The CCAM Symposium is an annual, interdisciplinary event that investigates the cultural landscape of our time. Acting as a bridge between the discoveries at CCAM and those on campus and beyond, it features discussions, exhibitions, performances, workshops, and more. In 2025, the symposium explores the theme of “illuminations.”
The word “illumination,” or the bringing of light, carries diverse meanings across time, space, and culture. It evokes images of adorned medieval manuscripts, as well as Walter Benjamin’s critical essays. As an artistic medium and movement, light has shaped the development of many technologies—from fire and lightbulbs to glowing screens. Festivals around the world celebrate divine inspiration, and the concept of intellectual enlightenment has marked historical progress. To illuminate can mean to reveal the unknown—and also inspire us to envision the yet unimagined.
The CCAM Symposium: “Illuminations” will delve into these and other themes, uniting a community of artists, scientists, and scholars from around campus and the world. We draw inspiration from Pulsa, a collaborative group of artists who gathered at Yale in the 1960s to explore light, sound, and emerging technologies.
Wednesday, February 19
5–7pm
* Discussion and demo of a working prototype exploring sonic documentation by Sarah Oppenheimer (Senior Critic, Yale School of Art)
7–9pm
* To be announced!
Thursday, February 20
5–7pm
* Byte by Joseph Zinter (Assistant Director, Yale Center for Engineering Innovation and Design; Research Scientist, Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science)
* Panel: “Illumination, Darkness, and Non-Human Organisms,” followed by an immersive demo, featuring:
** Theodore Kim (Professor of Computer Science, Yale University)
** Priyamvada Natarajan (Joseph S. and Sophia S. Fruton Professor of Astronomy and ** Professor of Physics, Department of Astronomy, Yale University)
** Richard Prum (William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Yale University)
** Alison Sweeney (Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and of Physics, Department of Physics, Yale University)
7–9pm
* Byte by Sally Snowman, the last keeper of the Boston Light
* Performances of: “Scattered Light,” a film-performance by Josh Mastel & Nico Cadena
* New sound and music by:
** Konrad Kaczmarek (Associate Professor Adjunct, Department of Music, Yale University)
** Matthew Suttor (CCAM Program Manager; Senior Lecturer, Yale College)
** Ross Wightman (CCAM Technical Manager and Curator, Sound Art Series; Lecturer, Yale College)
** A. Zayaruznaya (Associate Professor, Department of Music, Yale University)
Friday, February 21
5–7pm
* Byte by Ravi Kumar (Planetary Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
* Panel: “Illuminating the Mysterious and the Unexplainable,” featuring:
** Francesco Casetti (Sterling Professor of Humanities and Film and Media Studies, Yale University)
** Elise Morrison (Assistant Professor, Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies, Yale University)
** Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen (Professor of Architecture, Yale School of Architecture)
Al Powers (Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine)
7–9pm
* Byte by Balarama Heller (Artist, NYC)
* Opening of the “Illuminations” exhibition at the CCAM ISOVIST Gallery, curated by Dana Karwas (CCAM Director; Critic, Yale School of Architecture), and featuring works by:
** Lauren Dubowski (CCAM Assistant Director)
** Dana Karwas (CCAM Director; Critic, Yale School of Architecture)
** Balarama Heller (Artist, NYC)
** Bohan Chen & Deming Haines (both CCAM Studio Fellow, 2024–2025; and Yale School of Architecture, 2026)
** Gabriel Winer (Artist, Berlin)
** and others