with Co-Director Ignacio Beroiz
Project: Fall 2025-Ongoing
Public Installation: August 22-September 19, 2026
at New World School of the Arts
PRESS RELEASE
As we celebrate our 40th anniversary alongside the college we call home, New World School of the Arts, our offices materialize to the public for the very first time. Out from under the commons, the ISU’s Main Offices are presented in an exhibition context within the New World Gallery and structured as a month-long installation (August 22-September 19) of our working office spaces with a series of opportunities for audience interaction. The various working office spaces will act as an institutional assessment tool, archival activation, data gatherer, and test ground for future change.
A parafictional, yet very real entity, the ISU is co-curated and led by NWSA professor and Director of the Department of Reflection misael soto alongside current NWSA student Ignacio Beroiz, and will be facilitated by a number of its members (ie. students).
PROGRAMMING
August 22 – Student (Re)Orientation, 5-8pm
Welcome back! NWSA students past and present are invited to reintroduce themselves to the ISU. Refreshments will be served.
August 26 – NWSA Group Inquiry, 3:30-5pm
Hosted by the ISU, our Group Inquiry will be an interactive polling event open to all past, present, and incoming NWSA students. The event will be open to both passive viewers (audience) and active participants (students only), the latter of which will be prompted to respond to questions concerning their relationship with NWSA. Responses will be collected publicly yet saved anonymously and processed for future programming and reporting to the institution.
September 9 – Student Listen & Answer Session, 3:30-5pm
Open only to current and past NWSA students, this talk session invites participants to reflect upon their relationship and experiences with the institution in an open and safe environment. Guided through a meditative, reflective, and mutually supportive process, participants should expect immediate feedback from their peers and assisted group processing.
September 16 – The ISU Awards
Honoring some of New World’s many amazing students, alumni, and faculty, along with some of the school’s lesser known standouts, the ISU Awards (aka The Pidgies) will be a celebration of excellence past and present.
Additionally, a final report from the ISU will be made public. This will include data collected throughout the current Main Offices’ tenure, as well as further discoveries, findings, and documentation.
Ongoing:
Office Tours – Daily, Upon Request
Rotating Student Exhibitions – Every Third Day
Artist in Residence
Infographics and promotional flyers
ORIGINS
The Innominate Student Union (ISU) was founded within a course at New World School of the Arts during the Fall of 2025.
Led by Department of Reflection Director misael soto, the course led students through a critical historical understanding of the University and the Museum, pertinent activist and art historical references, and finally towards the creation of their own para-institutional organization.
Founding members of the ISU include: Ashley Burgos, Daniela Diaz, Catherine Duncan, Mia Kahn, Grace Knox, Caitlyn Manthorpe, Yelaine Nodarse, Patrick Orbea, Avianna Osbourne
Invitation letter to the students, presented on the first day of the Semester.
Students collectively envisioned the parafictional ISU, retroactively claiming its existence. They separated into curatorial and marketing teams, and built the ISU’s world and lore as a critical, creative, and practical response to needs and desires developed and expressed over the course their time at the school.
The cohort envisioned an installation of the ISU’s Main Offices within the school’s primary gallery space, within which visitors would first enter a waiting room, followed by delineated sections: Conference Room, Exhibition Space, University Relations, Resident Artist, and Quiet Room; along with various interactive features such as a small Library, the participatory Cabinet of Curiosities, and a Community Fridge and Kitchen area.
Preliminary group sketches, inspiration, and research for ISU Main Offices
EVOLUTION
January-August, 2026
After its initial conception, Ignacio Beroiz joined the process, first as a student intern, co-authoring the Main Offices installation and programming, and becoming Co-Director of the ISU soon afterwards.
Once the ISU opened it’s Main Offices installation, Jazz-Sofía Ramos-Izquierdo joined as Director of Community Relations.
Ignacio Beroiz and Jazz-Sofía Ramos-Izquierdo
INSTALLATION
August 22 – September 19, 2026
Materializing to the public for the very first time, out from under the commons the ISU Main Offices were presented in an exhibition context within the New World Gallery and structured as a month-long installation. Highlights included our Conference Room with kitchen, a Quiet Room for rest, the Resident Artist’s Studio, and—at the heart of the office—an Exhibition Space with rotating work by students.
Our offices hosted over 10 public programs. This, in addition to daily interactions with our members (ie. students) such as our artist in residence, guided tours, or simply everyday use of the space. With this series of opportunities for audience interaction, the offices acted as an institutional assessment tool, archival activation, data gatherer, and test ground for future change.
At the heart of the ISU Main Offices, our Exhibition Space featured 7 exhibitions by current or former students. Each was viewable for approximately 3 days.
Exhibitions, in chronological order:
- Final Jury: Drinking with Polaris In The Dead of Night by Lance Minto-Strouse
- una limpieza más by Virmari Garcia-Davila
- Michelle Lopez & Kesline Vieux-Michel
- Conversations at ISU by Emilio Pesantes
- Ariana Formica & Danielle Ben Sira Vasyur
- Photo Flow by the NWSA Photography Department, curated by José Luis Garcia
- A Door Is a Type of Wall by Jazz-Sofía Ramos-Izquierdo & Morgan Cox
FINDINGS
A report including findings from the public poll, as well as conclusions made by key stakeholders, will be made public and shared with New World administration and staff.
Following the close of its Main Offices installation, the ISU will live on as an initiative led by current students at New World School of the Arts.
