Mike Kelley: Day Is Done

On the occasion of Art City 2026, the spaces of the former Faculty of Engineering host “Day Is Done” by Mike Kelley.

The works of Mike Kelley investigate the relationships between power, psyche, and institutions. In the continuous interplay between mass culture and personal experience, his analysis extends to educational systems and their capacity to shape individuals. According to the artist, schools represent a repressive structure that extends the domain of authority. Having strayed from their original aims, educational institutions seem more concerned with controlling students’ bodies than with transmitting knowledge. The analysis of scholastic constraints becomes for Kelley an opportunity to reflect on American cultural identity and its social dynamics.

“Day Is Done” is a collection of 31 musical short films inspired by extracurricular activities—those events and programs that take place outside regular class hours.