TED TALK & LECTURES
Janet as Keynote Lecturer
“I was blown away. All I can say is, WOW. You did such a fantastic job presenting, and it really brought things around full circle to be able to experience your work live, at the Bash. I also heard many others say the same, or similar. Your presentation and your work was very well received, truly a highlight of the event”
Julie Luster, Production Manager
Adobe Max Conference
“I have heard from countless artists and faculty members after Janet's presentation, all of whom agree that her talk has raised the bar for everyone. It was brilliant. And the work is dazzling.”
Christopher Merrill, Director
University of Iowa International Writing Program
“Janet Echelman’s keynote presentation left our group inspired, dazzled and amazed by her story, her artwork and her commitment to transforming spaces and making a lasting impact. She is a masterful, warm and energetic orator – the audience was captivated. The feedback we received was that Janet was our conference highlight.”
Siobhan O’Kane, Senior Manager
The Urban Land Institute
“It is not a small task to impress the Yale World Fellows. Incredibly accomplished leaders from around the world, the Fellows have seen and heard a lot. And Janet had them mesmerized. Her warm and engaging personality, her creativity, the passion she holds for her work captivated the group. Janet is an inspiration!”
Valerie Rose Belanger, Managing Director
Yale University – World Fellows Program
“Janet was the perfect speaker to launch our Conference on leaders catalyzing action! Through collaboration and team building, she is indeed catalyzing action, and her magnificent installations are transforming urban places around the world. Her story is inspiring and the potential of her work unlimited!”
Rob Collier, President
Council of Michigan Foundations
“Janet was the closing plenary speaker for ICMA’s 2012 Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, which attracted 2,500 attendees. The conference took place just blocks from Civic Space Park, where Her Secret is Patience is the focal point. Janet took the engagement more seriously than most keynote speakers, investing considerable energy in tailoring her presentation to our audience by learning about their responsibilities and taking the time to speak with ICMA leadership and a number of members. She also graciously agreed to a last-minute request to meet with a group of ICMA’s young leaders. In response to Janet’s presentation, which focused on the important role that public art can play in revitalizing communities, one attendee observed that her presentation ‘… was outstanding and I think it would be great to start the conference with someone like that who focused on the right brain plus interesting visuals. I loved how she made the connection between communities and art forms. More of that!”
Ross Hoff, Director of International Programs
International City and County Managers Association (ICMA)
“Janet held a spiritual, inspiring lecture, which moved the audience because of the strong artistic expression in her art installations. We were brought into her artistic life with her warm and gentle voice telling us about all the joy, all the challenges and the hard work behind the success of her art installation … She inspired the students and her Norwegian art colleges with sharing her knowledge and showing her amazing art installations.”
Hilde Johnsen, Professor
Bergen Academy of Art and Design, Norway
“Because of the diversity of the Surface Design Association population – artists, designers, educators, students, curators, museums and libraries, etc. – it’s not always easy for a presenter to appeal to the wide range of interests in our field. Janet was first-up at the recent SDA conference in San Antonio Her talk completely resonated with the group and set a buoyant tone for the rest of the conference. We were mesmerized, energized, inspired and just plain smitten. The standing ovation said it all.”
Diane Sandlin, Executive Director
Surface Design Association, Austin, Texas
“Janet Echelman was simply amazing. Not only was her lecture inspiring, thought provoking, and insightful, she patiently engaged students during her entire visit to Toledo. She exceeded expectations and I hope she revisits our city soon.”
John Henry Livingston, Founder
Whirlwind U Motivational Institute
“Janet Echelman’s presentation was inspiring, entertaining and thought provoking. Her ability to take what most people would see as a desperate situation, when her art materials didn’t arrive, and turn it into an opportunity by being able to see a fishing net in a way that others didn’t. Her approach to art showed that without collaboration and research, creativity may never leave the sketch pad. Ms. Echelman was engaging and a delight to hear speak and her message of never giving up and belief in yourself came through loud and clear.”
John Adams, Senior Director for Enrollment Brand Strategy
University of Toledo
OTHER LECTURES
2019
National Art Education Association Annual Convention, Keynote lecture, Boston, MA
Emerging Trends in Real Estate Conference, Keynote lecture, Tampa, FL
Illuminating Engineering Society + Designers Lighting Forum, Keynote lecture, Boston, MA
Utile Architects, Artist Talk, Boston, MA
2018
ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects), Panel Discussion, Philadelphia, PA
Illinois Institute of Technology, Keynote Lecture, Chicago, IL
MIT IASS Symposium, Panel Discussion, Cambridge, MA
Hospitality Design Magazine NextGen Forum, Keynote Lecture, Washington D.C.
IABSE Future of Design Conference, Lecture, New York, NY
Princeton University, Council for Science and Technology annual symposium “Living at the Intersections: Engineering and Arts,” Keynote Lecture, Princeton, NJ
Thomas Jefferson University, Fusion speaker series, Philadelphia, PA
Dwell on Design, Panel Discussion, Los Angeles, CA
SXSW, Design Track Series, Keynote Lecture, Austin, Texas
2017
Aalto University, Keynote Lecture, Helsinki, Finland
Philips Lighting University, Digital Global Lecture
LA MOCA, Keynote Lecture, Los Angeles, CA
Ohio APA Conference, Keynote Lecture, Columbus, OH
TEDxFulbright, Artist Talk, Washington D.C.
Lightfair International Conference, Artist Talk, Philadelphia, PA
MIT AR in Action, Artist Talk, Cambridge, MA
2016
Hong Kong Business of Design Week, Keynote Lecture, Hong Kong, China
Adobe MAX Creative Conference, Keynote Lecture, San Diego, CA
Pace Gallery, Artist Talk, NY, NY
Greensboro Historical Museum, Artist Talk, Greensboro, NC
Americans for the Arts Annual Convention, “Role of Artists in Creating Change,” Boston, MA
National Capital Planning Commission, Artist Talk, Washington D.C.
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Artist Talk, Montreal, Canada
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Artist Talk, Washington D.C.
Museum of Design Atlanta, Artist Talk, Atlanta, GA
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Artist Talk, Bloomfield Hills, MI
2015
Bloomberg London Lumiere Symposium, “Disruptive Innovation,” London, UK
Architecture Boston Expo, “Design of the Greenway’s Echelman Public Art Installation” and “Rational Exuberance”, Boston, MA
Summit at Sea, Artist Talk, waters off Miami coast, FL
Harvard University, “Art and the City,” Cambridge, MA
RISD, Design Week RI, Artist Talk, Providence, RI
Truro Center for the Arts Castle Hill, Artist Talk & residency, Truro, MA
Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, Inter/Sections Artist Talk & panel, Boston, MA
Fuller Craft Museum, Artist Talk, Brockton, MA
Boston University, Artist Talk, Boston, MA
Bard College, “Public Art for Urban Spaces,” Annandale-On-Hudson, NY
Dubai Roads & Transportation Authority, Innovation Week, Keynote Lecture, Dubai, UAE
2014
Zayed University, International Symposium on Electronic Art, Keynote Lecture, Dubai, UAE
Appalachian State University, “Reshaping Public Space”, Boone, NC
University of Oregon, “Reshaping Public Space”, Eugene, OR
Yale University, Yale World Fellows Discussion / Artist Talk, New Haven, CT
INST-INT Conference, “Reshaping Public Space”, Minneapolis, MN
Moore College, Artist Talk and Conversation, Philadelphia, PA
Aspen Ideas Festival, “Competing for the Future: Culture and the Successful City” and “Faces of Creativity”, Aspen, CO
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Annual Meeting, “A Cultural Approach to the Spaces Where We Work”, Seattle, WA
Amherst College, “Imagination Taken Seriously: Reshaping Urban Airspace”, Amherst, MA
University of Pennsylvania, School of Design, “Collaboration with Art”, Philadelphia, PA
TED2014: The Next Chapter, Vancouver, Canada
2013
LVMH Moët Hennessy, Artist Talk, New York City, NY
International Sculpture Symposium, Keynote Lecture, Miami, FL
Harvard University, Lowell House, Artist Lecture, Cambridge, MA
Council of Michigan Foundations, 41st Annual Conference, “Big, Bold, Creative Ideas Become Reality”, Grand Rapids, MI
NBBJ Architecture and Design, Artist Talk, Seattle, WA
OMI International Arts Center, “Urban Gesture: Sculpting the Space In Between”, Gent, NY
Whitney Museum, Momentum: Women: Women/Art/Technology, New York, NY
International Surface Design 17th Annual Conference, Artist Lecture, San Antonio, TX
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), “Taking Imagination Seriously”, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
University of Georgia, Lamar Dodd School of Art, Artist Talk, Athens, GA
2012
International City/County Management Association (ICMA) 98th Annual Conference, “Revitalizing Urban Spaces with Public Art”, Phoenix, AZ
American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Annual Meeting and Expo, “Merging Art and Landscape”, Phoenix, AZ
Sogn og Fjordane Museum of Fine Arts. International Hands-On Textiles Conference, “Contemporary Textile Art and Design”, Forde, Norway
University of Toledo, Lifeplan for Teens of Toledo ‘Taking Imagination Seriously’ Conference, Toledo, OH
2011
TED2011: The Rediscovery of Wonder, ‘Threads of Discovery’ session, “Taking Imagination Seriously”, Long Beach, CA
Northeastern University, Presidential Speaker Series: Profiles in Innovation, “A New Way of Creating Art”, Boston, MA
Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Artist Talk, Boston, MA
Wentworth Institute of Technology, Artist Talk, Boston, MA
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Artist Talk, Cambridge, MA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Fairmount Park Art Association, “Shaping Public Space”, Philadelphia, PA
Westmont College, 10th Annual Conversation on the Liberal Arts Conference: ‘The Fine Art of the Liberal Arts’, Santa Barbara, CA
2010
The ArtScience Prize, Water Panel Discussion, Boston, MA
Texas State University, Artist Talk, San Antonio, TX
Denver Art Museum, Artist Talk, Denver, CO
Aspen Ideas Festival, “Public Sculpture and Private Creativity”, Aspen, CO
Public Art Network Preconference Roundtable Workshop: Redefining the Public Paradigm, “Temporary Public Art”, Baltimore, MD
University of Pennsylvania, “Cities and the Creative Economy”, Philadelphia, PA
Western New England College, “The Creative Mind”, Springfield, MA
22nd International Sculpture Center Conference, “Language of Sculpture”, London, UK
Biola University Annual Symposium, “Artist in the City”, La Mirada, CA
ArtTable, Artist Talk, New York, NY
Art Chicago: NEXT Speaks, “The Fabric of Sculpture: Texture, Textile, Text”, Chicago, IL
2009
Build Boston Conference, “Visionary Public Spaces”, Boston, MA
Boston Society of Architects Lecture Series, “Fluid Movement”, Boston, MA
Azusa Pacific University, Artist Lecture, Los Angeles, CA
Transcultural Exchange, “Exploring Careers in Creative Arts”, Boston, MA
2008
Montclair State University, “Shaping Public Space”, Montclair, NJ
The City University of New York, Macaulay Honors College Seminar, New York, NY
University of North Carolina Public Art 360 Symposium, “Art and Public Art: What’s the Difference: The Artist’s Roundtable”, Chapel Hill, NC
2007
Tampa Museum of Art, Artist Lecture, Tampa, FL
Textile Study Group of New York, Inc, Visiting Artist, New York, NY
Woodbury University, Artist Lecture, Burbank, CA
Museum of Arts and Design, “Air is Fluid” Exhibiting Artist Lecture, New York, NY
Vancouver Architecture League, Visiting Artist, Vancouver, Canada
Americans for the Arts Annual Convention, “Risk & Reward: Balancing Acts in Arts & Community”, Las Vegas, NV
2006
Rhode Island School of Design, Artist Lecture, Providence, RI
New York Foundation for the Arts, Artist Lecture, New York, NY