Lever Press has published a new pathbreaking book on the humanities, Extraordinary Partnerships: How the Arts and Humanities are Transforming America, edited by Christine Henseler, Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and Co-Director of 4Humanities at Union College. Her "inspirative and hopeful collection demonstrates that the arts and humanities are entering a renaissance that stands to change the direction of our communities." (book jacket)

​Among the authors are Kim Cook of the Burning Man team, Ella Maria Diaz of Cornell University, Ari W. Epstein of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Doris Sommer of Harvard University as well as Christina Lanzl of the Urban Culture Institute. Her essay, Toward a New Paradigm: Public Art and Placemaking in the Twenty-First Century, is featured in part 1 of the anthology, Toward a New Common Humanity: Creating Space, Context, and Moment.

Christina Lanzl, initiator and co-author of the Placemaking Manifesto, applies its six principles from her professional practice and research to highlight examples of extraordinary partnerships. These public art and placemaking initiatives, created in partnership with diverse communities, offer key insights, provide tips and offer potential for new endeavors.

The six principles anchored in the Placemaking Manifesto:
1. Placemaking = Quality of Life
2. Placemaking = A Sense of Place
3. Placemaking = Caring About the Community
4. Placemaking = Collaboration and Communication
5. Placemaking = Active Participation 
6. Placemaking = Tradition and Innovation

Publication:
Christine Henseler (editor). Extraordinary Partnerships: How the Arts and Humanities Are Transforming America. 
Amherst: Lever Press, 2020: 108-148.
The book is available as an open resource.

Richard Bertman: The Sculptures​
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• Provides a thoughtful and comprehensive account by author Christina Lanzl, on Bertman's synthesis of art and life, sculpture and architecture.
• Covers Richard Bertman's early works, how he draws the figure 'in space', his kinetic sculptures, wood carvings, and how he infuses his works with humor.
• Includes a full inventory of Bertman's sculptures.
• Features full-color photography of Bertman's vivid sculptures, studies, illustrations and sketches.

For over 50 years Richard Bertman has been sculpting, drawing, and leading an architectural practice. Gradually assembling a lifetime's work, Bertman's sculptural creations encompass over 100 works from five decades. The sculptures bear testimony to a boundless energy and the creativity of a Renaissance man, both an artist and a renowned architect.
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Christina Lanzl, the author of this catalogue raisonné​, delves into process, meaning and interpretation of Bertman's sculptures, shedding light on his creative practice and analyzing each work, while also listening to the artist's voice. He is best known for his whimsical mechanical sculptures. Man, and machine are Bertman's central foci, resulting in two major groupings: kinetic objects primarily activated by electric motors and figurative portraits made from bent wire, welded steel rod, or carved in wood. Complementing these are the early abstract sculptures as well as explorations in other materials, such as copper, bronze or the incorporation of appropriated items from found objects.