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Join us at BICA School for a casual, come-as-you-are reading group that welcomes everyone—whether you’ve read the text cover to cover or just want to hear what others have to say. We’ll explore critical and curious texts together in a space that values open conversation, listening, and learning.

Read ahead if you can, but there’s no pressure to be an expert—just bring your thoughts, questions, and curiosity. We’re sharing two versions of this text with different translators. Read either or read both!

→ Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” In Illuminations, edited by Hannah Arendt, translated by Harry Zohn, 217–251. New York: Schocken Books, 1968.

→Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility: Second Version.” In The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Media, edited by Michael W. Jennings, Brigid Doherty, and Thomas Y. Levin, translated by Edmund Jephcott and Harry Zohn, 19–55. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2008.

What happens to art when it’s no longer one-of-a-kind? What do photography, film, and mass production do to the “aura” of a work?

In this landmark essay, Walter Benjamin argues that technologies of reproduction—starting with photography—don’t just change how art is distributed; they change what art is. From politics to perception, authenticity to accessibility, Benjamin’s provocative ideas continue to shape conversations about art, media, and culture nearly a century later.

Expect big ideas, bold claims, and plenty to discuss.