PennDesign has appointed Ralph Lemon, a choreographer, writer, visual artist and curator, to be the Keith L. and Kathy Sachs Visiting Professor in the department of fine arts for the 2018-2019 academic year.

For more than 30 years, Mr. Lemon has been a celebrated and iconoclastic figure in contemporary performance. His practice is expansive, as evidenced by his epic The Geography Trilogy (1997-2005), which unfolded over the period of almost a decade and encompassed three evening-length performances, two internet projects, gallery exhibitions, and three books of Mr. Lemon’s writing, drawing and photography. His work is both politically resonant and deeply personal and has included collaborations with dancers and artists from New York, West Africa, South and East Asia, and the American South.

Mr. Lemon’s work often challenges institutional parameters, which has led to him being invited to create projects for spaces where dance rarely happens. In 2012, he curated a three-week program of dance performances for The Museum of Modern Art’s atrium, putting a focus on choreography at an institution that traditionally showcases static objects. Scaffold Work (2014), a complex performance/installation work by Mr. Lemon, became part of the collection of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis as a “time-based acquisition” despite the enormous challenges of restaging the work in the future.

At PennDesign, Mr. Lemon will be engaged with students pursuing an MFA through a research group, which will meet both on campus and in New York City. He will also give a public lecture at Penn in the spring.