Author Archives: Mechthild Schmidt Feist

Shanghai Jewish Refugee Quarter – NYU-SPS Presentation

Thank you to NYU-SPS, Karen Krahulik, and Milos Bujisic for inviting me to present the final results of my project “Involuntary Journeys II: Mapping the History of the Vanishing Shanghai Jewish Refugee Quarter” at the ‘SPS Thought Leadership Day’ on December 8 – along with my dear colleagues Chyng Sun and Sean Hennessey! 

It was through the SPS sabbatical and NYU Global Research Initiative that I was able to spend last spring semester as a Resident Research Artist at the Jewish Museum Berlin and NYU Berlin to finalize the mapping on the ‘Jewish Places’ site. Take a look – and scroll down for the many thank yous I owe!

Screenshot

Involuntary Journeys 2

Zoom talk, Feb 9, 2025,

Thank you to Connecticut College Art Gallery Curator Julia Wintner and Hillary Stern of Temple Bnai Israel (CT) for organizing and moderating the talk. We had great interest with an audience of 50!

Mapping the History of the Vanishing Shanghai Jewish Refugee QuarterZoom Talk Feb 9, 2025.

The second part of her ‘Involuntary Journeys’ mapping series is built on empathy and resilience – still relevant for today’s refugee crises. She researches the little-known history of about 20,000 Jews escaping the Germany of her grandparents to Shanghai between 1934 to 1941 – and their continued escape from that city in the late 1940-ies. At an initial stay in Shanghai she documented the few remaining old streets, and continued to research further historical data, newspaper, and photo sources as a research fellow at NYU Tel Aviv at archives in Israel. This Spring 2025 Mechthild is a Research Artist at both NYU Berlin and the Berlin Jewish Museum Archive to contribute with her work to their online mapping project “Jewish Lives”.

Zoom Talk

“When There Were No Borders and Maps” 

November 22, 2024  to  March 7, 2025

Exhibition of Interactive Mapping Stories + Prints by Mechthild Schmidt Feist

Lalbagh Treestory, Triptych

Works shown:

Lalbagh Treestory series, Life 2.0 series, Involuntary Journeys series

The Art Gallery, Eastern Connecticut State University, 83 Windham St., Willimantic, CT 06226, Curator: Julia Wintner

Involuntary Journeys 2 – Mapping the History of the Vanishing Shanghai Jewish Refugee Quarter

A research poster and talk at New York University – SPS (April 26, 2024) of several years of inquiry in archives and meetings in China, Israel, USA, and Germany (ongoing).

Map overlays of Archival + Google Earth - plus periodicals materials
Shanghai Jewish Quarter research

Tate Modern, LATES

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‘Generative Art Summit’ Akademie der Künste, Berlin, July 3-6

I am honored to be invited to speak and show my work at the ‘Generative Art Summit’, Akademie der Künste, Berlin with the accompanying exhibition at the Institut Heidersberger in Wolfsburg. My thanks go to Susanne Paech of the Herbert W. Franke Foundation for the successful preparation of the conference.

Please join me on July 3 at 2:20pm for our panel ‘Woman in a Man’s World’ with esteemed colleagues Joan Truckenbrod and Catherine Mason (Moderator) – and stay for all other panels!

Explore the summit program, my artist tribute ‘Shadow Generator’ with interviews + fellow artists below:

July 5, 3pm, Vernissage Wolfsburg

“Code – Kunst- Konstruktionen” – the Foundation’s Collection Franke & Friends, Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg – Institut Heidersberger

‘Zeitgeister’ Gallery events, screening, discussions

One of the ‘Zeitgeister’ events at Inselgalerie was the November screening of Angela Zumpe’s film of the same name. She interviewed the artists of the exhibition – all former students or professors in the late 1970-ies – to reflect on their art, ideas, and illusions of the past 40 years.

M Schmidt Feist + her art work
‘Involuntary Journeys 1’ print. Interactive setup across the room.
Inv J ia Monitor setup
‘Involuntary Journeys 1’.Interactive setup.
exhibiting artists
exhibiting artists

Quantel Paintbox Pioneer Artists- 50 years

After a May show in Leicester, the exhibition opens December 6 at the Computer Arts Society London.

Featuring the work of: JenniferBartlett, Richard Bernstein, Chiara Boeri, April Greiman, Richard Hamilton, Martin Holbrook, Ellen & Lynda Kahn AKA TwinArt, Lea Lubun, Kim Mannes-Abbott, Stephen Partridge, Kiki Picasso, John Sanborn, Mechthild Schmidt Feist, Herve Télémaque, Adrian Wilson, Dean Winkler and Brandon Wisecarver

A big Thank you to Adrian Wilson and Computer ArtsSociety London for curating this exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Quantel. Thank you for choosing my work! Quantel Paintbox was a marvel to create with!

‘How Quantel’s Paintbox Changed Our World’ December 6, 2023 – February 2024, BCS Moorgate, London

‘Involuntary Journeys’ part of ‘Zeitgeister’ show at Inselgalerie Berlin (opens Nov 16, 2023)

My interactive work ‘Involuntary Journeys’ (print + Google Earth-based) will show in Berlin from November 16 to January 6. 

The group show ZEITGEISTER opens November 16 at Inselgalerie Berlin. 

18:00 Zeitgeister, a film by Angela Zumpe – 19:00 Reception> Teaser 

Participating artists: Martin Assig • Hans Jürgen Diehl • Christion Ebel • Sabine Noll
Wolfgang Petrick • Mechthild Schmidt-Feist • Jan Sobottka
Susanne Specht • ter Hell • Barbara Quandt • Angela Zumpe

Tribute to Herbert W. Franke

A ‘Thank You’ along with condolences to Susanne Paech who curated a digital Art + NFT Tribute to her late husband and computer graphics pioneer Herbert Franke. The ‘Foundation Herbert W. Franke’ asked artists to contribute work in his spirit to this inaugural fundraising exhibit. Proceeds will be used to preserve decades of historical computer artwork. I am honored to be one of the invited artists. https://www.tribute-hwf.com/.

Shadow generator under a Blue Moon. Light drawing + generative photography:

Mechthild Schmidt Feist

‘Involuntary Journeys’ – NFT at Artlabb

• Inv J - Pieta

SPS Meta – ArtLabb NFT exhibition

‘Involuntary Journeys’ – NFT at Artlabb

Fall 2022:

Involuntary Journeys as NFT and

Involuntary Journeys in the METAVERSE exhibition VR WSPark – Washington Square Park.

TreeTalk – Engaged Media: Lalbagh TreeStory (EVA22-London)

Thank you to EVA22/London for inviting me to speak + for posting everyone’s recording on YouTube.(July 8, 2022) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JliRss3u1s&list=PLENJb8nmAr0g6iXoBoMd5NzUcZogt1EQn&index=5

SPARKS Talk: Environmental Issues, Sustainability, Climate Change

Thank you to Pat Badani and Bonnie Mitchell from our Siggraph Digital Arts community for curating and moderating the SPARKS Talk on Environmental Issues, Sustainability, Climate Change. I was happy to present with fellow artists Aviva Rahmani, Carmen Gil Vrolijk, Victoria Vesna and Siddharth Ramakrishnan, Rejane Spitz, Leanne Elias, Julieta Aguilera, and Don Ritter. (March 26, 2021).

Follow this link to projects + recording!

‘Engaged Media’ meets ‘Art in Transit’

Lalbagh metro installation mockupDespite Corona cutting into my Fulbright grant, the 14 weeks in India are still growing in my thoughts.
I am thankful to Arzu Mistry and Natasha Sharma from Srishti Art Institute and Art in Transit Bangalore for publishing the path to my project: ‘Engaged Media’ meets ‘Art in Transit’. (May 1, 2020). Read it here: https://medium.com/art-in-transit/engaged-media-meets-art-in-transit-4202bef43f5c

INDIA Blog 3 (Feb + March)

Scroll down to jump to any of the 5 pages:

  1. Mysore
  2. Fulbright Conference + Kerala Backwaters
  3. Lalbagh Garden and Metro
  4. TreeStory project
  5. Corona and Epilogue

My last batch of entries was a month ago. Since then, so much has happened, and I am afraid my current situation tints earlier days – I try not to + write in present tense (tense is alright!). So much happened around, before, after and in parallel to my research and project prep (which I get to at the end)

I start with a few small but beautiful interactions: Srishti has a system of ‘Master Classes’ or guest lectures. I already wrote about my first talk. This month I was invited to Vasanthi’s Film Art history class to present my work. Later I conducted 2 sessions with our class and a group interested in mapping and animating.

Then Petja and Elena from Ljubljana arrived as my new roommates for a 10-day workshop. We were instant soul mates. Elena’s art installations and Petja’s clothing line are beautiful environmentally conscious work. A side note of utter serendipity: what are the chances of Apsara, a friend of a friend in NY to equally live a few minutes from me in NY AND in Bangalore – AND is friends with Petja and Elena from Ljubljana? Love it!  Ok – next topic:

MYSORE

MYSORE Palace
The 19th century opulent Mysore Palace

On a breather from my work + in search of Mughal architecture and temples I go on an overnight trip to Mysore, once a south-Indian capital. While the most famous monument is the opulent 19th century Mysore palace, my favorite was the late 18th century Summer Palace of Tipu Sultan outside Mysore in Srirangapatna. Unassuming from the outside, the green shades are hiding a treasure of paintings and carvings covering all outside walls. Beautiful arches open to a terrace and open courtyard. On the way back I reluctantly stopped at a bird sanctuary – and it was so beautiful, lush, and serene!

Tipu Sultan’s 18th cent Summer Palace. Architecture with grace + lace.

Curious, I followed up with a visit to Tipu’s Bangalore summer palace – but it pales in comparison.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

INDIA Blog 2 (Jan-Feb)

CONTENT: You can jump to these 5 pages (links at bottom)

  • 1- Jaipur + Literature Festival
  • 2- Mughal Architecture + water preservation
  • 3- Barefoot College + Off-the-grid solar energy in Tilonia (if you only have 1 minute, jump to the women singing here!
  • 4- Many Barefoot College projects + a special birthday
  • 5- First weeks in February – closing in on a project

Jaipur

January 22 – 27   –  Jaipur Literature Festival

We have the afternoon, so Sammi (Bangalore), Mike (Delhi) and I go on a first excursion to City Palace. Behind thick walls is the most graceful, ornate and light Mughal architecture – now serving as a museum (We did not go see the private quarters). By night most of the 9 Fulbrighters had arrived in our AirBnB. So nice to put faces to the names.  The next days are a mix of Literature Festival + Visual culture/craft.

JLF – Jaipur Literature Festival

JLF – Jaipur Literature Festival starts with Indian music before sessions on literature, politics – and for me: Climate. Most panelists are Indian, giving me a chance to hear an Indian perspective on a number of topics. Over the weekend the festival swells to thousands cramming the venues, artisan craft bazaar, food stands. The Masala Chai is a favorite!

Food comes in natural, recyclable pressed-leaf bowls and bamboo spoons – no plastic!

I was surprised by the strong female voice in the Kashmir session, the charismatic Oxford mathematician in the AI + Creativity session – but underwhelmed by the Brit + Euro-centric session on Populism and Authoritarianism. The book tent was pleasantly overcrowded. The Art Book fair in the old city was an alt-event for beautiful self-published work and small galleries.

Two Climate sessions stood out for me:

THE UNINHABITABLE EARTH with David Wallace-Wells, John Lanchester, Marcus Moench and Navroz K. Dubash in conversation with Prem Jha had carefully placed urgent and pragmatic voices on the stage. I met David in NY after his Times article in 2017 + hope to invite him to NYU-SPS.

And on the final day: CLIMATE EMERGENCY with Dia Mirza, Renata Lok-Dessallien, Sonam Wangchuk, Apoorva Oza, Namita Waikar and Shubhangi Swarup in conversation with Samir Saran, Presented by United Nations India.

Sonam Wangchuk impressed me most with his crowdfunding and community initiatives. He left immediately – but the moderator connected us. I hope we get to speak while I am here in India. In the meantime, I delayed writing this blog because I am immersed in the beautiful language of another panelist: Latitudes of Longing  by Shubhangi Swarup, a lyrical novel connecting humans back to nature, water, animals and plants – and metaphysics. In fact, I am going back to the book right now. How pleasant research can be!

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

INDIA Blog 1 (Dec-Jan)

Rajasthan woman

As a Fulbright scholar I will spent 5 months in India – based at Srishti Institute of Art, Design + Technology. As part of my “Engaged Media” project, I will explore India-specific sustainability initiatives + the art/media methods used to convey them.

CONTENT: You can jump to these pages (links at bottom)

  • 1- Do you like my India?
  • 2- Auroville Sustainability projects.
  • 3- First weeks in Malleswaram + with Srishti + Fulbright colleagues

“Do you like my India?”

The woman who asked me with a bright smile seemed to have taken pity on me after I got yelled at profusely for a cultural misstep on my first day in India. Admiring the large Tamil temple in Chennai I had pointed my camera towards the interior of the main temple. I was too jet-lagged and un-nerved to think of a more beautiful reply and just said something like “I will find out – it is my first day”. I later wished I had said that SHE made my day beautiful. (Chennai, December 11, 2019)

Bangalore Initiation Rites

Bangalore traffic

Day 2 in India brought me to the sheltered grounds of a charming if aging resort in Velahanka, in the north of Bangalore near Srishti art school, my academic base as a Fulbright-Nehru scholar.

The next day I met Arzu, my art + faculty contact/collaborator, who introduced me to a large number of faculty, all very welcoming and curious about my project. When Arzu left for her ‘Art in Transit’ project in the city, I settled into my desk + started to figure out who to turn to for the many arrival logistics from housing to FRRO (foreigner) registration + Indian SIM card. Well – to make a long story short: hurdles all around. But in hindsight, they all got solved (maybe I indulge in a long “getting an Indian SIM story”). Well, since I can only move into my guest apartment room on Jan 6, I decided to spend the time looking at sustainability projects (+ breath fresh air, listen to birds, eat organic food) in Auroville, the experimental, spiritual community near the coast.

But first things first: I attended the Srishti “Radical City” conference Dean Pithamber had invited me to. I enjoyed 2 days of varying urban theories, political + philosophical voices on re-evaluating a livable and sustainable city. The conference was back-to-back with the thesis exhibits and student projects of the Nov-Dec ‘Interlude’ workshops. Among the excellent exhibits was a First Year Master’s exploration of a Bangalore neighborhood with conceptual designs of sustainability improvements. On Sunday I was surprised to find so many Srishti faculty and staff visiting the “Art in Transit” projects in several subway stations. My new colleague Manjari took me under her wings and offered me a ride into the city (a trying 1-hour stop+go, lane-weaving (what lane??) odyssey to cover a mere 23 km on pollution + car-choked throughways. This was my 3rd time in the city. – Twice before I met Arzu to see her work-in-progress, try for a SIM + explore her own leafy neighborhood.

Arzu at her team's mud+ water mural project
Arzu at her team’s mud+ water mural project at Cubbon Park Metro station

Well, the journey was worth it. Of the many projects I want to just mention the largest, Arzu’s + her Art-In-Transit class’s mural on a rediscovery of ancient water-harvesting techniques – all built from local mud (in distinct colors) with engaging graphic + typographic overlays. Find a thorough description here. (Bangalore December 12-22)

At ‘Art In Transit’ with my new colleagues Manjari and Arzu (right)
Pages: 1 2 3

Selected Talks after 2011

2019         Involuntary Journeys. Interactive Storytelling on a Mapping Platform, ISEA (International Symposium on Electronic Art), Gwangju, South Korea (June) > see also post on Home page

 2019           Shanghai maps of light + shadow. Zustandsbericht, Talk at Fudan University Shanghai, China (June) > see also post on Home page

2018         Engaged Media –Art Spaces to Art sites to Public Spaces, EVA Berlin, Germany (Nov) > see also post on Home page

2017         Engaged Media: Storytelling Project in a Greek Refugee Center, NYU SPS (Dec) > see also post on Home page

2015         Engaged Media – Building ethical awareness, Talk at Sound Image Data conference (SID), NYU, New York, (July) > see Home page

 2015         Die Bauhausbühne und ihr Bezug zum digitalen Raum. Schlemmers Stabtanz im digitalen  Kontext, Designforum Dessau: University Anhalt-Dessau/Bauhaus, Germany (April 29) > see Home page

 2015       (S-E Asia Series) “Engaged Media”, Artist Talk and Senior Student Meetup, Assumption University/School of    Communication Arts/Department of CGI, Bangkok, Thailand (March13)

                 “Engaged Media”, Artist Talk with Tamiko Thiel at Sàn Art Gallery, HCMC , Vietnam  (March 7)

         “Engaged Media”, Lecture, Interactions Lecture Series at the NTU School of Art, Design and    Media, Singapore. (Feb 4)

2014        DAAD Alumni Association USA, Presentation RISE Scholars, Heidelberg, Germany (July)

2013        Introduction + workshop Second Life, NYU Tisch ITP ‘summer camp’ (June 24 + 25)

2012        Interactive Technologies for Teaching and Learning. Faculty Resource Network, NYU (June 12)

2011Mirror Garden 3: Twist, Turns and the Myth of Flying, Sculpting and Building in Second Life (Installation and Workshop), ISEA (International Symposium on Electronic Art ), Istanbul, Sabanci University, Turkey

Involuntary Journeys – Artist Talk at ISEA, S. Korea

Gwangju, South Korea, June 25, 2019. “Involuntary Journeys – Interactive Storytelling on a Mapping Platform Artist Talk at the ISEA2019 (International Symposium on Electronic Art) http://isea2019.isea-international.org/

‘Shanghai maps of light + shadow’, at Fudan University and Center for Jewish Studies

Shanghai, May 31 and June 5, 2019.

Demonstrating project research on Zhoushan Road at Fudan University.

At CJSS with (l to r): Consul A. Braverman (Israel), Consul M. Hallensleben (Germany), Prof. M. Schmidt Feist, Prof Dr. Pan Guang, J.Erling (correspondent DieWelt), M. Golth and B.Gerstl (Austrian Service Abroad)

As an NYU GRI fellow (Global Research Initiative) at NYU Shanghai, I was invited to a talk at Fudan University by Dr. Sakine Weikert and Dean Li to present the work-in-progress of ‘Shanghai maps of light + shadow’, an interactive mapping project on Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. For the same project I met with Professor Prof. Pan Guang, at the Center for Jewish Studies Shanghai (CJSS) at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

See also NYU articles:

Mechthild Schmidt Feist Clinical Professor, Department of Applied Undergraduate Studies, School of Professional Studies Faculty Fellows

“Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (May 27 – June 20, 2019)” 

https://shanghai.nyu.edu/fellowship/mechthild-schmidt-feist

“DAUS Professor Mechthild Schmidt Feist Continues Her ‘Engaged Media’ Series” (Nov.14, 2019)

https://www.sps.nyu.edu/homepage/academics/divisions-and-departments/division-of-applied-undergraduate-studies/highlights/2019/daus-professor-mechthild-schmidt-feist-engaged-media-series.html

Involuntary Journeys – interactive maps + prints

Involuntary Journeys – Khairul, interrupted childhood

“Involuntary Journeys” traces the arduous paths of refugees I worked with on Lesbos. Part of an installation of dual projections of Google Earth paths and poetic overlays. Views of the enriched Google Earth story.

A blog with all stories, searchable by age + gender etc is on this Wix site: https://mschmidtfeist.wixsite.com/involuntaryjourneys

Download the Google Earth path of the Rohingya Khairul here.

Download THIS .kmz file to follow the journey of a Syrian Painter ‘M’ from damascus. And watch under ‘Latest Project’ and ‘videos/engaged media’ on this site.

Update August 2020: I am happy to be part of the Siggraph digital arts show curated by Kathy Rae Huffman “Digital Power: Activism, Advocacy and the Influence of Women Online” – as everything this corona year online for all.

  • To come on August 13 2021: Siggraph Digital Arts panel curated by Kathy Rae Huffman on ‘Decoloniality’. Find it under ‘Digital Power’. It’s a live streaming event!

L.E.S.S. – Engaged Media at EVA Berlin (Nov 7-9)

L.E.S.S. will be at the  EVA (Electronic + Visual Arts) Conference Berlin 2018.

 

Th Nov 8 .: Installation+ Projection L.E.S.S.

Fr Nov 9. 4:20pm  ‘Engaged media – Building Ethical Awareness from Art spaces to Art sites to Public spaces.’

Kulturforum Berlin, Matthäikirchplatz 8, 10785 Berlin, WWW.EVA-BERLIN.DE

NEW GERMAN FILM IN NEW YORK: from the 60s to the 90s.

Top: panelists are framed by DAAD Alumni Board member R. Morewedge and Goethe Institut Director Georg Blochmann.
Bottom: Panelists Ingrid Scheib-Rothbart, Kathinka Dittrich van Weringh, Laurence Kardish with moderator Mechthild Schmidt Feist (left)
with Ingrid Scheib-Rothbart, Kathinka Dittrich van Weringh, Laurence Kardish. Moderated by Mechthild Schmidt Feist

March 28, 7:00pm Goethe-Institut New York, 30 Irving Place
https://mailchi.mp/7dab6070bba0/ingrid-scheib-rothbart?e=40b0eba929


The Goethe-Institut, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the DAAD Alumni Association are pleased to invite you to New German Film in New York: From the 60s to the 90s, an evening in honor of longtime Goethe-Institut film programmer and DAADAA 2018 Award for International Exchange recipient Ingrid Scheib-Rothbart. After World War II the newly established Goethe House New York emerged as a cultural mediator between a defeated Germany and the United States, starting a transatlantic cultural dialogue that would lead to a new mutual understanding. In the 1960s, the Goethe-Institut started introducing to New Yorkers a new generation of German filmmakers who sought to confront the country’s Nazi past and build a new civil society: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog, Volker Schlöndorff, Margarethe von Trotta, and Wim Wenders, to name just a few. To present these filmmakers to a wider audience, Scheib-Rothbart forged long-lasting ties with major New York cultural organizations including the Museum of Modern Art, the Jewish Museum, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Film Forum, Anthology Film Archives, local universities, and many others.   


PROGRAM

7:00pm  Welcome and introductions by Georg Blochmann, Executive Director, Goethe-Institut New York; Benedikt Brisch, Director, DAAD North America; and Eric Haratsch, President DAADAA USA
7:15pm Conversation with Kathinka Dittrich van Weringh, former Program Director, Goethe-Institut New York; Laurence Kardish, former Senior Curator, Department of Film, Museum of Modern Art; and Ingrid Scheib-Rothbart. Moderated by Mechthild Schmidt Feist, New York University
8:15pm 
Q&A session

8:30pm Reception

Engaged Media Project: Involuntary Journeys –

In July 2017 I set out to map their journeys with refugees stranded on Lesbos, using Google Earth in the best of cases – or paper when WiFi or media did not cooperate. I planned to add photos or related short notes at each station. Their stories became so much more:

My blog on the journeys, challenges, resilience – and hopes that are so very similar to your own. As one refugee wrote: Only Human.

You can access the Blog directly (+ check back as new stories get added):

https://mschmidtfeist.wixsite.com/involuntaryjourneys

or via its Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/InvoluntaryJourneys/