MassArt to Host “Universal Rights?: A Dialogue,” Exploring Art, Visual Culture, and Human Rights

ABOUT THE PANELISTS:

Banu Cennetoğlu (b. 1970, Ankara) is an Istanbul-based visual artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans photography, installation, film, and printed matter, with a sustained focus on how information is produced, circulated, and politically instrumentalized. Her work often takes the form of accumulative archives—such as lists, newspapers, and personal data collections—that expose the structures, omissions, and power dynamics embedded in systems of knowledge.

Since 2007, Cennetoğlu has been developing The List in collaboration with UNITED for Intercultural Action, an Amsterdam-based network and NGO in support of migrants and refugees. The work is a collection of data about thousands of immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees who died on their way to or at the border of the EU since 1993. It is presented in multiple forms, including posters, billboards, newspaper supplements, and public screens, in various cities around the world.The List featured data about 7,128 individuals when first exhibited in Amsterdam in 2007. As of May 2018, it includes 34,361 cases. Cennetoğlu does not consider the project “an art piece”; she does not edition it, sell it or sign it.

04.09.2014, 2014: In the early 2010s, Cennetoğlu started creating bound collections of daily newspapers printed in one day and has produced different editions of this work in several countries, including Turkey, Switzerland, and Germany. The work offers a juxtaposition of information in an unconventional way, and questions the politics of representation through print media

Sarah Elizabeth Lewis is the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities and Associate Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University and the founder of Vision & Justice. A widely recognized scholar of art, culture, and race, Lewis has authored and edited more than 60 publications, including The Unseen Truth, winner of the American Book Award, and the bestselling The Rise. Her work explores the role of narrative in shaping society and advancing equity, bringing her scholarship into national and global conversations on racial justice. Lewis has organized landmark Vision & Justice convenings, founded a book series to expand the canon of lens-based artists, and curated major exhibitions, including If Emmett Till Lived: Freedom on American Ground, opening in 2026. A former curator at The Museum of Modern Art and Tate Modern, Lewis has also served as a critic at the Yale University School of Art. Her TED Talk, Embrace the Near Win, has reached millions worldwide. She has received numerous honors, including the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship and the Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography, and was named to the 2026 TIME magazine “Closers” list, recognizing 18 extraordinary Black leaders working toward greater equality.

Ali Noorani is president and CEO of the Barr Foundation, following leadership roles at the Hewlett Foundation’s U.S. Democracy Program and 14 years at the National Immigration Forum. Across the range of issues he has explored over his career, Ali’s work centers on developing unique relationships and supporting innovative leaders to advance common sense solutions that help communities thrive. He carries that conviction into his writing, including There Goes the Neighborhood and Crossing Borders, and into his board roles on Welcome.US and as board chair of More in Common Global.

Dr. Mary K. Grant has been President of Massachusetts College of Art and Design since 2021. As President of MassArt, Dr. Grant is deeply committed to raising both the College’s institutional profile and the importance of art, design, and making as ways to address society’s most complex issues. Dr. Grant has served as President of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and Chancellor of the University of North Carolina Asheville. She was also the President of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate and led the Martin Richard Institute for Social Justice at Bridgewater State University. President Grant serves on a number of boards and advisory committees including the National Board of Directors of Campus Compact, a national coalition of colleges and universities committed to advancing the public purposes of higher education, is Vice Chair of the Board for the Norman Rockwell Museum, and a regular contributor on GBH’s “The Culture Show” with Jared Bowen. President Grant has received numerous awards for her leadership and service, including the Pinnacle Women’s Leadership Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Gaurasci Award for Presidential Civic Leadership and holds honorary doctorates from Williams College, Eastern Connecticut State University, and MCLA.

MEDIA CONTACT

Kara Westhoven, Senior Communications Manager, MassArt
kwesthoven@massart.edu