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Mary Mattingly: Holding Water

A large boat with a garden and solar panels on top, floating on a river.

Lecture

Location

Abby and Howard Milstein Auditorium

Milstein Hall

Contact

Department of Art

(607) 255-6730

artdepartment@cornell.edu

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Abstract

Artist Mary Mattingly will discuss art-making as a vocation, with a focus on cocreating regenerative public art. She will also talk in depth about specific projects, including building the floating food forest, Swale, and the absurdity of bundling her possessions for performances.

Biography

A woman with long brown hair, wearing a gray suit jacket over a blue turtleneck sweater.

Mary Mattingly

Mary Mattingly is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores ecological relationships through sculptural ecosystems, performance, and research-based collaborations. Rooted in inquiry into ecology and interdependence, her work addresses issues around water, food systems, and climate adaptation. At the core of Mattingly’s practice is a belief in art as a form of investigation and a tool for imagining adaptive futures. Her installations often function both symbolically and practically: creating space for gathering, co-learning, and reflecting on systems of resource extraction and ecological resilience.

Mattingly is the spring 2026 Teiger Mentor in the Arts.

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