SAVE THE DATE AND REGISTER NOW

Coral: Symbol, Substance,
and Significance

October 30 – 31, 2009
New York, NY

Coral is a comprehensive examination of this astonishing organism, exploring its place in both in the natural world and in the realm of culture, and considering what is being done to protect and preserve it. 

Beginning with the role of coral within the reef and the criticality of coral reefs to ocean ecology – and thus to human existence – we turn to forces threatening reef survival, and to efforts of scientists, governments, and nongovernmental organizations to protect and restore them. We address laws and treaties formulated to govern trade in coral, a substance that has been termed "too precious to wear." We examine coral in history, both its evolving associations over time and its traditional place in the wunderkammer, and explore its changing role and use in jewelry, art, and fashion, with specific discussion of the mimetic use of coral alternatives and the symbolic use of the coral motif as an inspiration. Initiatives in Art and Culture has a long-standing commitment to explorations of cultural patrimony and of art and ornament. In Coral, we again celebrate the object by placing it in the broadest possible context.

Among those who have agreed to speak are: Michael Kowalski, Chairman and CEO of Tiffany & Co.; Richard E. Dodge, professor and dean, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Oceanographic Institute and Executive Director of the Centers Coral Reef Institute (NCRI); Kacky Andrews, Director, Coral Reef Conservation Program, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Committee (NOAA); Michele Oka Doner, artist whose breadth of artistic production encompasses public art, sculpture, furniture, jewelry, and functional objects, a significant number of which draw inspiration from coral and the sea; Marilyn F. Cooperman, jeweler whose work often employs aquatic motifs; Amedeo Scognamiglio, jeweler, whose family has been based in Torre del Greco, a center of the creation of jewelry from seashells, corals and semiprecious stones; Stephen Dweck, jeweler whose work is inspired by minerals and a love for the natural world; Janie Schoenborn, design director, Lilly Pulitzer; David Wolfe, creative director and chief forecaster of Doneger and Co.; Sarah Graham, jeweler whose point of departure for her coral inspired work are plates in Ernst Haeckel’s Art Forms in Nature; Dawn Martin, president of SeaWeb; Andrew Baker, Assistant Professor of Marine Biology and Fisheries, University of Miami; Christine Dawson, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Géza von Habsburg, an art historian who has served as chairman of two auction houses and whose numerous publications include Princely Treasures (1997) and several definitive volumes on Fabergé; Godfrey Reggio, producer and director, who is prominent in the film world for his Qatsi trilogy (Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, and Naqqyqatsi) and for Anima Mundi, (music for all by Philip Glass) which convey a humanist philosophy about the earth; Barbara Best, Coastal Resources and Policy Advisor, Office of Natural Resources Management, Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade, U.S Agency for International Development; Ilze K. Berzins, Executive Vice President, Animal Health, Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium; Ken Nedimyer, Founder and President, Coral Restoration Foundation; Steve D'Esposito, president RESOLVE and formerly president, Earthworks Action; Rebecca Bratspies, Professor of Environmental Law, City University New York Law School; Billy Causey, Regional Director, Florida Keys National Sanctuary; Caleb McClennen, Director, Marine Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Society; Crawford Allan, Regional Director, TRAFFIC North America, World Wildlife Fund; and Mercer R. Brugler, Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Program, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

We are grateful for generous support received from Tiffany & Co., NOAA Coral Conservation Reef Program, SeaWeb, The Henry Foundation, The John G. Shedd Aquarium, The Louis and Lena Minkoff Foundation, The Magazine ANTIQUES, and The Exeter Group (as of 10/5/09).

To Register

To register on-line: go to: www.acteva.com/go/coral

By e-mail: Fill in the registration form and send to: lisa.koenigsberg@artinitiatives.com

Fax: Fill in the registration form, including credit card information, and dial (212) 935-6911.

By mail: Return form at least 10 days before the conference start date with a check or money order payable to Initiatives in Art and Culture or complete

the credit card information on the form, and mail to Initiatives in Art and Culture, 333 East 57th Street, Suite 13B, New York, NY 10022

By phone: Using American Express®, Discover®, Visa® Card, or MasterCard®, call (646) 485-1952.

Fee: The conference fee is $250; an early registration discount of $195 is available through October 23, 2009.  A discounted rate of $100 is available for full-time students with ID.  

Withdrawal and refunds: Notice of withdrawal must be made in writing to: Initiatives in Art and Culture, 333 East 57th Street, 13B, New York, NY 10022 or to the Program Office via email at lisa.koenigsberg@artinitiatives.com. No refunds after October 20, 2009.

Conference location: This conference is held at The City University Graduate Center (Fifth Ave. between 34th–35th Streets).

Program subject to change.

Illustrations (from top of page): Vibrant Living Corals & Reefs, Bright pink Stylasterid coral, Stylaster venustus; photo: ©Alberto Lindner/NOAA; courtesy, SeaWeb; Sarah Graham, Caged Coral and Flowering Coral Rings, Designs inspired by drawings of coral in Ernst Haeckel’s Art Forms in Nature, 18 K Yellow Gold and Blackened Steel, set with White and Cognac Diamonds. Photo: Hap Sakwa; Michele Oka Doner, Coral Reef Bracelet, 2007, bronze and diamonds, 4 x 3 1/2 in. Photo by Sherry Griffin.

Download PDF brochure