COVID 5 Years Later: A Conversation

COVID 5 Years Later: A Conversation

March 13, 2025 | 4pm - 6pm | CU Art Museum (Gallery)

Hosted by theÌýCU Art Museum and theÌýCenter for Humanities & the Arts (CHA)Ìý

Event Information

ÌýÌý​Thursday, March 13, 2025, 4pm - 6pm
ÌýÌýCU Art Museum (Gallery)
ÌýÌýEvent is free and open to the public.Ìý​
ÌýÌýMasks are highly encouraged for this event.Ìý​
ÌýÌýTreats and snacks available for attendees.
ÌýÌý

A panel discussion reflecting on the personal and collective experiences of COVID-19. This event will take place on the 5th anniversary of ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ’s campus closure due to the pandemic.Ìý

This event is inspired by theÌýBetter Days exhibition at the CU Art Museum, which asks: What can art offer in difficult times? In this exhibition, artists respond to moments when uncertainty prevails and social connections fray. In many of the artworks on view, artists imagine a better world, encouraging viewers to find silver linings. Others meet challenging times with challenging content. The themes inÌýBetter Days provide a framework for exploring how art can help us process crises, heal, and reimagine the world.Ìý

At the end of the event, attendees will be invited to contribute their own reflections on the pandemic via cards that will be available for them to fill out. Masks are heavily encouraged at this event, and will be available for attendees.Ìý

Please contact the CHA for any questions at cu-cha@colorado.edu.

Sophia Baldwin (Moderator)

During Baldwin's time as a student at ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ, she wrote about her experience contracting COVID-19 in March 2020. Read Sophia's essay "The Surface & Shadow of COVID-19" here.

Hi there! I am a film production CU alumni and a video producer in Denver. I remember the day the university closed due to the pandemic. I was actually sitting at the front desk of this museum and I didn't know it at the time, but I would be contracting a severe case of COVID a couple weeks later. I'm honored to moderate this panel, share my story, and learn from all of you. Looking forward to the conversation.Ìý

Lucy Chester, Associate Professor, Department of History, ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ

Lucy Chester will provide remarks at this event and share her experiences with COVID-19.

Professor Chester teaches courses on British imperialism, nationalism, and anticolonialism.ÌýHer classes focus on South Asia in a transnational context, with attention to the Middle East and Africa.ÌýSome of the courses she teaches includeÌý"Borderlands of Empire," "Decolonization of the British Empire,"Ìýand a capstone seminar on South Asian nationalism. Professor Chester also teaches in the International Affairs program. Professor Chester received both her B.A.Ìýsumma cum laude andÌýPh.D. from Yale.ÌýHer first book, (Manchester University Press, 2009), exploresÌýthe drawing of the boundary between India and Pakistan in 1947.

Jeanne Quinn received her undergraduate degree cum laude in art history from Oberlin College; she recieved her MFAÌýin ceramics from the University of Washington. She has exhibited widely, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver; Robischon Gallery, Denver; Grimmerhus Museum, Denmark; Formargruppen Gallery, Malmö, Sweden; Sculpturens Hus, Stockholm, Sweden; and the Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taipei, Taiwan.ÌýShe has been a resident artist at the MacDowell Colony, the Archie Bray Foundation, the International Ceramic Center in Denmark, and the Kahla Porcelain Factory and the Ceramic Center-Berlin in Germany.

Her work is included in the books The Artful Teapot, by Garth Clark; Postmodern Ceramics, by Mark Del Vecchio; Sex Pots, by Paul Matthieu; A Ceramic Continuum: Fifty Years of the Archie Bray Influence, by Peter Held, and Confrontational Ceramics, by Judith Schwartz. She has lectured widely at institutions such as UCLA, USC,Ìýthe Kansas City Art Institute, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the University of Minnesota, Alfred University, and many others.

Matthew McQueen, Sc.D., Epidemiology (Biostatistics), Principal Epidemiologist at MITRE, Affiliate Professor Adjoint, Integrative Physiology, ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. McQueen played a critical role in ensuring the safety of the ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ community. Dr. McQueen served as the Director of Epidemiology for the Pandemic Response Office at ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ, overseeing key strategies during the crisis.

His work included collaborating with facilities management to assess and enhance air ventilation systems across campus buildings, a vital step in minimizing virus transmission. His contributions during a time of uncertainty and rapidly evolving information were instrumental in maintaining the health of students, faculty, and staff.Ìý

His expertise in epidemiology and biostatistics, along with his dedication to public health, will inform his reflections and experiences shared as part of the panel.