Saturday September 6, 2025 | 2:00 – 4:00pm
Location: RU House at Colonels Row, Building #404B on Governors Island (map)
Ferry information | Video directions
Free Workshop
Limited to 15 participants. RSVP required.
“I am not sure that I exist, actually. I am all the writers that I have read, all the people that I have met, all the women that I have loved; all the cities I have visited.” Jorge Luis Borges
This workshop, led by A.E. Chapman, fosters ways to connect to the present moment through a clothed figure model session staged in response to the setting of Governors Island. This historically layered island was originally referred to as Paggank (meaning nut island) by the Lenape people, the first caretakers of this land, due to the many hickory, oak, and chestnut trees on the island. One part of the workshop will take place outside in the plein air tradition and the other, inside, within the domestic space of the Governors Island house that once housed American army generals and their families during the 1870s, not long after the end of the American Civil War. Looking at historical and contemporary works that engage with the figure, we will begin with a conversation on connecting to ourselves and our everyday world through attentive observation. Then, participants will explore observation through a variety of entry points including text-based prompts, listening, movement, material and method exercises leading up to a figure modeling session of varied poses and durations accompanied by music played in response to the progression of the program. The session will focus on paying particular attention to the figure and scene, identifying details that resonate with the specificity of time, place, and atmosphere. While materials will be on hand, participants are encouraged to bring their own sketchbook and preferred materials or those they would like to experiment with to further personalize the experience.
The workshop is open to all levels, ages, and mediums.
About
A.E. Chapman is an independent curator, writer, teaching artist, and facilitator based in New York City. She received her MA in Art History and an Advanced Certificate in Curatorial Studies from Hunter College where she was awarded the Edna Wells Luetz/Frederick P. Riedel Scholarship to support her masters studies based on her excellence in significant post-baccalaureate undergraduate coursework at Hunter in studio art and art history. Her masters coursework focused on modern and contemporary art within transnational networks and the Americas. She holds an undergraduate degree in Journalism with a Photojournalism Emphasis and a minor in Sociology from the University of Georgia. Chapman has facilitated figure drawing programs in Brooklyn since 2017.
RU is grateful for the partnership with Governors Island Arts.
