Installation at the Berkeley Center for New Media
UC Berkeley
Sept - November 2015
Geoff's Letter of (non)Apology was a purposefully informal public forum for discussing sexual and gender-based violence in academics. Installed in 2015 (prior to the #metoo movement) on the UC Berkeley campus, the project invited public commentary and discourse in an era marked by silence and erasure.
The installation featured a blown-up letter written by Geoff Marcy, an established astronomy professor who resigned in 2015 after decades-long accusations of assault. I made revisions to the letter in red marker, enlarged it to 3ft x 5ft, and posted it on the Berkeley Center for New Media window display alongside markers and an invitation to edit.
Located outside the bustling Moffitt Library, the letter was heavily commented after 6 weeks. It became a site for public discourse on not only this particular event, but also universal themes of accountability, sexual violence culture, and institutional response.
After 6 weeks, the UC Berkeley administration requested that the Berkeley Center for New Media remove the installation, describing it as an "eyesore."
Closeups:
Geoff's Letter was created as part of Everything After, an art and community organizing collaboration against sexual violence with Jadelynn Stahl and members of the UAW Student-Workers Union. In the yearlong project, we hosted workshops in transformative justice and intersectionality as well as a daylong Survivors' Symposium featuring speakers, panels, workshops, and student art.
Project advisor: Jadelynn Stahl
Supported by the Berkeley Center for New Media
