Caribbean artists Dean Arlen and Adele Todd recently completed a 12-day residency at Stony Brook University, where they worked with students to reimagine the Staller Steps as a space for connection. The residency was part of the Visiting Artist Series, organized by the College of Arts and Sciences’ Center for Changing Systems of Power (CCSP) and Department of Sociology.
During their time on campus, Arlen and Todd collaborated with students, staff, faculty, and community members in transforming Staller Theater One into an interactive studio. Participants engaged in drawing, reflection, and redesign activities focused on how the Staller Steps—a central campus landmark—could better serve as a gathering place.
Manisha Desai, executive director of the CCSP and professor in Sociology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, coordinated the residency. She emphasized that the project prioritized process over product. “This is a kind of aesthetic justice,” Desai said. “All of us have creativity within us, but we tend to think about aesthetics only in terms of what’s in a gallery. If we think about our own creativity, that can actually enable and enhance social justice.”
The proposed redesign featured architectural arches inspired by native forms, improved pathways for accessibility across the slope, and reclined seating to encourage rest and conversation. These elements aimed to make the Steps more than just a thoroughfare.
Desai explained that inclusivity was central to their approach: “We believe a methodology has to be inclusive,” she said. “It tries to think about the spaces we inhabit in relation to their history.”
At the end of the residency, participants compiled their ideas into a physical document delivered to university leadership and archived at the campus library. This record serves both as documentation of collaboration and as input for future planning.
During an artist talk on October 9 marking the end of their stay, Todd commented on next steps: “People like the idea,” Todd said. “But what we need is a bigger conversation, one that doesn’t end when we leave campus.” She added that ongoing dialogue through social media could help maintain momentum: “We could poke them and activate them to do something good,” she said.
Arlen described their approach as using art not simply for decoration but as a means for fostering connection among community members: “It’s about companionship and creativity,” Arlen said at the talk.
The initiative received support from Stony Brook’s Arts, Humanities and Lettered Social Sciences (AHLSS) Committee as part of its mission to promote socially engaged art on campus.
Desai reflected on why such projects matter: “It releases our ability to think about solutions for social justice and the big problems,” she said. “That’s why it matters, because it connects creativity to community.”
