Since the late 1980s, Chico MacMurtrie has explored the intersection of robotic sculpture, new media installation, and performance. MacMurtrie’s work investigates organic life from deep within, finding geometry in all living systems. Chico MacMurtrie and his interdisciplinary collective Amorphic Robot Works/ARW have received numerous awards for their experimental new media artworks, including five grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andy Warhol Foundation Grant, the Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, VIDA Life 11.0, and Prix Ars Electronica. Chico MacMurtrie was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship in Fine Arts in 2016 and the Map Fund Grant in 2019.

MacMurtrie/ARW’s works have been presented in major museums and cultural institutions around the world including the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC), Beijing; Hayward Gallery, London; Museo de la Reina Sofia, Madrid; Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Paris; Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporaneo (MUAC), Mexico City; Pioneer Works, Brooklyn, NY; Shanghai Biennale; Tri Postal, Lille, (retrospective exhibition), Muffatwerk, Munich (Pneuma World); Ex-Dogana, Rome, and ZHI Art Museum, Chengdu.

© MacMurtrie/ARW

The Robotic Church is a site-specific installation and performance series comprising 50 computer-controlled pneumatic sculptures. Created between 1987 and 2006 and installed in ARW’s studio, a former Norwegian Seamen’s Church in, Brooklyn, New York, these machines mesmerize with their percussive sounds and gestures. They express themselves through rhythm and body language, ranging from introspective solos to powerful ensembles erupting from different corners of the space. Rather than merely amplifying sound, the percussive machines are programmed to beat, strum, vibrate, spin, and otherwise play their own bodies to communicate in their own unique voice. Their syncopated outbursts of call-and-response evoke the origin of communication.

This collection of animated machines, formerly known as the “Ancestral Path,” traces the evolution of MacMurtrie’s first robotic sculptures from the late ‘80s, from works such as “Tumbling Man” and “Drumming and Drawing Subhuman” to later ones possessed of more kinetic abilities and refined movements such as “Urge to Stand” and “Transparent Body.” They all are part of MacMurtrie’s/ARW’s “Society of Machines,” a body of work comprising over 250 individual sculptures, which have performed in different configurations in Europe and in smaller formats also throughout the United States, Latin America, and Asia.

The Robotic Church machines, deemed “robotic saints” by their creator, inhabit the triple-height space on all levels and all sides. Surrounding the audience, they bring the architecture to life and draw eyes up toward MacMurtrie’s upside-down “Floating Tree” sculpture suspended from the rafters. Together, these “robotic saints” create a complex sonic texture, accentuated by the sharp rhythms of “Tabla Player”, “Electrodrummer”, the “Mulabandas” and the large xylophone “House Player”. On the other hand, machines such as “String Body”, “Chime Body,” and the “Minis” provide a more lyrical quality with their ethereal, almost otherworldly intonations. Although responding to both pre-programmed and live computer sequences, MacMurtrie’s robots are anthropopathic and organic in nature. The Robotic Church opened to the public in New York in 2013 and continues its performance series on selective dates throughout the year. 

Wenner is the Founder and CEO of Wenner Media Ventures, an investment and operating company focused on building next-generation media businesses shaping the future of storytelling. Wenner Media Ventures recently made a strategic investment in Public Opinion, the fast-growing media company behind the hit show Track Star. As part of the partnership, Wenner serves as Executive Chairman of Public Opinion, helping drive the company’s growth and long-term strategic direction.

Wenner previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Rolling Stone, the iconic voice of music, politics, and popular culture for more than five decades. As CEO, he oversaw day-to-day operations and led its evolution from a print publication to a diversified, multi-platform brand. Under his leadership, Rolling Stone expanded its monthly audience to more than 60 million readers, built a significant live events business, launched Rolling Stone Films, established a digital subscription platform, and accelerated the brand’s international growth. During Wenner’s tenure, Rolling Stone earned seven National Magazine Awards, its first Emmy Award, a George Polk Award, and its first Edward R. Murrow Award.

Wenner executive produced the critically acclaimed documentary Little Richard: I Am Everything, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released by Magnolia Pictures. Additional credits include Showtime’s Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine, produced alongside Imagine Documentaries and Lightbox.

Before becoming CEO, Wenner served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Wenner Media, where he led the sale of Rolling Stone to Penske Media. He began his career at Wenner Media, leading digital strategy for Rolling Stone, Us Weekly, and Men’s Journal as Head of Digital.

Wenner is a graduate of Brown University.

September 25, 2025
Sasha Costanza-Chock

Dr. Sasha Costanza-Chock (she/they/ella/elle) is a researcher and designer who works to support community-led processes that build shared power, dismantle the matrix of domination, and advance ecological survival. They are a nonbinary trans* femme. Sasha is known for their work on networked social movements, transformative media organizing, and design justice. Sasha is presently the Head of Research & Sensemaking at OneProject.org. She is also a Faculty Associate with the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and a member of the Steering Committee of the Design Justice Network (designjustice.org). They are the author of two books and numerous journal articles, book chapters, and other research publications. Sasha’s most widely read book is Design Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need, published by the MIT Press.

November 13, 2025
Sam Gill: President and CEO of the Doris Duke Foundation
Co-sponsored by the Associate Provost for AI

Sam Gill is the president and CEO of the Doris Duke Foundation (DDF), a New York-headquartered, national philanthropic organization that operates five national grantmaking programs—in the performing arts, the environment, medical research, child and family well-being, and mutual understanding between communities—as well as Duke Farms and Shangri La, two centers that serve the public directly. Prior to joining DDF, Gill was senior vice president and chief program officer at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, where he oversaw more than $100 million in annual grantmaking across the foundation’s programs, in addition to managing Knight’s research and assessment portfolio and its grants administration function.

“Sam and the Foundation occupy positions of intense privilege and power, yet the nature of foundation influence remains largely invisible to most people. This is a chance for a behind-the-scenes look at how money and resources actually flow in support of emergent phenomena across science, technology, arts, and culture. Through work spanning artificial intelligence ethics, indigenous sovereignty, biomedical innovation, and arts advocacy, Sam demonstrates how philanthropic institutions serve as vital shields for democracy while building coalitions in support of knowledge and creative expression. This talk will be intensely open and free-flowing. Come discover how foundations operate as strategic instruments, defending spaces where free inquiry thrives.”

– BAI Director Sydney Skybetter

Tuesday, March 31, 2026, 5:30 PM
Martinos Auditorium, Granoff Center for the Creative Arts
154 Angell Street, Providence, RI

A former Commencement Speaker and Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Nelson has spent the decades since his time at Brown building one of the most versatile careers in modern entertainment. From his iconic turn as Delmar O'Donnell in the Coen Brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? to his critically acclaimed performance as Looking Glass in HBO’s Watchmen, Nelson has amassed over 100 screen credits while simultaneously establishing himself as a formidable voice in American letters and theater.

In this live, candid conversation, Nelson, BAI Director Sydney Skybetter, and student interlocutor Ilektra Bampicha-Ninou ’26 will explore the intersections of acting, authorship, and the mechanics of storytelling in an era of Hollywood upheaval. The dialogue will dive deep into Nelson’s latest creative frontiers: his newest novel, Superhero (2025), a biting exploration of the Hollywood machine; insights into his latest film as writer-director, The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd and his recent role in Captain America: Brave New World; and the dystopian themes of his Off-Broadway hit, And Then We Were No More.

Don't miss this unique opportunity to welcome one of Brown’s most distinguished artistic alumni back to campus for a Ruckus Session that promises to be as provocative and intellectually rigorous as the career it celebrates.