Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian
ArtCenter is proud to welcome multidisciplinary designer and cultural activist Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian, PhD (she/they) as part of the Toyota Endowed Speaker Series 2025.
Join us for a unique look at how design, culture and outer space collide in visionary ways.
Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian at ArtCenter
Programming
Thursday, October 16
10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Studio Visits
Open to ArtCenter students only.
6:30 p.m.
Ahmanson Auditorium
ArtCenter College of Design
Hillside Campus
Thinking in Action:
An Open Conversation on Radical Imagination and Experimental Practices
Open to the public.
In this open conversation, Nelly will share the behind-the-scenes of how her work came into being- from graduation experiments to collaborations with NASA, the United Nations, and brands and labels like BMW, IKEA, WeTransfer, LEGO, Red Bull, XL Recordings, Porsche, and NIKE. She will reflect on the complexities of challenging the status quo, rethinking working practices, and sustaining an experimental practice with accessibility as a core ethos, while exploring how plurality, queer thinking, and collective public events can ignite unexpected futures into the world.
Friday, October 17
noon–3 p.m.
Extraterrestrial Landscapes and Astrobotany workshop
Dr. Ben Hayoun-Stépanian will be exploring how plants, culture, and design can shape our vision for outer-space environments and collective futures.
Open to ArtCenter students only.
Saturday, October 18
6:00 p.m.
Ahmanson Auditorium
ArtCenter College of Design
Hillside Campus
Doppelgängers³ screening
Open to the public.
Frameline Distribution will present Nelly’s latest film, Doppelgängers³, with special guests and a Q&A session.
This is a ticketed event. General ticket price: $17.
Free for ArtCenter students (registration required).
About Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian
Hayoun-Stépanian is an award-winning designer, filmmaker, and cultural activist whose practice spans 15 years of building radical creative projects and impossible productions at the intersection of outer-space exploration, music, film, nightlife, technology and social change. Founder of the International Space Orchestra, an ensemble of NASA scientists and astronauts, and the tuition-free University of the Underground that build platforms to amplify freedom of thought and cultural accessibility. Hayoun-Stépanian’s projects have premiered at MoMA, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and they’ve collaborated with NASA, the U.N., and artists like Kid Cudi and Massive Attack.