Oka Doner Serves as Panelist at TEFAF Culture Program

Stamps alumna Michele Oka Doner (BSDes ​‘66, TeachCert ​‘66, MFA ​‘68, DFAHon ​‘16) will serve as a panelist at the TEFAF New York Cultural Program, which runs from May 3 – 7, 2019. The program brings together the distinctive voices of collectors, dealers, critics, curators, and museum directors to speak about art. 

Oka Doner is one of two panelists who will hold a discussion during the May 6 TEFAF Coffee Talk: Forces of Nature. She and David Collens, Director at Storm King Art Center, will discuss the ways in which artists and museums bring together nature, art, and humanity in the era of climate change. The Coffee Talk will be moderated by Carrie Rebora Barratt, President of CEO of the New York Botanical Garden, and will be held in the Veterans Room of the Park Avenue Armory from 11am-12pm on Monday, May 6. More information about this event can be found at https://​www​.tefaf​.com/home.

Oka Doner’s impact on the art world began as an undergraduate student at Stamps, when her work, ​“Death Mask,” was portrayed on the cover of ​“Generation,” U‑M’s avant-garde magazine, and even more so when her ​“Tattooed Porcelain Dolls” became popular among Wolverines protesting the US’s use of Napalm during the Vietnam War. Since graduating with her MFA in 1968, Oka Doner has served as an Alumna-in-Residence, received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Stamps, and presented as part of the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series. Several of her works can be found around U‑M, but her best-known work is ​“A Walk on the Beach,” a permanent art installation at the Miami International Airport. It is one of the largest works of art in the world and has been adopted by the local community as one of the ​“8 Wonders of Miami.” For more information on Oka Doner, visit her website or her Wikipedia page.