Founding Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Poverty Department, John Malpede is a director, performer and engineer of multi-event arts projects combining theater, installation, public art and educational outreach. In 1985 Malpede founded and continues to direct the Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD), the first performance group in the nation comprised primarily of homeless and formerly homeless people. LAPD creates performances that connect lived experience to the social  forces that shape the lives and communities of people living in poverty. Malpede has produced projects working with communities throughout the US and in the UK, France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Bolivia. 

Join John Malpede in discussion with David Michalek’s class on Art and Empathy. Together they will discuss Malpede’s theatrical exploration of “the forces that shape the lives and communities of people living in poverty.” 

Taught by Visiting Lecturer and international artist David Michalek, TDM 182A Art and Empathy considers the potential and the limitations as well as the opportunities and the risks that are inherent in relationships between art and empathy.

Open to Harvard community only. RSVP required.

About TDM Open Seminars:

This fall, Theater, Dance & Media opens up its classrooms to the wider Harvard community. Join us for conversations with guest artists and speakers in an intimate settings.