Artist Alejandro Valencia's MFA thesis installation at Columbia University, titled "DYNAMO (RATM01)" (2026), confronts the institution's response to the Gaza genocide. The multipart work, on view at the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, includes a keffiyeh worn by fellow student Ridwana Rahman—who was banned from campus and denied her MFA degree after a protest—along with sundials, pencils, and a broken microphone referencing Palestinian scholar Edward Said. The piece critiques Columbia's crackdown on pro-Palestinian student activism and the suppression of dissenting voices.
This article matters because it highlights the intersection of art, institutional politics, and free speech during a period of intense campus conflict over the Israel-Gaza war. Valencia's work transforms a thesis exhibition into a political statement, documenting real disciplinary actions against students and questioning the university's commitment to academic freedom. It also underscores how contemporary art can serve as a platform for protest and historical record within elite academic settings.