Arts News

Music professor offers first in-depth look at jazz icon Carla Bley

A new book by UC Santa Cruz music professor Amy Beal marks the first comprehensive look at the music and influence of Carla Bley—an innovative American composer and performer who has surprisingly been overlooked in the field of jazz studies.

UCSC Arts and Humanities faculty win USA fellowships

Two UCSC faculty are among the 50 writers, dancers, musicians, filmmakers and other artists nationwide who have been awarded $50,000 USA fellowships grants.

Soc Doc alumna reports from Egypt’s Tahrir Square

UCSC alumna Bridgette Auger was following women activists in Egypt’s Tahrir Square last week when they came under fire during a clash between protesters and police. Auger—who received her Master's degree in Social Documentation from UCSC earlier this year—shot video footage of the incident, which can be seen on the Daily Beast web site.

SSC and Theater Arts team up for holiday extravaganza

After a brief hiatus, the popular year-end holiday co-production by Shakespeare Santa Cruz and the Theater Arts Department returns this year for "A Year with Frog and Toad"—running through December 11 at UCSC’s Mainstage Theater.

Pulitzer Prize winning poet to read at 2nd Morton Marcus event, Nov. 20

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Kay Ryan—the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2008-2010, who just a few weeks ago received a MacArthur (“genius”) Fellowship award--will be the featured guest at the 2nd annual Morton Marus Memorial Poetry Reading, Sunday, November 20.

UCSC art historian contributes to Touré’s new book on “post-blackness”

History of Art and Visual Culture assistant professor Derek Conrad Murray adds to candid conversation about race in the age of Obama

UCSC honors Marti Noxon at Hollywood Film/TV alumni event

Award-winning writer and producer Marti Noxon (Mad Men, Grey’s Anatomy, Glee) was presented with the first UCSC Film & Digital Media Prestigious Alumni Award at a ceremony held last week at the Soho House in West Hollywood.

UCSC’s digital artists take over museum for one night only-Oct. 21

This Friday, October 21, student and alumni artists from UCSC’s Digital Arts & New Media (DANM) program will transform Santa Cruz’s Museum of Art & History into a dynamic hub of new interactive digital art and technology.

Founders Dinner on October 21 to honor achievement, service, and scholarship

UC Santa Cruz will host its fifth annual Founders Celebration dinner at the Cocoanut Grove in Santa Cruz on Friday, October 21.

Frans Lanting’s multimedia show to highlight UCSC evening at Flint Center

For more than two decades, acclaimed nature photographer Frans Lanting has documented wildlife from the Amazon to Antarctica, in an effort to promote understanding about the Earth and its natural history. On October 15, he will join with the campus for a remarkable evening of art, science and life, at the Flint Center in Cupertino.

The New McHenry: It’s Not Your Parents’ Library

I’m sitting in a “Group Study” room of the newly renovated McHenry Library at UC Santa Cruz and I’ve got to admit—I’m pretty relaxed.

UCSC film lecturer Leo Chiang up for Emmy Award in Sept.

Leo Chiang--a lecturer in the Social Documentation M.F.A. Program at UC Santa Cruz—has been nominated for an Emmy Award for his documentary film, "A Village Called Versailles."

UC Santa Cruz receives $500,000 gift to establish George Hitchcock poetry endowment

UC Santa Cruz has received a gift of $500,000 to establish The George P. Hitchcock Modern Poetry Fund at Porter College.

Shakespeare Santa Cruz kicks off 30th anniversary summer festival July 19

Shakespeare Santa Cruz (SSC) opens its 30th anniversary season on July 19 at the Mainstage Theater, with Shakespeare’s most popular farce-The Comedy of Errors.

UCSC alum Gillian Welch does it again

Forty-five seconds into the new Gillian Welch CD, you realize this is the real deal. It’s a low-key affair—in the absolute best possible way—with exquisite musicianship, haunting harmonies, and superlative songwriting. It’s also the first Gillian Welch album to come out in nearly eight years, and it’s well worth the wait.

Evolutionary / Revolutionary: an evening of art, music, science

The University of California, Santa Cruz will present Evolutionary/Revolutionary, a remarkable evening of art, science and life, on Saturday, October 15, at the Flint Center in Cupertino.

UCSC professor investigates social impact of technology

How can we as citizens use technology to contribute to the public good? That’s a key question fueling the research of UC Santa Cruz associate professor of film and digital media Warren Sack.

Mandolin masters David Grisman and Mike Marshall lead 8th annual symposium at UCSC

Founded by legendary mandolinists David Grisman & Mike Marshall, the annual Mandolin Symposium at UC Santa Cruz is now heading into its eighth year, beginning on June 26.

Film & TV industry alums reconnect with campus

“The UC Santa Cruz student may not get the first job compared to his or her Ivy League competitor...but I assure you they will get the BEST job in the end...because they will out-think them.” That was the takeaway message from the keynote address by UCSC alumnus—and president of Lionsgate Television—Kevin Beggs at the June 3-4 Film Symposium presented by the Arts Division.

UCSC artists featured in ‘First Friday’ Santa Cruz community art tour

"First Friday"--Santa Cruz’s popular monthly art and gallery tour--now features more than two dozen venues around the downtown area. On June 3, three of those venues will showcase the work of UCSC student artists.

Felicia Rice featured at Stanford's Cantor Arts Center

Alumna Felicia Rice (Cowell '78)—now manager for UCSC’s Digital Arts and New Media M.F.A. program (DANM)—will be featured in The Art of the Book in California: Five Contemporary Presses, an exhibition at Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center.

President of Lionsgate Television to give keynote address at UCSC Film Symposium

UCSC alumnus Kevin Beggs, the president of Lionsgate Television Group, will deliver the keynote address for a two-day film symposium—Bridging the Gap—at UC Santa Cruz, June 3-4.

Irwin 2011 exhibition marks 25th year of arts scholarships

The Sesnon Gallery’s annual Irwin Scholarship Award exhibition showcases some of UCSC’s most promising young artists working in painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, installation, video and digital media.

Benjamin Britten's Comic Opera 'Albert Herring' at UCSC--June 2-5

Ant Farm founder and emeritus professor Chip Lord to be honored at UCSC film symposium

Years before he joined the faculty at UCSC, Chip Lord was a member of the Ant Farm, a groundbreaking, experimental art and architecture collective he founded in 1968 with fellow architect Doug Michels.

Peter Limbrick to deliver Arts Division Dean’s Research Lecture

Last fall, associate professor of film and digital media Peter Limbrick received the UCSC Arts Division's Excellence in Research Award for his new book "Making Settler Cinemas." In honor of this newly established award by arts dean David Yager, Limbrick will present a free public lecture on Monday, May 23

Digital Arts exhibition showcases interactive new media art

“If plastics could speak, what would they say?” So begins graduate student Meredith Drum in the written description of her project, "Louisiana Re-Storied," for the UC Santa Cruz Digital Arts and New Media (DANM) 2011 MFA Exhibition.

UCSC art alumni exhibition on view at Porter College through May 7

Feedback, an art exhibition currently running through May 7 at the Porter College Faculty Gallery, presents the work of a variety of UCSC alumni who are active and practicing artists from New York to California.

Center for Visual and Performance Studies to host conference on Pasolini

On April 29-30, the UCSC Arts Division’s center for Visual and Performance Studies (VPS) will host an international conference titled "Pasolini’s Body: New Directions in Pasolini Scholarship" at the Cowell College Conference Room.

Professor to create large photographic work for African embassy

The U.S. State Department has commissioned associate art professor Elliot Anderson to create a large-scale photographic work for a new embassy in Zambia, Africa.

Cuban video project screens rural documentaries April 15 at UCSC

Short video documentaries produced by Cuban campesinos will be shown Friday, April 15 when Cuban filmmaker Carlos Rodriguez visits UC Santa Cruz as part of a tour of U.S. universities. The event is free and open to the public and runs from 12:30-2 p.m. in the Cervantes Room at the Bay Tree Book Store building.

History alum winning acclaim for second feature film

UCSC alumnus Cary Joji Fukunaga has followed his award-winning debut film Sin Nombre with Jane Eyre, his own take on the classic 1847 novel by Charlotte Bronte.

Sesnon Gallery’s 40th Anniversary Exhibition opens April 5

The Sesnon Gallery at UC Santa Cruz will toast its 40th anniversary this spring with a special exhibition--featuring a provocative cross-section of what it has offered the campus and community for the past four decades.

Arts Dean to launch new ‘Creativity and Innovation’ lecture series

The UCSC Arts Division will debut a new series of free public lectures titled “Creativity and Innovation.” Dean David Yager has selected nine speakers—all noted for their unique ability to bridge innovation and creativity within their professional career paths.

UCSC announces Baskins’ $1 million engineering gift at Scholarship Benefit Dinner

Chancellor George Blumenthal announced a special $1 million gift from Jack and Peggy Downes Baskin for engineering graduate fellowships at UCSC's eighth annual Scholarship Benefit Dinner.

Alumnus Kent Nagano wins Grammy award for Best Opera Recording

Renowned conductor and UC Santa Cruz alumnus Kent Nagano received a Grammy Award for “Best Opera Recording: "Saariaho: L'Amour De Loin” at the 53rd Grammy Awards.

Acclaimed playwright and film director Luis Valdez to visit UCSC

Acclaimed playwright, director, and filmmaker Luis Valdez will join his son--UCSC theater arts lecturer Kinan Valdez--for two special audience talks after performances of Luis's play "Mummifed Deer," Feb. 26 and Mar. 4 at the Mainstage Theater.

Scholarship Benefit Dinner to provide vital financial support for students

UC Santa Cruz will host its eighth annual Scholarship Benefit Dinner on Saturday, February 26, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose.

Shakespeare Santa Cruz announces 30th Anniversary Season

Shakespeare Santa Cruz (SSC) artistic director Marco Barricelli announced the company’s 2011 lineup today, noting some exciting new developments as SSC heads into its 30th Anniversary season.

Reception for Chip Lord’s ‘Public Spaces’ exhibit at Sesnon Gallery on Feb. 2

UCSC to present major West Coast ‘Paul Bowles Centennial Celebration’

The seventh and last international centennial event celebrating the birth of renowned American writer and composer Paul Bowles will take place at UCSC, Feb. 4–6. Conceived by a UCSC music lecturer and inheritor of Bowles' musical estate, the 3-day event will include rare music, film, art, and an academic conference.

Paul Whitworth to deliver 45th annual UCSC Faculty Research Lecture-Feb. 3

UC Santa Cruz professor of theater arts Paul Whitworth will deliver the 45th annual UCSC Faculty Research Lecture on Thursday, February 3, at 6 p.m. in the Mainstage Theater.