The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art commemorates its 165th school year with The Cooper Union: A Work in Progress, a block-long timeline exhibition celebrating the institution’s sustained position at the intersection of education and sociopolitical change. A Work in Progress will be on view in the east side colonnade windows of the landmark Foundation Building.

Opening Reception
Wednesday, May 7 at 5 pm
The Cooper Union Library
Join exhibition curator David Gersten for a celebration and conversation.

About the exhibition:
From its founding in 1859, The Cooper Union has been the site of speeches that changed the course of history, a meeting place for political organizers, and a haven for some of the nation’s greatest activists. The Cooper Union: A Work in Progress highlights The Cooper Union’s 165-year history of fostering social change and invites us to reflect on ways to meet the pressing issues of today. 

Curated by David Gersten, director of interdisciplinary learning, with Cooper Union’s faculty, staff, archivists, and students, the exhibition details the institution’s legacy through a timeline highlighting significant world events, sociopolitical movements, pedagogical innovations, and the physical evolution of its campus. The exhibition draws on four of Cooper’s archival repositories: The Cooper Union Archives & Special Collections, the Voices from the Great Hall digital platform, The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture Archive, and the Herb Lubalin Center for Design and Typography. Together the materials in these collections chronicle historic moments of sociopolitical change and their connection to Cooper’s educational mission. 

The Cooper Union’s activist legacy—civil rights, voter’s rights, gender equality, labor rights, and responses to the ongoing crises of war—clearly resonates today. As we mark our 165th anniversary, we are reminded of the reciprocal relationship between education, social movements, and community engagement. This exhibition invites us to celebrate our history of action and dialogue and allows it to galvanize us, in the face of contemporary crises, to envision and fight for a more just future.