Issue #5 - Alumnx HQ

Issue #5 - 125 Lives Transformed

Alumnx HQ

Greetings from Team Alumnx

In addition to dozens of dedicated alumni volunteers, you have a proud and passionate staff serving you: Karolyn Heimes, Sarah Melnick (née Van Sciver) ’16, and Diana Cioffari-MacPhee ’16. It is our mission to empower, support, educate, engage, connect, and celebrate this community. As you’ll see in the following pages, we offer many resources, opportunities, benefits, and programs to CalArts graduates. CalArts relies on you as catalysts, advocates, and ambassadors. We love hearing about your collaborations, creations, quests, and lives. Over the years, your suggestions and general questions have inspired us to expand and improve the depth and breadth of our services.

We’d love to hear from you. If you’re interested in becoming an alumnx volunteer, send us an e-mail to alumnx@calarts.edu. Please enjoy the recaps of alumnx activity in the coming pages. We look forward to seeing you in person at our CalArts gatherings soon and often.

**Sarah Melnick ’16 Assistant Director Karolyn Heimes Associate Director Diana Cioffari-MacPhee ’16 Program Associate**

Alumnx Seed Grants Keep Germinating

The five-member Alumnx Council selects Seed Grant awardees twice a year. The $250 grants fund projects and happenings that promote alumnx community connection, collaboration, inclusion, and impact on the arts. For more info visit calarts.edu/about/alumni/alumni-council.

Edda Manriquez (Film/Video MFA 14) Edda Manriquez is the founder of Les Femmes Underground International Film Festival, a women’s 501(c)(3). Through the collaboration between Les Femmes Underground International Film Festival and feminist collective, The Kitty Cult, they host several events geared toward women’s empowerment, community healing, and activism. Featuring events such as Books for Babes, Kitty Paradise, and LEFUFF, The Kitty Cult is made up of CalArts alumni and female artists joining together to create a positive social change through the medium of art. The Kitty Paradise event helped raise funds for Kitt Crusaders amongst other initiatives geared toward strengthening our community. Books for Babes is an ongoing initiative focused on providing feminist books to at-need communities.

Harold Abramowitz (Writing MFA 06) RAD! Residencies is a new critical-creative literary series that hosts writers to participate in three related events over a defined period of time. Centered around a question or theme they are currently exploring in their work, the plan encourages writers to create community around urgent topics.

Luke Martin (Music Composition MFA 16) and Aaron Foster Breilyn (Music Composition MFA 14) The Co-Incidence Festival is based on an expanded view of art and music. Following Black Mountain College, it brings together radical artists to take part in an event curated as social sculpture. This year’s festival featured artists are Angeles Rojas, Clara Allison, Derek Baron, Joachim Eckl, John Eagle, Jordan Dykstra, Michael Pisaro, Sarah Ayotomiwa Pitan, and Tim Tsang.

Shaina Simmons (Acting MFA 17) Shaina Shaina Shaina is filming the pilot for Season 2 of the web series “Shaina Shaina,” a comedic look at the intersections of being black, a woman, and living in the Trump era.

Soyeon Kim (Experimental Animation MFA 01) The Sun & The Wind is a short narrative film that is a part of an ongoing production. The film explores the meaning of power and its influence on humankind. While the story unfolds between the two worlds of nature and human, various experimental visual treatments are explored in art direction.

**CalArts student activists address Gala guests to protest tuition hikes.**

**Members of the Mudbug Brass Band led the procession into the theater.**

**The REDCAT Theater transformed by artist Fay Ray.**

**Gala Co-Chairs Tim Disney and Karen Hillenburg address Gala guests.**

**Mark Murphy, founding Steven D. Lavine Executive Director of REDCAT, receives proclamation from the City of Los Angeles.**

**Student presenters Lorenzo Fresta (Film/Video BFA 19) and Hanna Kim (Film/Video BFA 19).**

**Provost Tracie Costantino and Dan Barber.**

**The evening’s Mistress of Ceremonies, Kristina Wong.**

**REDCAT Award honoree Henry Taylor (Art 95), CalArts President Ravi S. Rajan, and Distinguished Alumni Award honoree Pete Docter (Film/Video 90).**

**Roxana Landaverde and Charles Gaines.**

**John Kelly, Kerry English, Olga Garay English, Adele Yellin, and Edgar Miramontes.**

CalArts REDCAT Gala 2019

On March 16, REDCAT hosted the 13th annual CalArts REDCAT Gala. The event was co-chaired by Chairman of the Board Tim Disney and Trustee Karen Hillenburg. The REDCAT Award was presented to renowned visual artist Henry Taylor (Art BFA 95). Pete Docter (Film/Video BFA 90), Chief Creative Officer of Pixar Animation Studios, received the Distinguished Alumni Award. The Gala also celebrated the legacy of Mark Murphy, founding Steven D. Lavine Executive Director of REDCAT, who has been largely responsible for making REDCAT a vital part of Los Angeles and a leader in contemporary international performance.

Back row: Gil Draper ‘67, Stephen Johns ‘72, Bill Stout ‘71, Cris Dawson ‘72, Lois DeArmond ‘70, Ed Flynn ‘67, Tim Clark ‘72

Middle row: Joel Goldstein ‘68, Mona Thalheimer ‘71, Barry Friedrich ‘70, Nick Ruiz ‘72, Nob Hadeishi ‘61, Larry Bell ‘59

Front row: Claudia Hurtz ‘69, Carole Anne CastilloRamsdell ‘67, Sylvia Walker ‘65, Barbara Salanitro ‘62, Doris Olga Gotsinas Kouyias ‘69

Also in attendance: Jack Enyart ‘69, Eileen Koyama-Dawson ‘71

Chouinard Reunion 2019

Laughter, reconnections, and nostalgia filled the private ballroom at Maggiano’s Little Italy on Saturday, Feb. 9, as once again, Chouinardians gathered to exchange stories of artmaking and transformation at the 2019 Chouinard Alumni Reunion. With more than 60 guests in attendance, CalArts President Ravi Rajan kicked off the celebration with a champagne toast in honor of Chouinard’s legendary founder, Mrs. Nelbert Murphy Chouinard. “Today would have been Madam Chouinard’s 140th birthday,” said Rajan. “She was a visionary—a feminist who created an art school with the courage and foresight to make it happen. So many have been able to pursue their art because of her vision,” said Rajan, quoting Awards Committee Member Doris Olga Gotsinas

Kouyias ’69. He continued, saying that, “Nelbert Chouinard and her faculty taught and nurtured the gifts of some of the most highly regarded artists of the 20th century. Without Chouinard and its artists, there’d be no CalArts. We continue to be inspired by Chouinard alumni, and we are here to honor Madame Chouinard, and you, and your collective legacy.” Over a full Italian lunch, Chouinard alumni exchanged memories of their classes, colleagues, and projects, followed by a heartfelt awards ceremony and a program that featured both Chouinardians and the current Madame Chouinard Scholarship recipient. Each year, two Chouinard award recipients are selected by a peer committee composed of artist and committee Chair Timothy J. Clark ’72, artist Doris Olga Gotsinas Kouyias ’69, and Glen Kittelson ’56. “There are so many alumni who are extremely talented and well worth the honor—artists who have contributed and made a difference in the art world in their own way,” said Kouyias. “We try to recognize people who have previously gone unnoticed by us.” This year, CalArts and the committee presented the Nelbert Chouinard Award to artist Larry Bell ’59 for his significant influence in glass sculpture, as well as the Grand View Award to

Nobuyuki Hadeishi ’61, for his contributions as an artist and educator. “Larry taught his students to listen to their art, reassuring them that their art would give them the answers they needed,” said Clark. “Larry, we thank you not only for the big picture you contributed to the art world, but also for listening to your art.” Best known for his works in glass and his cube sculptures, Bell’s art resides in numerous museums, public spaces, and cultural institutions, both nationally and internationally. Over the course of his 60-year career, he has influenced form and shape in multiple media, including paintings; constructions that demonstrate volume; cubes that transmit, absorb, and reflect light; sculpture; vapor drawings; light knots; and furniture design, among others. Today, he maintains and produces work in two studios—one in Venice, California, and another in Taos, New Mexico. Among friends, Bell accepted his award with gratitude and shared memories of his beloved time at Chouinard. “I’m totally touched,” he said. “I’m so very happy to be in a roomful of adults who remember what it was like to be at Chouinard. One of my teachers, Bob Irwin, told me to get a studio and see what I could find out about myself. Now, I’ve been in the studio 60 years. There were good days and bad, but I have no regrets. Being an artist is one of the most delightfully selfish things to give to oneself, and I thank CalArts for remembering us and our work.” Applause filled the room as Bell finished, and Doris Olga Gotsinas Kouyias took the podium to announce the recipient of the Grand View Award. “Thank you for teaching us. You are a true pillar of our community,” she said of Nobuyuki Hadeishi. An especially gifted artist and instructor, Hadeishi is best known for his silkscreen and acrylic painting, as well as for his teaching. Recently, Hadeishi helped solve a long-standing mystery when he recognized and located a forgotten mural by David Alfaro Siqueiros, which was painted in the old Chouinard building on Grand View Street in 1932. “It’s been almost a half century since Chouinard closed down,” said Hadeishi, “and I was probably the last person to leave the campus. I remember that place so, so well.” Following the awards ceremony, graphic designer and current Madame Chouinard Scholarship recipient Alene Tashjian (Art BFA 23) shared the following. “I would like to thank the Chouinard community. Without you, I wouldn’t

**Scholarship recipient Alene Tashjian (Graphic Design BFA 23) with the Chouinard award recipients Nobuyuki Hadeishi ’61, left, and Larry Bell ’59.**

be able to pursue my art at my dream school,” she said. “CalArts has taught me to create abstractly. It’s taught me to collaborate with other artists, and it’s taught me countless lessons about myself. When I look around at the students staying up late, working all through the night, I don’t want to be anywhere else. I can’t imagine not being here. It’s the culture and expression of CalArts that I cannot not live without.” Chouinardians found common ground in her coming-of-age, lived experience shared with a close-knit artistic community. “There are so many talented people at CalArts, and it can be really intimidating. You wonder, ‘Am I really supposed to be here?’” Tashjian reflected. “So, it was really comforting to hear some of these legendary artists say to trust yourself and your voice, to be easier on yourself and follow your art.” Others learned from the legacy of Chouinard that afternoon, too. “This year’s reunion felt more special than ever,” said committee Chair Tim Clark. “The ranks of these graduates are thinning every minute. It makes me more aware that each one of them has a very special story—and we might lose these stories if we don’t endeavor to recognize them today.” —Kirsten Quinn Smith

Alumnx Mentor Program

**Jessica Lawson (Theater BFA 11) Zephyr Ramsay (Theater BFA 17) Ana Perez Lopez (Film/Video BFA 18)**

**Will Smith (Art BFA 12) Sarah Wass (Music BFA 03) Jackie Aldern (Film/Video BFA 17)**

Program participants in attendance at orientation: Jackie Aldern (Film/Video MFA 17) Sofia Canales (Film/Video BFA 13, MFA 15) Anna Cangellaris (Experimental Animation MFA 18) Ning Cheng (Character Animation BFA 18) Diana Cioffari-MacPhee (Performer/Composer MFA 16) Erica Estrada (Experimental Animation BFA 18) Derek Etman (Composition BFA 16) Brittany Goode (Writing Program MFA 09) Kerstin Hovland (Experimental Animation MFA 12) Jessica Lawson (Costume Design BFA 11) Emery Martin (Experimental Animation BFA 06) Kali Nikitas (Graphic Design MFA 90) Anaeis Ohanian (Art BFA 13) Ana Perez Lopez (Experimental Animation MFA 18) Zephyr Ramsay (Costume Design BFA 17) Tyler Riggin (Acting MFA 18) Lindsay Rosenboom (Music BFA 11) Katherine Shea (Film Directing MFA 18) Will Smith (Photography & Media BFA 12) Robin Sukhadia (North Indian Music MFA 07) Justin Taines (Experimental Animation BFA 05) Chardonnay Tobar (Costume Design MFA 18) Sarah Van Sciver (Performer/Composer MFA 16) Hannah Varamini (Art MFA 18) James Vitz-Wong (Performer/Composer MFA 18) Sarah Wass (Instrumental Performance Flute MFA 03)

In 2018, alumnx volunteers Erica Larsen-Dockray Film/Video MFA 12, BFA 09) and Kyle Henry (Music BFA 13), along with Karolyn Heimes, Associate Director of Alumnx Engagement, conducted a survey of the CalArts Alumnx community to determine whether a mentor program was an initiative which alumnx would participate in and support. Results were positive and the three followed up by researching mentoring programs at other colleges and universities and designing a framework for a CalArts program. In its initial year, the program attracted nearly 50 participants; this year the number has doubled to just shy of 100 mentors and mentees. The program pairs CalArts graduates just beginning their careers with fellow alumnx who have already navigated similar professional paths. Volunteer mentors range from company CEOs to educators and art therapists, among many others. The program runs March through September, with at least one monthly one-to-two-hour meeting. Some mentor/mentee teams meet more frequently. Consults are conducted in-person or virtually, for those in different geographic areas. In the first four months, conversations focus on the mentee’s immediate 6 to 24-month goals, followed by two months of longer-term career planning.

For more information about the program visit calarts.edu/about/alumni/mentor-program.

**Located in a built-out airplane hangar, Open the Portal welcomes alumnx and friends at any drawing level.**

Open the Drawing Portal!

In January, Los Angeles Alumni Chapter Leader David Braun ’13 launched Figure Drawing Night at his stop-motion animation studio, Open the Portal. The monthly event attracted numerous alumnx including Sarah Melnick ’16, Diana Cioffari-MacPhee ’16, Theo Burtis ’14, Melissa Piekaar ’12, Leonardo Krotser ’10, Moises Jimenez ’07 & ’11, Hilary Lile ’11, Amanda Smith ’11, Stevie Nemazee ’16, Rigel Yaluk Mosquera ’14, Sandro Del Rosario ’01, Jenny Hatchadorian ’11, Aaron Murtagh ’10, Jushtin Lee School ’11, Nicholas D’Agostino ’17, Kathryn Catmur ’14, and Chardonnay Tobar ’18.

Back row: Erich Schmidt ’86, David Chathas ’15, Bijan Berahimi ’13, Colin Frazer (Art School faculty), Rob Bekuhrs ’83, Walker Cahall ’07, Stephen Lee ’10

Front row: Christine Shen ’15 with her dog Puff, Seamus Kennedy ’78, Eileen Massover ’81, Steve Bilow ’82, Evi Pazmanczyk ’91, Marco Lukini Perez ’17, Karolyn Heimes (CalArts Alumnx Associate Director)

CalArtians invade Portlandia

Bijan Berahimi’s (Art 13) gallery, FISK, hosted the gathering of more than 30 CalArtians and guests to view the show, FISK & Friends 2018, featuring alumni work from Sean Soloman, Brian Roettinger (Art 04), Bijan Berahimi, and former faculty member Ed Fella.

**Kazmiera Tarshis (BFA 19) offers her wares.**

Holiday Market

While already a distant memory, we think back fondly to last December when the CalArts community gathered for the 3rd Annual Holiday Market. The bazaar included handcrafted gifts, jewelry, ceramics, clothing, and fashion pieces made by more than 40 vendors. Live jazz from Ari Giancaterino (MFA 19), Will Kjeer (BFA 19), and Matt Smith (MFA 19) added to the holiday spirit.

Graduates from the MFA Graphic Design program (unless otherwise indicated).

Back row: Thea Lorentzen ‘13, Kat Catmur ‘14, Katie Hanburger ‘06, Ana Llorente ‘98, Jessica Fleischmann ‘01

Second row: Juliette Bellocq ‘00, Louise Sandhaus ‘94, Kate Johnston ‘12, Yasmin Khan ‘05, Tanya Rubbak ‘07, Xiaoqing Wang ‘06, Julie Cho (PMFA 04)

Front row: Lorraine Wild (current faculty), Laurie Haycock Makela (former faculty), Robin Cottle ‘90, Kali Nikitas ‘90

Dogs: Lucky and Ravi

“Chick Dinner” Alumnx Honor Lorraine Wild with New Scholarship

Award earmarked for female graphic design students

Winner of the AIGA Gold Medal, she’s designed exhibition catalogs for LACMA, the Whitney Museum, and the Getty Center; produced books about design, art, and architecture through her Green Dragon Office; and became director of CalArts’s Graphic Design Program in 1985 after being hired on the strength of her ground-breaking essay, “More Than A Few Questions About Graphic Design Education.” But among all her achievements, designer, critic, and teacher Lorraine Wild has never had a scholarship established in her name—until now. Starting this fall, the Lorraine Wild Scholarship will award one female MFA Graphic Design candidate with $6,000 annually toward tuition. Wild’s former student, Kali Nikitas (Graphic Design MFA 90), hatched the scholarship idea. “Lorraine really opened up my eyes and my mind to see that there are many ways to engage in the practice of design,” she says. “For me, she

was a significant mentor.” Nikitas, a member of the CalArts Alumni Council, decided to meld her admiration for Wild with a named scholarship that would be funded largely by graduates of the program. She explains, “Part of my mission on the council is to engage with alumni and, quite honestly, to fundraise. The percentage of alumni who give back is small, so when I thought about doing a scholarship in Lorraine’s name, it seemed like a good way to create a real sense of engagement, where people would feel connected through the power of the group.” Nikitas, founding Chair of the MFA Graphic Design Program and Chair of Communication Art at Otis College of Art and Design, conferred with CalArts’s Advancement Office for a crash course in scholarship requirements (a minimum $5,000 annual award for four years). Then, last fall, she invited peers, including classmate Robin Cottle (Graphic Design MFA 90)

“We’d like to see the Lorraine Wild Scholarship become a model for other CalArts alumni who can look at what we’ve done and realize, ‘Wow, this is something I can get behind!’”

and Graphic Design Program faculty member Louise Sandhaus (Graphic Design MFA 94), to join the fundraising cause. “To me and so many of her students, Lorraine embodies a sense of self-permission,” Sandhaus says. “I’m hoping this scholarship encourages students to defy expectations about what they think you’re supposed to do and how you’re supposed to do it.” Nikitas and her team quickly gathered momentum by tapping into an informal network of women who gather every year for the so-called “Chick Dinner.” “Once a year,” Nikitas explains, “a group of local women get together for this wonderful potluck dinner, and it’s one of the highlights of my year. I sent these women a questionnaire asking them what they thought about a scholarship in Lorraine’s name, and the response was overwhelming.” In her e-mails to potential donors, Nikitas broke down the various pledge categories. She recalls, “Some people said, ‘I’m not in a position to give much because it’s been a really tricky year, but count me in for a small dollar figure.’ To me, that kind of response is just as meaningful as a large dollar figure.” Of the 19 Lorraine Wild Scholarship donors, 13 had never given to CalArts before. “Now they’re giving to the school through this scholarship in a way that’s really meaningful to them,” Nikitas says. Within a few weeks, contributors had achieved their financial goal and in December, Nikitas, Cottle, and Terry Morello, senior vice president Advancement and External Affairs Development, met Wild for lunch in a Beverly Hills restaurant. “She had no idea what the lunch was about,”

Nikitas recalls. “When we told her we’d established a scholarship in her name, Lorraine was shocked.” The news thrilled Wild. “To have alumni develop a scholarship in my name was truly thoughtful and unexpected,” Wild says. “I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed to the scholarship fund. It’s my hope that it will help women students to have confidence in their own ideas, and to feel stronger and more independent in the creation of their own body of work. I also hope they understand their connection to this remarkable community of women that have come out of our program.” Nikitas believes the Lorraine Wild Scholarship could spark other alumnx to start up similar scholarships inspired by their favorite mentors. Hundreds of professional musicians, for example, have benefited from programs spearheaded by David Rosenboom, who will step down as dean of The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts in 2020, after 30 years of service. Nikitas says, “We’d like to see the Lorraine Wild Scholarship become a model for other CalArts alumni who can look at what we’ve done and realize, ‘Wow, this is something I can get behind!’ I believe these scholarships are a really powerful way for people to get together and collectively give back to the school.” —Hugh Hart

**Kali Nikitas, left, and Robin Cottle, surprised Lorraine Wild (seated) with news of the scholarship named in her honor.**

CAP Benefit Scores Six-Figure Triumph

CalArtsX Silent Auction Celebrates Alumnx Works

In January, Susan Disney Lord hosted CalArtsX, the CAP Benefit, at her elegant Los Angeles restaurant, The Bel-Air. Highlighted by a cocktail reception and silent auction, the event doubled 2018’s fundraising effort by generating nearly $100,000 toward CAP programming. President Ravi Rajan praised the CalArts Community Arts Partnership for playing a fundamental role in the Institute’s mission. Former CAP student Lani Morales Guerrero then gave a heartfelt speech about how the program impacted her life. Now a first-year music major at CalArts, Guerrero, who grew up in East Los Angeles, said, “When I began taking lessons at CAP, I was encouraged to try as many things as I wanted—jazz band, salsa band, and even a Balkan music ensemble. By teaching me to play many musical genres on multiple instruments, the CAP Music program inspired me to pursue higher education in music.” Among the 123 guests were Chairman of the Board of Trustees Tim Disney as well as trustees and CAP Council members Tina Perry and Janet Dreisen Rappaport. Also in attendance were the Wallis Annenberg Artistic Director of CAP, Glenna Avila; Interim Director of CAP Programs and Operations, Bailey Cool; and CAP Council members Peggy Funkhouser, John Hughes, Jan Kern, Robin Lithgow, and Jill Shinderman. The evening culminated in a silent auction featuring alumnx work from the last 10 years as well as art created by CAP students. Art sales, sponsorships, ticket sales, and an anonymous $50,000 donation added up to record high revenue for the annual gala.