o’Hara slavick, Selection from There Have Been 528 Nuclear Tests to Date, 2022, 528 photo-chemical drawings on outdated and fogged silver gelatin paper, courtesy of the artist