The Occult Humanities Conference 2025:
Contemporary Art and Scholarship on the Esoteric Traditions
October 17-19, 2025
34 Stuyvesant St. New York, NY
Hosted by the NYU Steinhardt Department of Art and Art Professions and The Witch Wave Podcast
*PLEASE NOTE: All conference talks can only be accessed by ticket-holders. However the exhibition, vending area, and Sunday night closing reception are all free and open to the public, per the schedule below.
The sixth Occult Humanities Conference is a weekend conference to be held in New York City on October 17-19, 2025. The conference will present a wide array of voices active in the cultural landscape who are specifically addressing the occult tradition through research, scholarship and artistic practice.
The arts and humanities at present are acutely interested in subjects related to the occult tradition. The tradition represents a rich and varied visual culture that displays a complex set of relations at once culturally specific and global in their transmission. Roughly defined, the occult tradition represents a series of culturally syncretic belief systems with related and overlapping visual histories. Though there are as many ways into this material as there are cultural - and personal - perspectives, universal occult concerns often include a belief in some sort of magic; a longing to connect with an immaterial or trans-personal realm; and a striving for inner-knowledge, refinement of the self, and transformation of one's consciousness - if not one's physical circumstances.
Intensely marginalized throughout most historical periods, these traditions persist and represent an 'underground' perspective that periodically exerts a strong influence on structures of dissent, utopianism and social change. Though history is marked with several so-called "Occult Revivals," the contemporary digital age is a perfect confluence of several factors which make this moment prime for a reexamination of all of the esoteric traditions. While the information age has allowed for easier access to previously obscure writings, imagery, and social contexts, it alternately elicits a deep desire for sensorial experiences and meaning-making once one steps away from the screen.
The presenters at the OHC represent a rich and expanding community of international artists and academics from multiple disciplines across the humanities who share an exuberance and excitement for how the occult traditions interface with their fields of study as well as the culture at large. The small scale of this conference (approximately 100 attendees) will give ticket holders an intimate look at the presenters and their views.
The OHC is co-organized by Jesse Bransford and Pam Grossman
***
COMING SOON!
***
CONFERENCE CO-ORGANIZERS
JESSE BRANSFORD is a New York-based artist whose work is exhibited internationally. He holds degrees from the New School for Social Research (BA), Parsons School of Design (BFA) and Columbia University (MFA). A professor of art at New York University, Bransford's work has been involved with belief and the visual systems it creates since the 1990s. Work has been presented in books from Fulgur Press, “A Book of Staves (Galdrastafabók),” and most recently “The Fourth and Fifth Pyramids.” He lectures widely on his work and the topics surrounding his work. He is the co-organizer of the biennial Occult Humanities Conference. More information can be seen at www.jessebransford.com.
PAM GROSSMAN is the creator and host of internationally beloved podcast, The Witch Wave ("The Terry Gross of witches" - Vulture), the author of the critically acclaimed books, Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power (Gallery Books) and What is a Witch (Tin Can Forest Press), and the co-editor of the WITCHCRAFT volume of Taschen's Library of Esoterica series. Her new book, Magic Maker: The Enchanted Path to Creativity will be released on October 14, 2025. Her writing has appeared in such outlets as The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, and Ms. Magazine. She is cofounder of the Occult Humanities Conference at NYU, and her art exhibitions and magical projects have been featured in such publications as Artforum, Art in America, and The New Yorker. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their two feline familiars. You can find her at PamGrossman.com and @Phantasmaphile.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17
8:00-8:30pm WELCOME & INVOCATION from conference organizers Jesse Bransford & Pam Grossman
8:30-10:00pm WINE & CHEESE RECEPTION with live music
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18
9:00-9:30am WELCOME ANNOUNCEMENTS & OPENING REMARKS by Jesse Bransford & Pam Grossman
9:30-10:30am TBD
10:30-10:45am Break
10:45am-11:45am TBD
12:00-1:30pm Lunch Break
1:30-2:30pm TBD
2:30-2:45pm Break
2:45-3:45pm TBD
3:45-4:15pm Intermission
4:15-5:15pm TBD
5:15-5:30pm Break
5:30-6:30pm TBD
6:30pm Dinner and Free Evening
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19
10:00-11:00am TBD
11:00-11:15am Break
11:15-12:15pm TBD
12:15-2:00pm Lunch Break
2:00-3:00pm TBD
3:00-3:30pm Intermission
3:30-4:30pm TBD
4:30-4:45pm Break
4:45-5:45pm TBD
6:00-8:00pm CLOSING RECEPTION AND VIEWING OF GALLERY SHOW - Open to the Public
COMING SOON
*The exhibition is free and open to the public on Saturday Oct 18th from 9am-6pm and Sunday Oct 19th, from 10am-8pm
Twelve Month Aura - Book your aura photo session(s) directly with them at this link: Coming soon!
*The Vending Area is free and open to the public on Saturday Oct 18th from 9am-6pm and Sunday Oct 19th, from 10am-8pm
TICKETS COMING SOON
*PLEASE NOTE: All conference talks can only be accessed by ticket-holders. However the exhibition, vending area, and Sunday night closing reception are all free and open to the public, per the schedule above. The aura photos are also accessible to the general public, though your session must be booked separately here.
Email: occulthumanities [at] gmail . com
Conference location:
NYU Steinhardt Department of Art and Art Professions
Barney Building
34 Stuyvesant St, New York, NY 10003