SculptureCenter is pleased to present The University of Trash by Michael Cataldi and Nils Norman.

The University of Trash is an experiment in alternative architecture, urbanism, and pedagogy taking place in SculptureCenter's main space. Drawing from utopian ideals and radical urban projects undertaken since the 1960s the artists will create a large installation using entirely recycled and re-purposed materials. The University of Trash is a temporary, makeshift platform for discussing models of resistance and modes of action, hosting lectures, presentations, and workshops throughout the duration of the exhibition.

Working collaboratively with students, local organizations, activists, and academics, the artists have been gathering and researching material related to activities of the 1960s countercultural Appropriate Technology movement, adventure playgrounds, Non-plan, emergency and low-impact design, the vernacular of informal housing, and historical sites of activism. All materials used in the construction of the university - and its complex interconnected architectural spaces, pavilions, and walkways- are readymade, recycled, and found materials. The recycling and management of these materials before, during, and after the University closes in August are central to the conception of the installation.

The University of Trash partly stems from Norman's research of Adventure Playgrounds. A popular movement that began in the late 1930s, Adventure Playgrounds reclaimed bombed out or otherwise derelict urban spaces as spaces for play, where the playgrounds were designed by children, as open ended ground for experimentation. Building on Cataldi's research on New York's Lower East Side, the artists will construct a functional model of the Tompkins Square Park Bandshell, the rallying point for many radical projects in that neighborhood before its abrupt destruction in 1991.

Students from City-As-School will work with artist Michael Cataldi to create The Skool of Refuse and Appropriation, a vernacular living/working node that will address issues relevant to Long Island City such as flooding, abandoned buildings, and financial collapse. The form and function of the structure will be determined by research, discussion, drawing, and model making, among other strategies. Ultimately, students will construct this section on site at SculptureCenter, where it will be connected to other nodes built by artists Michael Cataldi and Nils Norman.

Throughout the exhibition there will be a mix of workshops, screenings, and presentations focusing on grass roots, self-organized urbanism, DIY architecture and the evolving aesthetics and politics of public space. Scheduled programs include bamboo bicycle trailer and low-power radio transmitter building workshops, and presentations and film programs by collaborators including Free 103.9 & Prometheus Radio, Neurotransmitter, CUP (Center for Urban Pedagogy), Build it Green, NYC, and Alastair Gordon. Max Golfarb's M49 mobile radio truck will broadcast a series of concerts on weekend evenings in June and July. A full schedule of events will be released in early April.

Michael Cataldi (born 1982, Philadelphia) is an artist whose work intervenes in the public sphere. Cataldi's site generated projects, ranging from ad hoc architectures to improvised play structures, propose the re-imagination and re-use of space and place. His recent book Service/Entrance, 2007, produced while in residence at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council suggests a less hierarchical structure for interpreting the divisive architecture of Manhattan's Financial District. Since moving to New York in 2004, he collaborated on projects with the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP). In 2006, Cataldi worked with students at the Academy of Urban Planning (AUP) in Brooklyn to re-imagine the classroom as a mobile, nomadic space, investigating the nature of temporary places, adaptive re-use, and the fundamental requirements of a learning space. His second project with the Academy for Urban Planning involved 128 students and produced the Alternative Urban Perspectives zine that takes an in-depth look at media, geography, war, love, and architecture. Cataldi is currently completing a Masters in Urban Design at the City College of New York where he has had the privilege of working and studying with Michael Sorkin, David Harvey, Neil Smith, and Teddy Cruz.

Nils Norman (born 1966, UK) is known worldwide as an artist and activist in the fields of art and urbanism. Specializing in political and economical theories of utopia and distopia, Norman uses his knowledge to examine and critique existing structures and social situations, particularly within urban landscapes. He proposes and experiments with alternative structures, from theoretical approaches captured on billboards to large-scale public commissions. He recently completed a major design project for the Roskilde Commune in Denmark and is now working on a school playground project for the Golden Lane Campus in East London. The publication Charing Cross, 2007, is the coproduction of a two-year project with homeless children for the Serpentine Gallery in London. Norman literally creates bridges between the worlds of developers, funders, community groups, and contemporary artists.