Mapping Identity

Drawing on William Kentridge’s method of deconstructing and repurposing printed media, participants will transform NYC maps into imaginative new cityscapes. By tearing, layering, reassembling and collaging familiar materials, participants will explore how places shape identity – and how creative intervention can offer fresh perspectives on belonging, memory and urban space. 

This workshop is for visitors ages 15 and above. This tour and workshop will take place within ‘William Kentridge. A Natural History of the Studio,’ and all materials will be provided.

This event is free, but capacity is limited. Reservations are required. Photographs will be taken at this event for use on Hauser & Wirth’s website and social media channels, and in other marketing materials. 

This session will be led by participants in Hauser & Wirth’s summer Engagement Residency cohort. 

About the Exhibition 

With ‘A Natural History of the Studio,’ his first exhibition with Hauser & Wirth in New York, renowned South African artist William Kentridge will present his acclaimed episodic film series ‘Self-Portrait as a Coffee-Pot’ with more than seventy works on paper integral to its creation and an array of sculptures at 542 West 22nd Street. This immersive exhibition is the first ever to present all the drawings from this filmic masterpiece, hailed by critics as a moving, witty and ultimately wondrous synthesis of the personal and the political, the individual and the universal. Spanning two floors of the gallery’s 22nd Street building, ‘A Natural History of the Studio’ also extends to the gallery’s 18th Street location with a concise survey of Kentridge’s printmaking practice. 

Image: Installation view, ‘William Kentridge. A Natural History of the Studio,’ Hauser & Wirth 22nd Street, New York City, 2025.