Exhibition Workshop: The Poetry of Ancient Magic

This event will take place in person at ISAW (15 East 84th Street). 

Materials will be provided. The activity demands a certain degree of hand dexterity.

Registration is required at THIS LINK. 

Rediscover your inner sense of magic in this hands-on workshop at the Galleries at ISAW! Guided by ISAW PhD candidate Leopoldo Fox-Zampiccoli, participants will learn how people in the past channeled their hopes and fears, loves and rivalries, and more by writing spells on amulets and talismans. We will connect with the experiences of our ancient peers by inscribing our own magical poetic verses and protective images on metal plaques, a practice attested across the Mediterranean over many centuries. Informed by insights from archaeology, psychology, linguistics, and poetry, this workshop will be a space for reflection and an opportunity to listen to our needs, re-tune to the rhythm of the cosmos, and reclaim a magical approach to the world through writing and drawing (no skill or experience needed!).

Leopoldo Fox-Zampiccoli is a doctoral candidate at ISAW and the museum practicum student for 2026. They focus on the history, heritage, and languages of the eastern Mediterranean in the Bronze and Iron Ages through engaged, collective, and people-centered ways of researching and sharing history. Their research engages with collective memory, ecology, decolonial and queer studies, heritage, and contemporary art. Leopoldo is currently also part of the Turkmen-Karahöyük Archaeological Project (Turkey), a scientific committee member for the Festival dei Matti in Venice (Italy), and an occasional collaborator with the David Graeber Institute. They have previously studied in Venice, Leiden, and Jerusalem; have taken part in archaeological projects in Turkey, Italy, Israel-Palestine, Iraq, and Czechia; and have run multiple workshops and collective performances in New York, Italy, and Turkey.

This workshop is offered in conjunction with ISAW's exhibition Cursed! The Power of Magic in the Ancient World. The exhibition is organized by the Toledo Museum of Art; its presentation at ISAW is made possible by generous support from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and the Leon Levy Foundation.

Please check isaw.nyu.edu for event updates.

ISAW is committed to providing a positive and educational experience for all guests and participants who attend our public programming. We ask that all attendees follow the guidelines listed in our community standards policy.