Edge - Fall 2015

the magazine of

edge The U ni v er siT y

Fa l l 2 0 1 5

of The

A rT s

Stephen Tarantal interim president

Josephine Burri publisher vice president for advancement

Paul F. Healy editor associate vice president of universit y communication s

Benjamin Brotman BFA ’13 art director & designer

James Maurer production manager

Dana Rodriguez contributing editor

contributing writers

contributing photographers

Anisa Haidary Paul F. Healy Phoebe Kowalewski BFA ’04 Sima Rabinowitz Dana Rodriguez Nicole Soll TJ Walsh BFA ’07

Benjamin Brotman BFA ’13 Lou Caltabiano BFA ’10 CJ Harker BFA ’14 Dave Jackson Paola Nogueras Rachelle Schneider BFA ’02

cover image

Th e Vi e w Sean Murray BFA ’15 (Photography) a rchi va l ink je t prin t

postmaster: send address changes to: Edge c/o University Communications The University of the Arts 320 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 edge, Volume 1, Number 16 Edge is the magazine of the University of the Arts. Readers are encouraged to submit ideas for original articles about University students, faculty and alumni; advancements in arts and arts education; and visual, performing and media arts. The submission of artwork for reproduction is also encouraged. Please include contact information when submitting art.

Unless requested, artwork will not be returned.

Please send all comments, kudos and criticisms to: Edge c/o University Communications, Letters to the Editor, 320 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102; or email news@uarts.edu.

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Untitled, 2015 , 5 4” x 4 2 ”, “ Making It: Alumni Works ‘05–‘15”

Jeremy Foldesy MFA ’14 (Studio Art) f e at ure d in t he jurie d e x hibi t

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FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD There are few moments in the life of a university that one can consider more pivotal and far-reaching than the appointment of a new president. The University of the Arts stands at such a moment, and the Board of Trustees and I could not be more excited and enthusiastic about both our choice and UArts’ future.

Following an extensive national search, David Yager was the unanimous choice of the Board to become the University’s next leader. David, a visual artist, designer and teacher, among other things, has served as dean of the Arts Division at the University of California, Santa Cruz since 2009. His broad experience, both in the arts—painting, printmaking, photography, film and video—and in academia, health care, entrepreneurship and the corporate arena, mirror the University’s innovative approach to educating artists, designers and writers to become creative leaders.

UArts’ unique focus expands lives by connecting the performing, visual and communication arts—in both the classroom and the world outside our door; David embodies that vision and is a bold and eloquent advocate for it. We are a community of and for

unconventional thinkers. In this era of unprecedented change, that is exactly what is needed to transform society, whether in our own backyard or across the globe.

David will take office at UArts in January. When he arrives, he will find a world-class faculty, strong senior leadership and an outstanding staff, all dedicated to excellence. Most importantly, he will find an institution bursting with extraordinarily talented students, whose creativity and imagination never cease to astound me. It is a dynamic environment unlike any other.

As we look toward the University’s 140th anniversary year in 2016, we move ahead with confidence and excitement, preparing to celebrate UArts’ long and distinguished history, while envisioning an even brighter future for this remarkable institution.

I know you will join me in welcoming David here, and he is eager to meet as many members of the UArts community as he can.

This truly is a very significant moment in the history of the University. Here’s to great things ahead!

Jeffrey A. Lutsky Chairman, UArts Board of Trustees

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TA BL E O F C O N T E N T S

F E AT U R E D

A NEW ROAD FORWARD FOR UARTS 9

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Creators

A Century Old

Craft NOW

Wanted

And Brand New

Philadelphia

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Designing

Making Classrooms

Failing

Social Change

Come Alive

Brilliantly

23 2015 Commencement

27 UArts News 33 Supporting UArts 37 Alumni Notes 44 In Memoriam 45 From the Archives 4

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il lu s t r at i on b y

James Firnhaber ’16 (Illustration)

A NEW ROAD FORWARD FOR UARTS The University names David Yager, Dean of the Arts Division at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Its Next President

The David Yager era is about to begin at the University of the Arts. In August, the UArts Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Yager as the University’s fourth president since the school received university status in 1987. He will join UArts from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he currently serves as dean of the Arts Division, distinguished professor of art, and an affiliated faculty member of the Digital Arts and New Media program. Yager takes office at UArts on January 15, 2016, succeeding Sean Buffington, who stepped down in January to become a vice president with the Henry Luce Foundation in New York City.

“We are delighted that David will be joining UArts to lead this unique and dynamic institution into the future,” said Board of Trustees Chairman Jeffrey Lutsky. “He has a deep and personal understanding of the importance of an arts education that emphasizes innovation and develops creative leaders.”

An accomplished visual artist, Yager also has an extensive background as an academic, a researcher utilizing design to improve the health care space, an entrepreneur and a business executive.

“I am excited to join this innovative university as its next president,” Yager said. “My own experience across the areas of

On a recent visit, incoming president David Yager chatted with School of Music students Greg Wilson ’16 (Saxophone) and Frank Rein ’16 (Trombone) in the UArts School Store.

visual art, design, performing arts, academia, corporate and health care industries mirrors UArts’ focus on developing creative young leaders with the potential to influence an almost unlimited number of fields. I am looking forward to helping to shape the University’s future and to raising its profile as we enter this new chapter in its history together. I’m especially looking forward to working with UArts’ high-quality faculty, students and scholars.”

Yager joined UC Santa Cruz as dean of the Arts Division in 2009.

During his tenure, he created two doctoral programs and two master’s programs, as well as a number of new majors, including an undergraduate major in gaming and playable media.

Before joining UC Santa Cruz, Yager spent 23 years at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where he was a distinguished professor and Wilson Elkins Professor of Visual Art; founder and director of the

Imaging Research Center (IRC); founder and director of the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture; and founder and director of the Innovation and Design Lab (IDL). He brought the IDL concept with him to California, where he founded UC Santa Cruz’s Innovation and Design Lab. The IDL creates new knowledge in the health and wellness industries through a holistic approach to innovation and design research that generates products, tools, services and solutions to improve health outcomes. The lab’s primary research focus is based at the Children’s Center and the Department of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, where Yager holds a faculty position in pediatrics.

At UMBC, Yager also became vice president of research and later president of a division of a publicly traded technology company.

Previously, he served as chair of the department of Art and Art History at the University of South Florida and director of its nationally acclaimed Graphicstudio, which collaborated with such artists as Robert Rauschenberg, Jim Dine, Robert Mapplethorpe and Vito Acconci, to name a few.

Yager’s art training began with painting, printmaking, photography, film and video. A noted photographer and designer, his work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. His work ultimately transitioned to digital and imaging technologies, visualization, animation and simulation. Yager earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Connecticut, a Master of Fine Arts from Florida State University and an honorary doctorate in design from De Montfort University in Leicester, England.

“David is well equipped to enhance UArts’ position as the only private university in the nation that expands lives by connecting the performing, visual and communication arts in both the classroom and the community,” added Lutsky. “We’re confident that his vision, experience and leadership will strengthen the University and further expand its reputation as an innovative leader. We look forward to welcoming him to Philadelphia.”

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Featured Faculty Artist Associate Professor & Director of Design, Art + Technology and Game Art programs Michelle Rothwell MID ’97 (Industrial Design)

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Ball Cactus 2013 P i g m e n t

ink on pa per,

2 8 ” X 4 0 ” ( o p p o s i t e ) & Spirit Egg 1, View 1 2014 P i g m e n t

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2 8” X 4 0” (below)

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CREATORS WANTED Brind School partners with innovative Pig Iron Theatre Company to offer MFA and Certificate in Devised Performance

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CR E ATO R S WA N T E D

A new partnership between the University of the Arts and Pig Iron Theatre Company is poised to change the landscape of theater education. This new partnership has created an MFA in Devised Performance as well as a Certificate in Devised Performance, the school’s first graduate degrees in theater. The program will be part of UArts’ Ira Brind School of Theater Arts, led by its director, Joanna Settle, with the program itself under the direction of Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel, Pig Iron’s co-founder.

Devised performance has been gaining momentum across the globe, from Argentina to Brooklyn to Philadelphia. This form of theater is derived from the collective inspiration of the group, not from a script written by a singular playwright, and performances are not confined by the boundaries of the stage, but often occur in found or public spaces. A degree in Devised Performance that combines the groundbreaking programming created by Pig Iron with the collaboration of the Brind School at UArts will enable graduates not only to become practitioners in the world of theater today, but to define and lead the theater of tomorrow.

“This partnership breaks down the traditional boundaries of a theater education” “The program is carefully designed to train students to become practitioners and to become the next great theatrical innovators,” says Bauriedel. “We believe in artists who test boundaries and use all of themselves— their bodies, their voices—to create great works in a collaborative environment. This new partnership allows for that kind of pioneering study within the supportive structure of a university that not only understands, but deeply believes in fostering the next generation of artistic mavericks and leaders.”

Among the first of its kind, this partnership between an arts university focused on artistic development and cross-disciplinary exploration with an inventive theater company recognized for its ability to redefine the field creates a unique program. Students will train alongside award-winning faculty who are artistic practitioners and educators and receive a degree from an accredited, innovative institution.

“This partnership breaks down the traditional boundaries of a theater education to create a program that is adept at serving the current landscape of performance,” says Settle. “The articulation of the American narrative is in a transitional moment—the way information is processed is changing, and the medium is changing along with it.” And she says the collaboration creates the opportunity for theater artists to become whatever kind of art-maker they want to be. “Devised performance is breathing fresh life into our medium, and with great momentum, this new degree begins to set what we think will become the new center for the field of theater education.”

Innovative schools of thought Lauded internationally for their inventive performances and described by The New York Times as “one of the few groups successfully taking theater in new directions,” Pig Iron Theatre Company is an interdisciplinary ensemble dedicated to the creation of new and exuberant performances that defy easy categorization. In 2011, the ensemble created a diploma program, Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training (APT). The program trained passionate artists in physical theater rooted in Lecoq pedagogy and ensemble theater practice. The new academic partnership with UArts replaces the APT diploma program, although APT will continue to offer other programming such as summer workshops and master classes.

Pig Iron Theatre Company students showcase work that is eclectic and daring.

For the Brind School, this marks another step in an exciting year of transformation. In January 2014, noted director Settle arrived to lead the School, and the program has been on the move ever since. Recognizing the desire for a new kind of theater education among her undergraduate students, this past school year, Settle commissioned four local companies and performers to make new work to be developed with her students. She challenged them to bring forward ideas that are unlikely to be funded but for which they were passionate.

“Our job is to offer the next generation an education that creates courageous, exciting new theater makers who create new works of performance that will be the future of the medium.”

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A CENTURY OLD AND BRAND NEW The Print Center­—Philly’s iconic photography and printmaking gallery and longtime UArts partner—marks 100 years 1

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PHOTO: CJ Harker BFA ’14

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A CENTURY OLD AND BR AND NE W Print Center Executive Director Elizabeth Spungen (left) and UArts Photography Program Director Anne Massoni.

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What do many of the world’s most acclaimed printmakers, photographers and craft artists have in common? Philadelphia! This fall, the University of the Arts helps celebrate the dynamic history of the city’s print and craft communities through events presented in partnership with distinguished organizations, artists and advocates.

Since 1915, The Print Center, a nonprofit gallery located in Philadelphia’s historic Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, has encouraged the growth and understanding of photography and printmaking as vital contemporary arts through exhibitions, publications and educational programs.

Past exhibitions have featured the work of masters such as Albrecht Durer, Mary Cassatt and Pablo Picasso, as well as Ansel Adams, Walker Evans and Dox Thrash, UArts’ own Edna Andrade, Louise Bourgeois, Red Grooms, Ann Hamilton, Jasper Johns, Art Spiegelman, and Kara Walker. Solo shows of UArts artists have included Photography faculty members David Graham BFA ’76 (Photography), Anne Massoni and John Carlano BFA ’78 (Photography), and a 2016 exhibition will feature Victoria Burge MFA ’14 (Book Arts + Printmaking).

The Print Center celebrates its centennial this year, and UArts is front and center in the festivities. UArts is the lead academic sponsor of the centennial celebration, which features exhibitions, public events, lectures, a dedicated website, commissions, publications and a formal gala dinner followed by a street party.

“It was important for us to be involved in this historic celebration,” says Anne Massoni, director of UArts’ Photography program. “The University has collaborated with The Print Center for more than 80 years, and we welcomed the opportunity to extend our work together through ‘The Print Center 100.’”

Associate Professor Mary Phelan, UArts’ Printmaking coordinator, served on The Print Center’s board from 1987 to 1995, and says the partnership has been fundamental for both institutions. “Former Provost Edward Colker, a 1949 graduate and a print artist, was also a board member, as were numerous faculty members over the years,” she says. “The two organizations produced a joint newsletter, ‘CounterPROOF,’ and Book Arts + Printmaking MFA students exhibited thesis projects at the Center.”

The collaboration continues. UArts students regularly visit The Print Center as a part of their coursework; staff there review senior portfolios, offer critiques and serve as jurors for student competitions. And UArts faculty and alumni currently serve on the Center’s board, including Graham and Anna Tas BFA ’08 (Photography), who also chairs the Centennial committee. UArts alumnus Steven Alvarez BFA ’09 (Photography) is The Print Center’s director of Sales, and UArts faculty and alumni rank consistently as finalists in its prestigious Annual International Competition, now in its 89th year. “We’re proud of our deep and valuable relationship with UArts,” says Print Center Executive Director Elizabeth Spungen.

The Print Center collection features UArts faculty and alumni work.

Shelley Thorstensen Toll Paul Cary Goldberg Two Lemons

[1]

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Victoria Burge MFA ’14 (Book Arts + Printmaking) [3] Dark River

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Anna Tas BFA ’08 (Photography) [4] Impossible Goddess #3 Anne Massoni [5] My Prom Sunday Promenade David Graham BFA ’76 (Photography) [6] Westbrook, ME and Tyler State Park, Newtown, PA

“It’s a dynamic exchange,” says Massoni. “And it’s what makes Philadelphia a unique place to make art.”

A recipient of a Solo Exhibition Award from the Annual International Competition, she suggested celebrating the centennial at the University through a show featuring past award winners. Photographer Paul Cary Goldberg exhibited his work in Terra Hall and printmaker Shelley Thorstensen mounted an exhibition in Anderson Hall. Acclaimed photographer An-My Lê, the 2015 Von Hess Visiting Artist in the University’s Borowsky Center for the Publication Arts, also presented a free public lecture at UArts as a part of the centennial celebration.

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“Print never loses impact or relevance,” says Spungen.

“There’s no limit to what we can convey, from book arts—people still love to hold a book in their hands—to images we can display within minutes of capturing them. We communicate democratically, broadly and instantly through print.”

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C R AF T NOW PHI LAD E LPHI A The city, and UArts, celebrate a rich history of craft

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The Beauty Thief by Professor Emerita Sharon Church.

CR AF T NOW PHIL ADELPHIA

Shadowfield Colored Light by Visiting Professor Warren Seelig.

If printmaking and photography have a long and rich history in Philadelphia, the story of craft in the city is equally important. That legacy began with furniture and fabrics created in the earliest years after the birth of our country and continues today, epitomized by one of the most influential fine-craft retail shows in the country, the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) Contemporary Craft Show. UArts faculty and alumni—and sometimes students—exhibit and sell their work each year at the show, which draws craft enthusiasts from around the world.

To promote Philadelphia’s leadership in the field, UArts has joined with other organizations to create Craft NOW Philadelphia, a series of coordinated events and festivities.

Many programs are timed to coincide with the 39th Annual PMA Contemporary Craft Show (November 12-15).

The University played a central role in programming and serves as Craft NOW Philadelphia’s fiscal agent. Planning consultants included Professor Emerita Sharon Church, Vice President for Advancement Josephine Burri and Christina P. Day BFA ’99 (Crafts), a fiber artist and senior lecturer in UArts’ Craft + Material Studies program.

School of Art Director Lori Spencer and Craft + Material Studies Director Rod McCormick were also instrumental in the planning.

“Our goal is to build synergies, strengthen Philadelphia’s craft assets with colleges, artists, galleries and nonprofit centers, and animate our city through celebrating its rich and unique craft legacy,” says David Seltzer, a Craft NOW Philadelphia committee member. “Nonprofit and commercial galleries have been terrific contributors,” adds fellow committee member Clara Hollander. “We have come together because we all believe in the importance of our community’s historic leadership in the field and in advancing craft disciplines.”

Horse Accident by Adjunct Professor Judith Schaechter.

Craft NOW Philadelphia Events

The effort kicked off last spring with a design competition for college students to create a logo and branding collateral. Fourteen Philadelphians who are American Craft Council Fellows—the most prestigious honor in American craft—are being recognized through exhibitions at the PMA, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, the Clay Studio and the Center for Art in Wood.

“Our goal is to animate our city through celebrating its rich and unique craft legacy” Those exhibits featuring “masters of craft” include “Material Legacy” at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, featuring UArts Crafts faculty members Judith Schaechter and Warren Seelig; “Fellowship in Clay” at the Clay Studio, featuring Professor Emeritus William Daley; “Art in Wood” at the Center for Art in Wood, featuring Church and Craft + Material Studies faculty member Bruce Metcalf; and “At the Center” at the PMA, including the work of ceramist Robert Winokur.

“We’re thrilled with the cooperation and enthusiasm of the whole Philadelphia craft community, and especially for our collaboration with UArts,” says Seltzer. “This is a pilot project, but we hope to make it an annual event and to expand our reach to attract national and even international participation.”

Craft + Material Studies Faculty Exhibition November 4-22 Reception: November 12, 6:30 p.m.

Hamilton & Arronson Galleries 39th Annual PMA Contemporary Craft Show November 12-15 Pennsylvania Convention Center 3rd Annual Irvin Borowsky Prize in Glass Arts November 12 Artist’s Talk: 5:30 p.m.

Reception: 6:30 p.m.

CBS Auditorium Hamilton Hall Spanning Generations: A Conversation November 13 Caplan Recital Hall CraftNOWCreate November 14 Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

For more information, please visit craftnowphila.org.

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DESIGNING SOCIAL CHANGE New Master of Design program in Design for Social Impact helps a wide range of clients make a difference

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PHOTO: Rachelle Schneider BFA ’02

DESIGNING SOCIAL CHANGE

It was 2012, and it was the right time and the right opportunity for an evolutionary change in the graduate Industrial Design program at the University of the Arts.

By 2008, the program had already started to transform from where it had begun in the 1990s—the physical applications of industrial design—to more of a focus on social impact and change. So the program began to shift its focus further, including a new degree moniker of Master of Design (MDes) and the more accurate curricular title of Design for Social Impact (DSI).

“Our world is a complex system of ecological, social and economic subsystems. This is a very demanding and rapidly changing arrangement of needs; with that, the idea of what design is, can and must do is evolving as well,” offers Program Director Anthony Guido.

“Using a human-centered approach, our program focuses on a holistic social design process emphasizing collaborative projects across disciplines. Working with multiple stakeholders of our community, we co-create proposals of positive sustainable change.”

“The name represents a change in the idea of what design can do” Students work with businesses, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and community groups in sectors such as health care, social services, technology and education. DSI project outcomes range from the development of new businesses and initiatives, new service models, enhanced user experience, strategies and tools for community engagement, and new social organizations.

Partnerships already include Philadelphia organizations such as GoodCompany Group, a nonprofit organization that helps social and environmental startup companies grow, and a recent project with two Philadelphia public schools, Lincoln and Roxborough high schools, in partnership with Philadelphia Academies, Inc. The latter organization, a nonprofit whose mission is to help prepare Philly public school students for employment and post-secondary education, reached out to DSI to be the design lead on a project that will create new and more effective student learning spaces in the two public

high schools. DSI faculty, graduate students and select undergraduate Industrial Design students facilitated a participatory design process with high school students and their teachers to envision and prototype a new type of learning space.

In developing partnerships in the community, the program also creates opportunities for students to form connections that will benefit them after they finish their studies. To achieve this, they identify and seek out top organizations in Philadelphia with which to partner to give students important contacts to help them when they leave the program. “We’re actively working on tangible collaborative learning experiences with real people, in real places, on real projects to provide clear examples of positive design impact,” Guido says.

MDes students view work at a recent School of Design exhibition.

Graduate Design students collaborate in the studio.

There are also many opportunities for collaboration between the MDes designers and the health care field, including with the University of Pennsylvania Health System, where UArts students are helping to improve the patient experience, and with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, partnering with Jefferson’s medical students.

The impact of the MDes program goes far beyond Philadelphia, too. In 2013, two faculty members went with four grad students to Beirut, Lebanon, for a project called “Design in Translation.” The project focused on using ethnographic research tools—tools used to explore cultures from the point of view of the subject—to learn about the culture in the ancient Middle Eastern city. To create these tools, the students partnered with local designers and developed several different prototypes. One example was a “trust timeline tool” that created a visual mapping process for use in interviews.

The user could then walk people through how they came to trust a person or institution. The prototype worked well and allowed the designers and students to collect and share interesting stories.

Looking back, it’s clear that there was a risk inherent in changing the focus of the program. And faculty members found that people sometimes have had trouble understanding the expanded sense of design and the creative problem-solving that are at the program’s core. But once people grasp the program’s concepts and focus, they’re extremely receptive, and even eager, to work with the MDes students. “We have a growing list of community partnership requests that we are excited to move forward on together with our next group of DSI students,” Guido says.

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Featured Alumni Artist Cory Espinosa BFA ’12 (Multidisciplinary Fine Arts)

Annunciation of Consciousness 2015 ​ t h r e e - c o l o r s c r e e n p r i n t,

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MAKING CLASSROOMS COME ALIVE UArts uses Library of Congress program to show teachers how to use the Library’s vast resources to engage students

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PHOTO: Lou Caltabiano BFA ’10 (Photography)

MAKING CL A SSROOMS COME ALIVE

It’s no secret that for K-12 teachers, it can be difficult to gain the attention of young students and even harder to maintain their interest, especially when the subject matter is challenging. But thanks to a grant from the Library of Congress, the University of the Arts is helping teachers capture their students’ attention in a whole new way.

In 2011, UArts received funding to join the Library of Congress’s Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Consortium, a group of 28 universities and community organizations. Through TPS, participating institutions create programs to build awareness, provide content and offer access to the Library’s digitized educational primary resources. UArts identified primary sources from both the Library’s collection as well as from the collections of cultural organizations in Philadelphia to craft a series of content-specific courses for educators to learn how to use resources from the Library and their local communities to engage their students in inquiry-based learning. By the summer of 2012, the Teaching with Primary Sources program was up and running at UArts and since then, hundreds of K-12 educators from the greater Philadelphia area have taken part.

“I was able to bring life to the story in a new and exciting way” “The language arts program we use focuses heavily on expository text,” explains Michael Barrett, a 3rd- and 4th-grade Learning Support teacher at Unionville (Pa.) Elementary School. “While these stories tend to be of great interest to the students, the kids often found them distant and unrelatable. By adding in the use of primary sources related to the topic, I was able to bring life to the story in a new and exciting way.”

The UArts program specializes in showing teachers how to use arts-related primary sources to enhance their teaching of a variety of subjects, which is what attracted the Library of Congress to UArts in the first place.

And the program won’t be slowing down anytime soon. The original grant was recently renewed for the upcoming fiscal year, good news for the program as it continues to grow.

“When we saw that they were looking for partners, it was really just such a perfect match for us because a lot of the mission of the Teaching with Primary Sources program is directly related to the mission of our Professional Institute for Educators (PIE),” says Sheila Watts, assistant director of UArts’ TPS program, which falls under the umbrella of PIE. The program currently offers courses within six different areas of sources ranging from theater to photography to the newest classes in comics and graphic novels. In addition to these courses, teachers can also take free workshops at UArts or request to have one during a teacher in-service day.

Faculty/alumnus Jordan Rockford BFA ’00 (Photography) [1] and students from his “Who Are We?” Photography course observe primary sources during a field trip to the Library Company of Philadelphia.

“We really do have a wide variety both in terms of subject matter and grade level: We’ve had kindergarten teachers participate, we had a gym teacher one summer participate,” says Watts.

“We certainly do have language arts and visual arts teachers, but we do find that we are attracting a wide variety of educators to this program.”

Watts hopes that with the renewed grant, UArts will be able to expand its offerings to include architecture and maps classes. There are also plans to increase its partnerships with other Philadelphia arts groups and expand UArts’ Level One program to a week-long course.

But perhaps the greatest benefit from the TPS program is that by helping teachers, it helps their students as well. After using the primary sources in his classroom, Barrett was inspired by the results.

“Through my UArts experience, I have learned to incorporate the arts subtly into my instruction in ways I never would have thought possible,” he says. “I have been amazed at the results of increased focus and excitement the arts have brought to my classroom.”

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F A I L I N G B R I L L I A N T LY 3rd Annual Irvin Borowsky Prize in Glass Arts Awarded to Glass Artist Matthew Szรถsz

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PHOTO PRVOIDED BY: Matthew Szรถsz

FA IL ING BRIL L I A N T LY

An extraordinary glass artist who says that his greatest friend and teacher is failure has been named the winner of the third annual Irvin Borowsky Prize in Glass Arts: Matthew Szösz. The Borowsky Prize is given each year to an artist whose work advances the field of contemporary glass art, and carries with it a $5,000 award and a residency and lectureship at the University. Szösz will present his lecture at UArts on November 12. In addition, for the first time, two Juror’s Awards were given to finalists Charlotte Potter and David King, the latter of whom is currently a lecturer in UArts’ Glass program.

Born in Rhode Island, Szösz received a BFA, a BID and an MFA in Glass from the Rhode Island School of Design. He has won several awards, including the 2009 Jutta Cuny-Franz Memorial Award and a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant. Szösz has been an educator and/or artist in residence at Pilchuck Glass School, WheatonArts, Nagoya University of Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University, Australia National University (Procter Fellowship), Canberra Glassworks, Danish Royal Academy Bornholm, Toledo Museum of Art, Corning Museum of Glass, Starworks, Toyama City Institute of Glass Art, Penland School of Crafts, Pittsburgh Glass Center and Public Glass in San Francisco, where he was executive director.

Szösz has exhibited at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, GlazenHuis (Belgium), and the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC, among others. In 2010, he founded Hyperopia Projects, a curatorial/project group that advances cross-genre, material-based sculpture and critical thought. He currently lives with his wife, Anna Mlasowsky, in Seattle.

In his statement to the committee, Szösz writes, “I am interested in what we can learn about who we are from the way we make and relate to objects, and through them ideas. I believe clues to individual and cultural identity can be found within the context of what and why we produce artworks. I am a constant experimenter with material. My greatest friend and teacher in these experiments is failure. Each new disaster brings new questions and new knowledge, whereas a predicted outcome only confirms knowledge already gained.”

The Irvin Borowsky Prize in Glass Arts is made possible by a substantial gift from the late University of the Arts Trustee Irvin J. Borowsky and his wife, Laurie Wagman, a current trustee. The gift also enabled UArts to establish the Irvin Borowsky Center for Glass Arts,expanding the University’s Glass facilities and its capacity to promote the study of the historical and contemporary significance of glass art.

“Each new disaster brings new questions and new knowledge” The Prize is selected annually by a nationwide panel of artists, educators and collectors that included Wagman; Tina Oldknow, recently retired after 15 years as senior curator of modern and contemporary glass at the Corning Museum of Glass; Hank Adams, glass artist, educator and glass-studio creative director at WheatonArts; William Warmus, appraiser, author of books, monographs and essays, and a former curator at the Corning Museum; Katherine Gray, glass artist and lecturer at Cal State San Bernardino; Dan Dailey BFA ’69 (Crafts), UArts alumnus and renowned glass artist; Bryan McGovern Wilson, multidisciplinary artist and 2014 winner of the Borowsky Prize; Brian Effron, a UArts trustee and glass collector; and Alexander Rosenberg, glass artist and coordinator of the University’s Glass program.

Iceberg Glass, stainless steel, rainwater 54” x 36” x 81”, 2013 Brontes Glass 16” x 16” x 14”, 2014 Retiarius Glass 18” x 12” x 12”, 2014 untitled(inflatable)no.68r Glass 16” x 8” x 16”, 2014 Matthew Szösz is pictured with his work titled Ampere’s Law.

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2015 COMMENCEMENT Renowned Cartoonist/Author Lynda Barry Delivers Keynote at 137th Commencement

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PHOTO: Dave Jackson

2 015 C O M M E N C E M E N T

Innovative cartoonist and author Lynda Barry delivered the keynote address at the University of the Arts’ 137th Commencement ceremony, held May 14 in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. The award-winning writer and artist also received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.

In an address that had the audience of 500 graduates and their families alternately roaring with laughter and nodding thoughtfully, the Ernie Pook’s Comeek and What It Is author told the Class of 2015, while holding up her cell phone, “Boredom and uncertainty—that’s where creativity is born.”

Maria Gaston BFA ’15 (Industrial Design), Alita Moses BM ’15 (Vocal Performance) and Ashley Scrivener MFA ’15 (Museum Exhibition Planning + Design) each received the President’s Award, which recognizes academic and artistic excellence of the highest order.

Academic Achievement Award medals, given to the highest academically ranked student within each college, went to Ninni Saajola BFA ’15 (Writing for Film + Television) from the College of Art, Media & Design and Vanessa Miller BFA ’15 (Dance) from the College of Performing Arts.

Other honorees included Silver Star Outstanding Alumni Award recipients Brittanie Michelle Richardson BFA ’09 (Acting), founder and executive director of Art and Abolition, an organization that seeks to restore justice to young girls enslaved by the sex trade in Kenya, and Piper Shepard BFA ’85 (Fibers), a longtime faculty member at the Maryland Institute College of Art, whose work is in the permanent collections of the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, among others.

College of Performing Arts graduating senior Ella Rae Cuda BFA ’15 (Dance) delivered a moving valedictory speech, telling her fellow graduates, “I cannot think of anything the world needs more right now than people whose arsenals are filled with artistic passion.” Alumni Council Chair Natasha Goldstein Levitas BFA ’00 (Dance Education) welcomed the Class of 2015 to the Alumni Association.

This year’s faculty awards winners included Craft + Material Studies Professor Warren Seelig, who received the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award; Interdisciplinary Fine Arts Professor Jeanne Jaffe, who was named the Richard C. von Hess Faculty Prize winner; and Liberal Arts Master Lecturer Mark Clark, who was the recipient of the President’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

Other highlights of the 137th Commencement ceremony included stellar performances of “America the Beautiful” and “With a Little Help from My Friends” by the UArts “Z” Big Band and graduating Vocal Performance majors. Irresistible samba troupe Alô Brasil closed the ceremony by leading the new graduates and their families back to Hamilton Hall for a post-ceremony celebration.

The joy of graduation day is written on this student’s face.

A sea of caps and gowns at the Academy of Music.

Keynote speaker Lynda Barry holds up her cell phone during her address to the Class of 2015.

Vocal Performance majors rehearse before the ceremony.

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Featured Student Artist scene from

“You Can’t Put Me in a Box” 2015 one-woman show writ ten and performed by

Morriah Aleese Young ’16 (Directing, Playwriting + Production)

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PHOTO: Paola Nogueras

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UARTS NEWS 1

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AROUND CAMPUS UArts Appoints 4 New Members to Board of Trustees The University of the Arts has announced the appointment of four new members to its Board of Trustees, each serving three-year terms. They are Eric Felix [1], DMD;

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Amy Hope Goldman [2]; Nathaniel P. Hamilton, Jr. BFA ’07 (Photography) [3]; and Bruce Kardon [4]. Kardon, a resident of Center City Philadelphia, is president and chief investment officer at Conservest Capital Advisors, Inc., a boutique client-focused investment advisory and financial planning firm located in Wynnewood, Pa. Dr. Felix of Kennett Square, Pa., is president of Children’s Dental Health Associates, a corporation with 15 dental offices across Eastern and Central Pennsylvania that treats infants, children and young adults in its offices and in hospitals. Goldman of Villanova, Pa., is a civic leader with more than 20 years of diverse experience in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations in both paid and volunteer capacities.

Her areas of expertise and interest include assisting organizations in identifying and achieving business goals while fostering team-building and leadership skills.

Hamilton of Malvern, Pa., is the owner of NPH Photography, focusing on real estate photography, both commercial and residential, and in-studio photography.

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UArts Welcomes New Professors 5

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UArts welcomed several new assistant professors this fall, including four in the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts. They are Krista Apple-Hodge [1], a Philadelphia-based actor, writer and teaching artist; Masha Tsimring [2], resident lighting designer for L.A.-based dance company CONTRA-TIEMPO; Kati Donovan BFA ’06 (Musical Theater) [3], an educator, performer, dramaturg and published scholar; and Justin Lujan [4], former associate chair of Voice, Speech and Movement at New York Film Academy in Los Angeles.

Also joining UArts are filmmaker Michael Attie [5], who teaches in the Film + Video program, and inventor and entrepreneur Jonas Hauptman [6], who also serves as the director of the new Master of Design program in Product Design.

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James Savoie Named Dean of Graduate & International Studies Associate Provost James Savoie has been appointed as the University’s inaugural dean of Graduate and International Studies. He will maintain his title of associate provost and is currently serving as interim provost. Savoie has proven to be a deft and sensitive leader since joining UArts in 2009, providing invaluable service that includes launching the Honors Program and orchestrating the agreement between the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts and the Pig Iron Theatre Company for the new MFA in Devised Performance program.

He brings to the new position several years’ experience working as the provost’s representative to the Graduate Council, experience that will greatly benefit ongoing efforts to strengthen and further develop UArts’ graduate programs and international relationships.

New School of Design Director Appointed Associate Professor Benjamin Olshin has been appointed director of the School of Design. Olshin completed an MA and a PhD at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at the University of Toronto in Canada, with his dissertation centered around the history of cartography. His recently published book, The Mysteries of the Marco Polo Maps, questions who discovered America. Following his graduate studies, he served as an associate professor of Fine Arts and Design at Ming Chuan University in Taipei, Taiwan, where he taught drawing, foundation and French. His current research interests also encompass his engagement in both history and “the visual”: the history of medieval and Renaissance cartography in the creation of early world maps, the technical drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, and descriptions of mechanical devices in early Chinese texts. Olshin, who in his own words, “wanders between the humanities and fine arts/ design,” is a well-known and respected member of the UArts community, having taught a variety of courses across colleges and programs, including Industrial Design and the School of Design discipline history course sets.

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STUDENT NEWS 9 Student Works Chosen in Society of Illustrators’ Annual Competition Nine works by senior Illustration majors and recent graduates were accepted into this year’s prestigious Society of Illustrators’ Student Scholarship Competition.

Winning entries included two from Laura Weiszer BFA ’14 (Illustration) and one each from Meredith Bentley BFA ’14 (Illustration), William Beveridge BFA ’14 (Illustration), Molly Egan BFA ’15 (Illustration), Aiden Jimeno BFA ’15 (Illustration), Rebecca Kirby BFA ’15 (Illustration), Anne Meier BFA ’14 (Illustration) [1] and Kate O’Hara BFA ’14 (Illustration). Their original artwork was on display in the 2015 Student Scholarship Exhibit at the Museum of American Illustration in New York May 6-30. Congratulations also go to Illustration faculty members Kevin Mercer, John Twingley, James Bennett and Jason Greenberg, who were the students’ instructors.

‘Z’ Big Band Wins ‘DownBeat’ Student Music Award The University of the Arts’ “Z” Big Band has been named one of the nation’s top college jazz ensembles in the 38th Annual DownBeat Magazine Student Music Awards. Under the leadership of Assistant Professor Matt Gallagher MM ’01 (Jazz Studies), the band was selected as one of only three winners in the “Undergraduate Large Jazz Ensembles” category by a panel of distinguished jazz musicians and educators. Presented by one of the world’s leading jazz and contemporary music publications, the DownBeat Student Music Awards are considered the most prestigious awards in jazz education. More than 1,000 entries were submitted across all categories this year.

UArts Students Restore Disabled Woman’s Long-Lost Hobby For the first time in 10 years, Glenda Speller was able to sew again thanks to the “Simple Stitch,” a user-specific product created by UArts students Jude Yao Marks ’16 (Industrial Design) and Lena Feliciano Hansen ’16 (Industrial Design) in collaboration with Jefferson University and Liberty Resources Inc., a nonprofit that advocates for those living with disabilities. The ID students teamed up with two occupational therapy students from Jefferson to create the forearm-activated sewing machine controller that Speller can now use instead of a foot pedal since losing use of her legs in 2005. The result, Speller told the PhillyVoice, “has given me back my life.”

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Comic Book Is Top Winner in 2015 Ely Illustration Exhibition Awards Aiden Jimeno BFA ’15 (Illustration) was named the first-place winner of the 2015 William H. Ely Excellence in Illustration Awards for his comic book, Little Brother. Second place honors went to Hyeonjoo Lee BFA ’15 (Illustration), while Rebecca Kirby BFA ’15 (Illustration) [1] took third place. Honorable mentions were awarded to Molly Egan BFA ’15 (Illustration), Heather Fisher BFA ’15 (Illustration) and Nicole Wheat BFA ’15 (Illustration).

Winners of this annual juried competition are chosen from among submissions by the entire class of graduating Illustration majors, whose original artwork is displayed in the Ely Senior Illustration Thesis Exhibition.

Student-Run Record Label Relaunches with 2 New Releases Buzz Art Records, the newly renamed label run by students in the University’s Music Business, Entrepreneurship + Technology program, recently released two projects: an EP by the Studio One Ensemble and a collection of student-created songs titled Spring 2015 Compilation.

Photo Student Shoots ‘Made in America’ Music Festival Stephanie DeFeo ’17 (Photography), who shoots for Philadelphia music scene website RockOnPhilly.com, was front and center at the Made in America music festival held this past Labor Day weekend. DeFeo took images of performances by some of music’s biggest stars, including Nick Jonas, The Weeknd, Halsey, J. Cole and others.

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UARTS NEWS FACULTY NEWS Work by Crafts Professor Acquired by Smithsonian “The Birth of Eve,” a stained glass piece by Craft + Material Studies Adjunct Professor Judith Schaechter, was recently acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery. The acquisition was featured on SmithsonianMag.com, which boasts, “Photographs don’t do it justice; this kind of work begs a visit to the gallery for a physical encounter.” Schaechter also participated on a panel as part of the James Renwick Alliance Annual Spring Craft Weekend held last March.

Illustration Faculty Paints Live on ESPN During Baseball Game Illustration Master Lecturer James Bennett was featured on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” program during the St. Louis Cardinals/Chicago Cubs opening day game on April 5. Bennett created four oil paintings of baseball players live during the broadcast at Wrigley Field, including one of Cubs great Ernie Banks, who died recently and was honored during a pre-game ceremony, and former Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Curt Schilling.

Professor Is Grammy Music Educator Award Quarterfinalist Adjunct Assistant Professor Randy Kapralick was named a quarterfinalist for the Grammy’s Music Educator Award, a $10,000 prize that recognizes educators who have made a significant, lasting contribution and commitment to music education in schools. Kapralick, who serves as chair of the Trombone department, was among 213 music teachers chosen from more than 4,500 nominees from across the country. The winner will be named during Grammy Week in February 2016.

Professor Partners with PBS’s ‘Independent Lens’ to Present Photo Collection “Independent Lens,” PBS’s award-winning weekly showcase of independent documentary film, partnered with Photography Professor Barbara Proud to present “Portraits of Partnership,” a collection of photos and essays from Proud’s book First Comes Love: Portraits of Enduring LGBTQ Relationships. The collaboration is in conjunction with the recent premiere of the film “Limited Partnership,” which chronicles the 40-year love story between the late Richard Adams and his husband, Tony Sullivan, one of the first same-sex couples to be legally married in the world. Proud was flown to Los Angeles to photograph Sullivan to be included in the “Portraits of Partnership” collection.

Faculty’s Animated Feature Wins Film Fest Award “The Stressful Adventures of Boxhead & Roundhead,” an animated feature by Master Lecturer Elliot Cowan, took home an Excellence Award from the PUSH! Film Festival held in June in Bristol, Va. The award-winning film has screened worldwide over the last several months, including at the Montreal International Animation Festival; the Independent Days Film Festival in Karlsruhe, Germany; Athens Animfest in Greece; 16th Crossroads Film Festival in Jackson, Miss.; 6th Golden Kukor International Animation Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria; 9th Tehran International Animation Festival in Iran; the Kecskemét Animation Festival in Hungary; the Frederick Film Festival in Maryland; IndiEarth Animation Film Festival in Chennai, India; and the Holland Animation Film Festival in Utrecht, Holland. Cowan also contributed to and appeared in the Oscar-nominated film “Song of the Sea.”

‘New York Times’ Features Professor’s Photo on Instagram

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A photo by Photography professor and alumnus David Graham BFA ’76 (Photography) was featured on The New York Times’ Instagram page. The image, titled “Route 64 W of Route 89, AZ, 1986,” was included in Graham’s exhibit “Where We Live: Photographs of the American Home,” which ran at Laurence Miller Gallery in New York City. The post received more than 3,960 likes.

WHAT’S NEW Philadelphia Museum of Art Acquires Faculty Work Work by faculty members/alumni Laurence Bach BFA ’69 (Photography) and Eileen Neff BFA ’72 (Painting) was recently acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “1980 Still Life 01” and “1979 Grid Study 03,” two classic silver prints by Bach, were donated to the PMA by photographer, collector and former UArts faculty member Douglas W. Mellor. This acquisition makes four images by the Graphic Design professor now in the museum’s permanent collection.

Neff’s acquired work, titled “Leaf Wall Installation,” was featured in her recent solo exhibition “Traveling into View” at the Bridgette Mayer Gallery in Philadelphia. Neff is an adjunct professor in the Interdisciplinary Fine Arts and MFA in Studio Art programs.

Head of Music Ed Awarded PMEA Citation of Excellence Music Education Division Head and Associate Professor Elizabeth Sokolowski received a Citation of Excellence for District 11 (Bucks and Montgomery counties) from the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) for her work in the field of music education.

Awards were handed out during PMEA’s annual conference held in Hershey, Pa.

Professor’s New Class Links Art with Science and Memory Students in the “Responsive Memory” class, a new University Common Curriculum Collaborative Course taught by Associate Professor Diane Pepe, investigated scientific concepts and processes of human memory related to the visual and performing arts. The class featured lectures and workshops by visiting experts and faculty from across UArts, including distinguished scientist Dr. Michael Kahana, director of the PENN Computational Memory Lab and author of the book Foundations of Human Memory, who spoke about memories and spatiotemporal context with references to the arts. Students also heard from author/artist and alumna Patricia Moss-Vreeland BFA ’72 (Painting), Adjunct Associate Professor of Dance Emily Wexler and Film + Video Senior Lecturer Jennifer Zaylea.

ALUMNI NEWS Alumni Collaborators Awarded 2015 Guggenheim Fellowships Collaborating video artists Nadia Hironaka BFA ’97 (Film) and Matthew Suib BFA ’95 (Photography) were each awarded a 2015 John Simon Guggenheim + Memorial Foundation Fellowship in the Film-Video field of study. Hironaka and Suib were among the 175 Guggenheim Fellows chosen from a group of over 3,100 applicants in the Foundation’s 91st competition.

‘Voice’ Runner-Up Opens for Maroon 5 School of Music alumnus Matt McAndrew BM ’13 (Vocal Performance), who was the first runner-up on Season 7 of the NBC hit show “The Voice,” opened for Grammy Award-winning super group Maroon 5 and pop singer Nick Jonas at a beach concert in Atlantic City on August 16. McAndrew also sang the National Anthem at the Philadelphia Phillies opening day game at Citizen’s Bank Park in April.

Dance Alum Takes 3rd Place on ‘SYTYCD’ Congratulations to Virgil Gadson CERT ’07 (Dance), who took third place in Season 12 of the FOX hit series “So You Think You Can Dance.” The former UArts faculty member, who was a fan favorite throughout the entire season, landed in the Top 4 and danced in the two-hour live finale. He also appeared in the show’s eighth season, returning to “SYTYCD” this time as a member of Team Street. In addition, Gadson recently made his Broadway debut in “After Midnight,” the Tony Award-winning jazz revue featuring Fantasia Barrino, Dule Hill, Toni Braxton, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and Patti LaBelle. His performance earned him a Fred Astaire Award nomination and a rave review from The New York Times.

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UARTS NEWS Illustration Alum Featured in ‘New York Times,’ ‘New Yorker’ An illustration by recent grad Corey Brickley BFA ’15 (Illustration) was featured in the June 11 issue of The New York Times Sunday Book Review with an article about the Big Brother aspects of the government in Iran and its effects on Iranians. In addition, the August 31 issue of The New Yorker featured a full-page illustration

by Brickley in a story about the HBO series “Show Me a Hero” and the Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black.”

Alumnus Commissioned to Create Painting for Papal Visit Neilson Carlin BFA ’92 (Illustration) was commissioned by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to create a painting for the World Meeting of Families and the papal visit that took place in Philly this September. The 4’ x 5’ oil painting titled “The Holy Family,” which was on display during the meeting’s festivities to more than one million visitors, is now on permanent display in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

Montreux Jazz Vocal Competition Winner Opens for Al Jarreau Alita Moses BM ’15 (Vocal Performance) opened for legendary jazz artist Al Jarreau this past summer during the 49th Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland. Moses scored the opening slot as part of her prize for being named the 2014 Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition winner.

WFTV Alum Named Universal Pictures’ Emerging Writers Fellow Carlos Rios BFA ’14 (Writing for Film + Television) was awarded a 2015 Universal Pictures’ Emerging Writers Fellowship. Rios, who submitted two full-length screenplays that included a rewrite of his senior thesis script, was awarded the prestigious fellowship after being flown to Los Angeles for a series of interviews at Universal Pictures.

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Dance Alum Makes It to ‘America’s Got Talent’ Semi-Finals DJ Smart BFA ’11 (Dance) and his Freelusion Dance Company made it to the semi-finals on the NBC smash series “America’s Got Talent” (AGT). The interactive 3D dance group’s final live performance, called “mind-blowing” and “one of the most impressive, ambitious dances of the competition,” brought AGT judge Howie Mandel to his feet with him repeating “wow, wow” over and over again. Freelusion also performed on the show’s finale alongside Flo Rida and the Rockettes.

ID Alum Designs Illusion for Disney’s Haunted Mansion Daniel Joseph BS ’06 (Industrial Design), who is a special effects designer at Walt Disney Imagineering, led the team that designed the illusion of the Hatbox Ghost at the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland. The character, one of the attraction’s original 999 happy haunts, has been missing from the Mansion for the past 45 years and has been reinvented for the theme park’s diamond celebration.

WHAT’S NEW Alumni and Parents Councils Welcome New Members The Alumni Council provides leadership and representation to the alumni community of the University of the Arts by evaluating and supporting Alumni Relations’ communication and programming efforts and by designing and implementing engagement and mentorship initiatives that reach both students and alumni. This year, the Alumni Council welcomed four new alumni to the group. They are Cheryl Hazzard BM ’71, BME ’72 (Voice), Faith Patane BFA ’06 (Writing for Film + Television), Sarah Rene MFA ’09 (Painting) and Eryc Taylor BFA ’95 (Dance). In addition, this summer, the Alumni Council underwent changes in its leadership. Michele Kishita BFA ’97 (Painting), MFA ’10 (Painting) stepped down from her role as chair in order to pursue new opportunities. To fill the chairmanship, the Executive Committee nominated Natasha Goldstein-Levitas BFA ’00 (Dance Education) to the position. Josh Levitas BFA ’00 (Animation) chairs the Mentoring Committee and Michelle Nichols BFA ’07 (Graphic Design) chairs the Engagement Committee. For more information about the Alumni Council, email alumni@uarts.edu.

Alumni Council Greets New Members at Dinner in Philadelphia Members of the Alumni Council gathered for dinner in Philadelphia on July 28 to greet new members.

Attending members included (l-r): Josh Levitas BFA ’00 (Animation); Natasha Goldstein-Levitas BFA ’00 (Dance Education); Cheryl Hazzard BM ’71, BME ’72 (Voice); Michele Kishita BFA ’97 (Painting), MFA ’10 (Painting); TJ Walsh BFA ’07 (Gr a phic Design); Fa ith Pata ne BFA ’06 (Writing for Film + Television); Jean Plough BFA ’70 (Painting); and Sarah Rene MFA ’09 (Painting).

The Parents Council provides University leaders with insight into the student experience, promotes the University to others, and participates in events for current and new parents. Parents Council members support the University financially and encourage others to do the same. They spend time with faculty and UArts administration, where they can get a behind-the-scenes look at the University and learn about the contemporary arts fields that our students and alumni are helping to shape. This year, the Parents Council, chaired by Dawn Alexis Calzada P ’16, welcomed three new members, including Lorri Halberstadt P ’18; Rene Marinich P ’12, P ’18; and Rhonda Rosen P ’19.

For more information about the Parents Council, email alumni@uarts.edu.

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SUPPORTING UARTS Art Unleashed 2016: ‘Come Early for the Art. Stay Late for the Energy.’

- Aleni Pappas, past co-chair and Art Unleashed patron.

Save the date! The University of the Arts will celebrate the seventh annual Art Unleashed exhibition and sale, April 7-12, 2016.

The local press has called Art Unleashed the most exciting annual “pop-up” spring exhibition in Philadelphia. More than 1,000 pieces of art will be showcased and available for sale—photography, jewelry, painting, books arts, ceramics, among other works—by talented alumni, faculty and student artists. This year’s Preview Party, co-chaired by Patricia Fowler, Tom Miles ’75 (Sculpture) and Norma Reichlin, will be held on Thursday, April 7.

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Art Unleashed is the University’s largest fundraiser.

Proceeds from the Preview Party and the art sales benefit the Sam S. McKeel Promising Young Artists Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships to deserving UArts students. Since 2009, Art Unleashed patrons have contributed nearly $1.8 million in support of UArts students.

“For most of my life, I’ve been creating art,” says Natalia Jablonski ’16 [1], an Illustration major.

“The scholarship award will help me achieve a profession doing something I love.”

Known as one of Philadelphia’s most inspiring events of the year, Art Unleashed provides the community with an opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind artwork, connect with innovative artists at a unique and fun event, and raise critical scholarship funds to ensure that UArts students can develop and thrive. We hope you will join us and help support our inspiring young artists!

‘Spark-Fuel-Ignite!’ Program Receives Funding to Continue for 2nd Year The University of the Arts is pleased to announce a special grant from the Connelly Foundation awarded

by UArts and Connelly Foundation Trustee Eleanor Davis in support of the University’s Spark-Fuel-Ignite!

(SFI!) program.

Davis said, “Trustees of the Connelly Foundation were given the opportunity to designate a 25th anniversary gift to an organization of their choice, and I chose UArts and Spark-Fuel-Ignite! I think very highly of this program and matched the special trustee-designated grant myself.”

SFI! was launched in fall 2014 by Professor Polly McKenna-Cress MFA ’95 (Museum Exhibition Planning + Design) as a strategic initiative of her recent fellowship in the Noyce Leadership Institute. SFI! engages bright and eager high school students, along with UArts graduate students, to develop, prototype and design “pop-up” exhibits at various locations in the city, including the highly attended Philadelphia Science Festival on the Ben Franklin Parkway.

Exhibits are developed through the “design thinking” process aimed at facilitating the next generation of entrepreneurs and civic/social leaders in Philadelphia through STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) educational programs.

The 2014–15 pilot year included partnerships with String Theory High School, Science Leadership Academy @ Beeber, the Franklin Institute and the Free Library Bustleton branch.

SFI! has expanded in the 2015-16 academic year to include new partners John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ School and Erin Bernard of the History Truck. Students are exploring the question, “What is home?” and will engage the Chinatown North community and the homeless population throughout their work. The resulting exhibits will be installed at area locations such as Gallery 1026, Asian Arts Initiative Gallery and branch library partners.

UArts is deeply grateful to Davis and the Connelly Foundation for their support of the University and its work with young learners in the Philadelphia community through innovative programs like Spark-Fuel-Ignite!

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SUPPORTING UARTS A Poetic Legacy One of Stephen Berg’s (1934-2014) best-loved poems is “Don’t Forget” from his 1975 collection Grief. The subject of forgetting features prominently in his work, but there’s no chance his great talent or passion for teaching at the University of the Arts—over 45 years— will ever be forgotten. To honor his legacy, Creative Writing faculty have established the Stephen Berg Scholarship.

Once Stephen Berg came on the scene, American poetry was never again the same. He knew what he wanted to say and how he should say it. Others recognized his talent: he received a Guggenheim Fellowship, awards from the Rockefeller and Pew foundations, as well as a PEN grant and the Frank O’Hara Prize. He published more than a dozen books, taught hundreds of UArts students, and founded the country’s leading and most widely read poetry journal, The American Poetry Review (APR), now housed at UArts.

“Stephen Berg was a preeminent poet, translator, editor and a beloved UArts teacher,” says Zach Savich, assistant professor, author of numerous poetry collections and recipient of the nation’s most prestigious prizes in poetry (the Iowa Poetry Prize and the Cleveland State University’s Poetry Prize, among others).

“Stephen helped creative writing become a vital part of the University. The scholarship will support and encourage poetry students’ dedication to their craft and sends a powerful message—we take the work of poets seriously here.”

The partnership with The American Poetry Review is a key component of the University’s Creative Writing program and contributes to the poetry community in Philadelphia, one of the most dynamic poetry scenes in the country. UArts students take classes on editing and publishing with APR editor Elizabeth Scanlon and serve as interns with the journal. UArts and APR sponsor an annual Visiting Writers Series that features free and open-to-the-public readings by innovative poets, novelists and screenwriters and intensive workshops for students.

“Our Creative Writing program is unique,” says Savich, “We’re small, selective and rigorous. We draw on the best practices in arts education and resources in Philadelphia. Stephen believed that creative thinking and good writing are essential to any career. The scholarship demonstrates the University’s commitment to his vision and the ideal of what creative writing can make possible.” The Stephen Berg Scholarship is one of several scholarships initiated by UArts faculty to honor esteemed colleagues. Faculty raise funds, make personal contributions, and promote scholarship initiatives with alumni and other friends and supporters.

“Our students are independent thinkers prepared for futures that will take them in many directions inspired

by Stephen’s leadership and his belief in the power of poetry” says Savich. “Close engagement with language is one of the best ways to approach society’s complex problems by nurturing creative thought. Our students can be first responders to the issues that matter.”

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SUPPORTING UARTS Music Makes a Difference When Ian Ash BM ’92 (Percussion) was just 10 years old, he turned his toys into drums and banged out rhythms with the intensity and passion of a professional. He loved to make music—and his parents, Frank Ash and his late wife, Sharon, encouraged their son to pursue his interest in music. Frank, a business owner, was an amateur percussionist himself who played in high school ensembles and later in the NROTC band at Penn State. But music isn’t the only thing that this father and son have in common. Both are dedicated to making a difference in the lives of others: Frank through the generous support of educational programs and institutions, including the University of the Arts, and Ian through his work as a professional music therapist.

After graduating from UArts, Ian taught music and performed with a variety of ensembles. He was happy to be building his life around music, but was searching for the most effective way to employ his skills and talent.

He found what he was looking for, once again, through music. In 2002, after reading about the importance and potential of music therapy in the lives of patients, Ian earned a Master of Music Therapy degree from Temple University. As a board-certified music therapist, he has worked primarily with children and adolescents with psychiatric, developmental and cognitive disorders; teens struggling with addiction; and young people affected by trauma, abuse and crisis. Music can serve as a powerful treatment tool, and Ian remains passionate about creative opportunities to help patients meet their therapeutic needs through music.

“Improving kids’ lives is what matters,” says Frank Ash, who is proud of his son’s work and admires Ian’s versatility—Ian learned to play a variety of instruments and to sing as part of his music therapy practice, and he writes music and performs with several groups. “What could be more important than helping a young person thrive?” he says.

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Providing opportunities for young people to discover their passion and strive for success has inspired the elder Ash for a long time. The summer internship program he sponsors for college students through the Jewish Vocational Service in Philadelphia began in 2000 with two interns; this year there were 17. Many internship participants have gone on to work in community service and nonprofits. “Now, they’re giving back,” says Frank.

Still a great lover of music, Frank is also a longtime member of the UArts Haviland Society and has generously supported the University’s Annual Fund for many years. “Education is so important,” he says, “Whatever major they pursue, young people are our future. They’re the ones who’ll solve our society’s problems.”

Frank is semi-retired with real estate interests. He enjoys bridge and golf. But, like his son, nothing excites him more than music—and contributing to his community. “When I hear that people are doing the right thing and helping others, that’s music to my ears.”

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ALUMNI NOTES CORRECTION Our apologies to Helen (Jacobson) Borten DIPL ’51 (Advertising Design), whose name was misspelled and whose book series title was listed incorrectly in the Spring 2015 issue of Edge. The correct title is Do You See What I See?

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1950s The Jungle, a children’s book by Helen (Jacobson) Borten DIPL ’51 (Advertising Design), will be reissued by Enchanted Lion Books, recently voted Best North American Children’s Book Publisher at the Frankfurt Book Fair. In addition, British publisher Flying Eye Books will republish her five-book Do You… series in the U.K. as well as in the U.S. The series was originally published from 1959 to 1972. One of the books in the series, Do You See What I See?, is included in 100 Great Children’s Picture Books, an “unashamed visual feast” that celebrates the best designed and illustrated picture books from around the world over the past 100 years. “Borten’s integration of word and image to explain the power of design was way ahead of its time,” raves an Observer (London) review of the Martin Salisbury collection.

1960s Alvin Sher BFA ’64 (Sculpture) had a solo exhibition at Artifact in New York City in June 2015.

“Mac Conner: A New York Life,” the first solo exhibition by original “Mad Men” illustrator and Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (now UArts) alumnus McCauley “Mac” Conner BFA ’37 (Illustration), got rave reviews in London where it was on display at the House of Illustration this past spring. The show by the 101 year old, which first ran at the Museum of the City of New York from September 2014 to February 2015, was featured on London’s Channel 4 News, The Daily Telegraph Review, Metro, Time Out London, Stella magazine, Londonist.com, LondonLive.com and many others.

1940s Ninety-seven-year-old alumna Marie Ulmer CERT ’41 (Illustration) has added muse to an artistic repertoire list that spans eight decades. She was featured in The Huffington Post with fellow alumna Candace Karch BFA ’89 (Photography), who began photographing Ulmer more than five years ago.

Karch is working on a book project that will feature her photos of Ulmer in conjunction with Ulmer’s self-portraits dating back to 1924 when she was 7 years old.

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William White BFA ’67 (Illustration) had four of his paintings acquired into the permanent collection of the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Va. The work is a panorama of the City of Roanoke, which was painted from the balcony at the Taubman in 2011. Each segment is 24” x 48” and together they make a sweeping view from the Higher Ed Center and Hotel Roanoke all the way around to a view of the two signs across the street and Mill Mountain in the distance. These paintings will join “Bill’s Studio Light Suite,” which was acquired by the Taubman in 1993.

1970s Patricia Moss-Vreeland ’72 (Painting) is an artist and author of A Place for Memory: Where Art and Science Meet, which is in the University of the Arts Library collection. The book encourages communities to reconsider memory, creativity and learning. Her paintings, drawings and mixed-media works are exhibited internationally at institutions that include the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Penn’s Institute of Contemporary Art. Her art resides in many permanent collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Norton Museum. She designed the “Memorial Room” for Holocaust Museum Houston, a permanent installation that earned awards and public accolades. She went on to receive the Art-in-

Science XIV Millennial commission for “Memory-Connections Matter” at the University City Science Center, Esther Klein Gallery in Philadelphia. Moss-Vreeland worked with a neuropsychologist for a year in research and her installation became a metaphoric walk through the brain. The work incorporated her poetry and art in an exhibition illuminating the relationship between memory, creativity, brain function and learning, which led to her writing A Place for Memory.

Deborah Willis BFA ’75 (Photography) was interviewed on NPR’s “Morning Edition” about the documentary “Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People,” which was inspired by her book Reflections in Black. The film aired on PBS in February.

Lydia Artymiw BM ’73 (Piano) is a concert pianist and Distinguished McKnight Professor of Piano at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities). She received the 2015 University of Minnesota’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching. The award also came with a $15,000 prize. In February and March 2015, Artymiw served on the jury for both the Manhattan School’s and Juilliard’s piano concerto competitions.

Peter Olson BFA ’77 (Photography) was featured on handeyemagazine.com for his work about the merging of photography and ceramics. Recently, Olson turned to ceramics to examine the visual world on his own terms. While some clay artists have explored the possibilities of photo images on pots, it is rare to find a highly accomplished photographer thinking about covering hand-thrown vessels with his own work.

Michael Berenstain BFA ’73 (Illustration), author and heir of the famed children’s literature series The Berenstain Bears, has been named to the board of the Credit Union Network for Financial Literacy.

Judith Barbour Osborne BFA ’74 (Art Education) had a solo exhibition in July titled “Staining the Wind” on view at Chester Village West in Chester, Conn.

UArts Trustee Tom Miles BFA ’75 (Sculpture) was one of several artists invited to show their work at the (Augustus) Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, N.H., the only national park dedicated to an artist.

The park is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Sculptor-in-Residence program, in which Miles participated in 1978. He had four sculptures chosen for the exhibition titled “When I Was Here…,” which opened in September.

Annie Greenberg BFA ’77 (Illustration), writing as Anna Brentwood, has released her third novel, a novella titled Mermaid’s Treasure, a riveting tale about a sunken Russian battleship, a failed mission, family legacies and a mysterious treasure. Mermaid’s Treasure is a prequel to The Songbird with Sapphire Eyes, her breakthrough novel. The story centers on the experiences of a young cabaret singer growing up during the roaring 20s. The book has been well received and is described as “gloriously heartbreaking and tragic, but beautiful.”

Greenberg’s books are published through Windtree Press and distributed in 190 countries, to 1,000 retailers and can be found in 65,000 libraries around the world.

The Philadelphia Inquirer profiled top restaurant interior designer and UArts alumna Meg Rodgers BFA ’77 (Wood) in its Sunday, April 12, 2015, issue. Rodgers, who designed her breakout restaurant interior for the Striped Bass in 1994, has created the interiors of such Philadelphia fine dining establishments as Rouge, Fork, Susanna Foo and most recently Volvér by Chef Jose Garces.

1980s Christine Hiebert BFA ’82 (Graphic Design) had her work exhibited alongside drawings by Matisse, Pollock and Warhol in “Embracing Modernism: Ten Years of Drawing Acquisitions,” which was on display at Morgan Library & Museum in New York City. Hiebert’s drawings were included with more than 100 created between 1900 and 2013 by such artists as Mondrian, Schiele, Lichtenstein, Twombly and Dumas.

Cheryl Knowles-Harrigan BFA ’82 (Illustration) had a solo exhibition titled “Just Add Water” at Great Bay Gallery in Somers Point, N.J., in July 2015. The show consisted of 20 mostly plein air watercolors and 10 small gouache and watercolor landscape paintings.

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Andrea Krupp BFA ’84 (Printmaking) exhibited 16 new paintings and woodcuts alongside fellow artist Catherine Nelson, juxtaposed to highlight the intersections between their two image-making processes. Krupp returned from Iceland in mid-December and has been “processing” the profound influence of place that she experienced during her two-month residency at Listhus.

Debra Foust BFA ’85 (Illustration) had two books—Sins of Omission, a story collection, and Six of One, Half-Dozen of the Other, a cartoon collection— released by Tidal Press.

Laura Zarrow BFA ’88 (Graphic Design) hosts a weekly radio show on Sirius XM 111, Business Radio Powered by the Wharton School. The show, titled “Women@Work,” is an ongoing discussion of how to help women join, stay, succeed and lead in the workplace. Zarrow’s co-host is Dr. Melanie Katzman, an executive coach and psychologist. The pair broadcasts live on Wednesdays from 4 to 5 pm. Zarrow is also a member of the Sirius XM 111 editorial board, which features programming about all aspects of business, including entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation. The station broadcasts throughout the U.S. and Canada with 40 hours a week of original, live programming.

Mark Silence BFA ’89 (Theater) had his most recent production of “The Memo” by Václav Havel presented at KING in November 2014.

1990s Lizette (Casals) Senatore BM ’91 (Opera) performed a concert of timeless Spanish and Latin songs at the Cuban Community Center in Philadelphia in June.

Gary Cohen BFA ’92 (Photography) was awarded a Skidmore Summer Studio Art Teachers Fellowship in ceramics for the summer of 2016. Each year, four high school studio arts teachers are selected from around the United States and are provided space and time to develop a body of work. Additionally, Cohen was invited this past summer to be a visiting ceramics artist in residence at the Salem Art Works in Salem, N.Y. There, he assisted in the firing of the large anagama kiln, and again had the opportunity and resources to develop a body of work.

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“Avert, Escape, or Cope With,” an exhibit of vibrant and complex paintings, drawings, sculpture and videos

by Hiro Sakaguchi BFA ’93 (Painting), was reviewed in the June 2015 edition of ARTnews. The show ran November 1 through April 26, 2015, at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts in Wilmington.

Elizabeth Tokoly BFA ’93 (Metals) has recently opened EatMetal Art Jewelry Gallery in Hoboken, N.J., a fine art jewelry gallery and a metal studio for jewelers, beginner to advanced. EatMetal specializes in handmade bespoke jewelry, one-of-a-kind art jewelry, fine jewelry collections and unique bridal jewelry. The first curated exhibition, “Everyday Earring,” opened in July. The exhibit intended to discuss the idea of everyday through the body adornment of an earring.

Heather Croston BFA ’94 (Jewelry/Metals), design manager for K’NEX Brands, was featured in the Sunday, February 15, 2015, issue of The Philadelphia Inquirer in an article about a new line of construction toys for girls called “Mighty Makers.”

I Put the Can in Cancer, a book by Christian “Patch” Patchell BFA ’95 (Illustration), describes through drawings how he felt each day during his treatment for tongue cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2007.

Patch made a promise to himself to draw a picture each day of treatment, describing how he felt that day. What was birthed wasn’t just an ordinary book of drawings showing stages of the disease: one day he’d draw a monster, the next day, he would draw a werewolf, and some days, sea animals.

“Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr Movie,” a documentary by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Seth Kramer BFA ’96 (Film), aired on CNN in August. The film, which premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, was a New York Times Critics’ Pick, was chosen as one of the top 10 movies in 2013 by LA Weekly, and as one of the top 10 documentaries by USA Today and the International Press Academy. “Evocateur” dissects the mind and motivation of television’s most notorious talk show host, who in the late ’80s, tore apart the traditional format by turning the debate of current issues into a gladiator pit.

Christine Braun BFA ’97 (Sculpture) recently celebrated the first anniversary of her business, Robots for Kids Too (R4K2). R4K2 provides technology and robotic classes to children in schools, libraries and Braun’s own studio.

Phoebe Miller BFA ’98 (Modern Dance) recently started a new venture in yoga tourism called “nOMad.” “nOMad” serves yogis who are searching to continue their practice while traveling with friends, family or solo, as well as yogis who are looking to deepen their practice on a yoga retreat.

Maria Rapetskaya BFA ’98 (Animation) celebrated five years as founder and creative director at Undefined Creative in March. The motion graphics and broadcast design studio frequently works with NHL, NBCUniversal, MoMA and Meredith Publishing, and regularly takes on pro bono projects for non-profits. The company just landed a Silver PromaxBDA 2015 Award and features in Adweek Talent Gallery, Shoot Online, Post Magazine and PromaxBDA Brief. Rapetskaya has been active as a speaker, writer and teacher, with conference appearances, recent publications in 99U and Fast Company, and an adjunct position at NYU teaching motion graphics. In addition, she heads up UC’s internship program, which took on several UArts students since its inception in 2011.

Kiki Gaffney MFA ’99 (Painting), Eileen Neff BFA ’72 (Painting) and Shelley Spector BFA ’94 (Sculpture) [1] were included on PhillyVoice.com’s list of “10 Philadelphia Female Artists You Need to Know.” The alumnae were among the female artists “making big, bold statements through a range of mediums.”

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2000s Brad Loekle BFA ’00 (Musical Theater) appeared this summer on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.”

Loekle was handpicked by executive producer Wanda Sykes to compete on the 9th season of the show. He was also Joan Rivers’ personal writer for E!’s “Fashion Police” and has made numerous guest appearances on shows on VH1, MTV, Oxygen and LOGO. For the past seven years, TV audiences have come to know Loekle as one of the stars of the hit TruTV series, “World’s Dumbest.”

Wynter Spears BFA ’00 (Musical Theater) performed stand-up comedy at the world-famous Comedy Store in Hollywood, Calif., Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank, Calif., and at California State University in Los Angeles in May 2015.

Michael Courtney BFA ’01 (Dance) completed his MA in Ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. He is currently there as a guest lecturer, having also just completed the second year of his PhD in Arts Practice program. Courtney’s research is based on using dance as a medium to bridge cultural knowledge divides. He is developing a style of movement called Ethio-Modern Dance, which is his amalgamated embodiment of Ethiopian and other African cultures, used as a tool in his creative process as a Western contemporary artist. He has recently been awarded a post-grad research grant from the Government of Ireland and the Irish Research Council to continue his doctoral research.

Justin Guarini ’01 (Musical Theater) hosted the 2015 Tony Awards simulcast in Times Square on June 7 with actress Deborah Cox. Meredith McGovern-Adams BFA ’01 (Modern Dance) was honored by the sheriff’s office of Orange County in Hudson Valley, N.Y., for her contributions to law enforcement and the safety of its residents. Sgt. Meredith McGovern-Adams joined the sheriff’s office in 2009. She has a unique background, which has aided her creative approach to effective law enforcement. After graduating from UArts in 2001, she began working towards a Master of Fine Arts at Long Island University in 2005, but left the program in 2007 to join the New York City Police Department. While at the Police Academy, she earned the department’s Award for Physical Fitness and after graduation, was assigned to the Transit Bureau in Manhattan. McGovern-Adams worked a foot patrol on the subway both in uniform and in plain clothes until she transferred to the Orange County sheriff’s office in 2009.

In 2011, she was promoted to investigator and in 2012 was invited to work at the FBI office in Goshen, N.Y., as a task force officer targeting white-collar crime. She was promoted to the rank of sergeant on February 1, 2014.

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Venissa Santi BM ’01 (Voice) and guitarist Monnette Sudler were featured during this year’s Kimmel Center Jazz Residency Program in June. Santi and Sudler premiered their jazz musical, “On a Line,” which looks at the lives of three female jazz musicians.

Jed Williams Gallery, owned by Jed Williams BFA ’01 (Painting), was named one of the top six galleries in Philadelphia’s Bella Vista and Queen Village neighborhoods by Phillymag.com.

Following the vandalism at the University of Connecticut of “Speaking OUT: Queer Youth in Focus,” a photographic essay turned book and traveling exhibition by School of Design staff member and alumna Rachelle Lee Smith BFA ’02 (Photography), a rally and social media campaign were held to raise awareness of hatred on campus and throughout the country. #UConnSpeakOUT brought together hundreds of students, staff and faculty, as well as government officials in support of LGBTQ rights.

Michelle McKeone BS ’05 (Communication), founder and CEO of Autism Expressed, an online learning system that teaches digital literacy to students with autism and other learning disabilities, was featured on Philly.com talking about the reason behind rebranding her company as “Digitability.”

“Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie,” created by Kevin Finn BFA ’03 (Film) and James Rolfe BFA ’04 (Film), was nominated for Feature Length Indie Film of the Year at the 2015 Philadelphia Geek Awards, an annual ceremony hosted by Geekadelphia honoring geeks in the Philly region.

Andy Rementer BFA ’04 (Graphic Design) teamed up with Komono to release a series of watches in the “Curated by Komono” series. In the limited “Curated

by Komono” series, the company offers up their wristwear designs as a canvas for surprising, beautiful and highly collectible artist collaborations.

Nichole Kanney BFA ’05 (Writing for Film + Television) received her MA in Creative Writing in June 2014 and her MFA in Creative Writing in June 2015.

Both degrees are focused on screenwriting.

Kyle Keene BM ’05 (Voice) has been teaching private piano and voice lessons to clients in the D.C. metro area since 2012 via his company Mezzo My Forte. In addition to teaching, Keene has been performing in musicals and plays within northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland, and he recently won the Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH) Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play for his performance as Lennie in “Of Mice and Men” for Providence Players of Fairfax. Keene is pursuing a master’s degree in Vocal Performance, Contemporary Commercial Music from Shenandoah University.

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Jeanette Berry BM ’06 (Voice) earned her master’s degree in Humanities with a concentration in Transmedia Storytelling after she completed two years on the road singing background for Lauryn Hill. In August, Berry released her debut album with her band, Jeanette Berry and the Soul Nerds. The Soul Nerds are made up of mostly UArts alumni, including Ian Rafalak MM ’07 (Bass) on bass, Anwar Marshall BM ’10 (Music Performance) on drums, LaTasha Morris BM ’06 (Voice) on background vocals, Andre Webb BM ’08 (Voice) on background vocals and Temple University alum Dave Mattock on keys. Berry is also developing a Transmedia production combining live performance, short stories, a movie and music.

Jayne Surrena BFA ’06 (Painting + Drawing), MAT ’10 (Visual Arts) was chosen for the cover and a chapter in From Here On, a bi-annual publication by Aint-Bad Magazine. Surrena creates collages by hand with scissors and a glue stick.

Mary Tasillo MFA ’06 (Book Arts + Printmaking), who runs the West Philly non-profit The Soapbox: Philadelphia’s Independent Publishing Center, was featured in the July 23, 2015, issue of the Philadelphia Citypaper. The article focused on how the zine library and self-publishing resource is keeping the “zine scene” alive and well. Recently receiving its 501c3 status, Tasillo is seeking to expand the space and programming of the organization.

Beth Van Why MID ’06 (Industrial Design) has joined the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites as associate vice president of exhibitions. Van Why will oversee the design and implementation of exhibitions and gallery renovations related to art, history and natural science at the museum and 11 historic sites.

Monica Zimmerman MA ’06 (Museum Communication) has crafted a career as leader, educator, visitor champion and museum advocate over the past 10 years.

She has become an accomplished museum professional while serving as the director of museum education at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where she manages “a diverse department of artists and project coordinators who deliver quality programming to all of PAFA’s audiences.” In addition to her leadership role at PAFA, she lectures at area museums and universities, presents at conferences, and has recently joined the UArts part-time faculty as a lecturer for the Museum Audience course, which incidentally, was her favorite course while a MCOM student.

2014 James Beard Award nominee Dan Delaney BFA ’08 (Multimedia), owner of the wildly successful Texas-style barbeque restaurants BrisketTown (Williamsburg, Brooklyn) and SmokeLine (NYC), opened his third restaurant in New York: a fried chicken place called Delaney Chicken.

Sean Elias BFA ’08 (Musical Theater) has been named the new artistic director and CEO of Iron Crow Theatre, Baltimore’s leading LGBTQ theater company since its inception in 2010.

Yis “Nosego” Goodwin BFA ’08 (Film) was included in the group exhibit “Vitality and Verve: Transforming the Urban Landscape” at the Long Beach (Calif.) Museum of Art. The show, which ran through October 25, examines the current developments in the growing field of urban contemporary art.

Christina Perri ’08 (Communication) came home to Philly in July to play a concert at the Mann Center as part of the “Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too” summer tour with pop singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat and “Fight Song” vocalist Rachel Platten.

Leroy Church BFA ’09 (Modern Dance) performed in the dance ensemble and as a principal cover for the role of Ed in “The Lion King” tour.

Paradigm Gallery + Studio, owned by Jason Chen BFA ’08 (Animation) and Sara McCorriston BFA ’09 (Theater Design + Technology), was named one of the top six galleries in Philadelphia’s Bella Vista and Queen Village neighborhoods by Phillymag.com.

Carl Clemons-Hopkins BFA ’09 (Musical Theater) was cast in the Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) production of “Smokey Joe’s Café” this summer for its 48th consecutive year of offering free musical theater at Miller Outdoor Theatre.

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Sally Eckhoff MFA ’09 (Painting) was named a 2015 BAU Institute Fellow and participated in the Institute’s Summer Residency for Arts and Culture in Otranto, Italy. The residency provides visual, literary and other creative artists the time and space to create new work.

This singular cultural opportunity in an ancient urban setting is a haven for creative rejuvenation and intensive focus.

Greg Pizzoli MFA ’09 (Book Arts + Printmaking) was asked to illustrate a previously unpublished book by Margaret Wise Brown, famed author of Goodnight Moon and many other well-known titles. The project is part of a new program by Harper Collins, and Pizzoli says that he’s honored to be in the company of the other illustrators also working with Brown’s texts.

The book will be released in early 2017. In addition, Pizzoli, along with Associate Professor Matt Curtius, Senior Lecturer Eleanor Grosch and former faculty member Brian Biggs, were listed as “Nine Philadelphia Illustrators You Should Follow” by PhillyVoice.com.

Davon Williams BFA ’09 (Acting) has been performing in “The Festival of the Lion King” in Hong Kong Disneyland, and recently joined Team Mushu, Hong Kong Disneyland’s Dragon Boat team.

2010s Philadelphia-based alumni band Swift Technique, featuring Andy Bree BM ’10 (Composition), Ian Gray BM ’13 (Instrumental Performance), Mike Rilli BFA ’15 (Trombone) and Greg Rosen BM ’11 (Trumpet), was named Funk Band of the Year at the 4th Annual Tri State Indie Music Awards.

Jeremy Lawrence BM ’10 (Guitar) had an instrumental version of one of his songs “Is it Love?” featured on the show “Sag Harbor” on the Oprah Winfrey Network. “Sag Harbor” is part of #Selma50 and profiles Sag Harbor, an historically African-American beach community in Long Island, N.Y. Lawrence has worked with new artist Jacque Hammond, a talented indie-soul artist, on her upcoming EP. The record was released in the spring.

Traci Maturo BFA ’10 (Illustration) was one of four artist selected to be featured in a “Box of Happies,” March subscription box, a service that only features works created by artists and crafters. Besides being a featured artist, Maturo has been selling prints of her work across the United States and in Great Britain.

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Caitlin McCormack BFA ’10 (Illustration) was nominated as Visual Artist of the Year in the 2015 Philadelphia Geek Awards, an annual ceremony hosted

by Geekadelphia honoring geeks in the Philly region.

Typedrummer, an online beat generator created by Kyle Stetz BA ’11 (Industrial Design), was nominated in the Web Project of the Year category for the 2015 Philadelphia Geek Awards, an annual ceremony hosted

by Geekadelphia honoring geeks in the Philly region.

Lorenzo Buffa BS ’12 (Industrial Design) and his Analog Watch Co. have launched the Mason watch, the world’s first marble timepiece. Described as a “functional marble sculpture for your wrist,” the Mason Collection features a body and face that are precision cut from solid marble. This launch follows the success of the company’s Carpenter Collection, a line of all-wood watches that was created with the help of a Creative Incubator/Wells Fargo Fellowship Grant from the University’s Corzo Center for the Creative Economy in 2013.

Analog Watch Co. was also nominated for a 2015 Philadelphia Geek Award in the Story of the Year category for its Ant Farm Watch, an April Fool’s joke that took the Internet by storm.

Paige Miller BFA ’14 (Sculpture) had a solo exhibition this summer at the Red Room of the Imperfect Gallery in Germantown, Philadelphia. The show, “Sanctum,” was a site-specific installation.

Jimin Jung BFA ’15 (Crafts) won second prize at Design Museum Boston’s Rapid Jewelry 3D Printing Design Competition for his piece “Oath Ring.”

Monica Morris BFA ’15 (Sculpture), Lee Reed BFA ’15 (Sculpture), Corinne Sandkuhler BFA ’15 (Sculpture) and Stephanie Wademan BFA ’15 (Sculpture) brought a new vision of public art to the sidewalks of Center City’s Washington Square West neighborhood by creating original works of art that transformed the area’s drab brown utility boxes. The designs, part of an independent project created in coordination with the Washington Square West Civic Association, were unveiled to the community last May. In July, recent grad Miriam Serot-Shore BFA ’15 (Jewelry) started her dream job as a jewelry designer for A G & G, Inc./Vieste Rosa, a well-known Rhode Island-based costume jewelry manufacturer.

In Memoriam Alumni

Faculty & Staff

Thomas Vroman

Richard T. Genovese, Sr.

Thomas Vroman BFA ’50 (Illustration) passed away at home on February 7, 2015. He was born in 1924 in Olean, N.Y., attended the Beaux Art School in Paris and graduated from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Vroman’s career in painting and design won him more than 150 awards and honors from national and international art organizations. He taught at the University of the Arts as well as Temple University. During World War II, he worked as an artist in the European Theatre Headquarters based in London. In 1974, Vroman was honored as one of America’s outstanding contemporary artists.

He is among only 13 people to have ever received this honor, a list that includes Norman Rockwell.

Longtime faculty member and musician Richard T. Genovese, Sr., 78, of Hatfield, Pa., died at his home on July 24, 2014, of a brain disorder. Born in South Philadelphia, he graduated from Southern High School in 1954 and from the Curtis Institute of Music in 1957.

Genovese played three instruments: tenor trombone, bass trombone and the tuba. He performed at venues and theaters in Philadelphia, casinos in Atlantic City and on Broadway in New York. At various times, he performed with vocalists Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and Andrea Bocelli. He performed, recorded and toured with many pop, R&B and Motown artists. His recording was done locally—with Gamble-Huff-Bell Music at Philadelphia International Records and Sigma Sound Studios. Genovese dedicated himself to teaching the next generation of musicians. He told his family, “We were given a talent and have to make sure the kids have a chance to develop theirs.” He taught trombone, directed ensembles and conducted concert band at schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for 40 years. He taught at Bishop Kenrick High School in Norristown—now closed—for 20 years.

And starting in the 1960s, he taught at the University of the Arts as an adjunct assistant professor until retiring in 2013. Genovese earned nine Gold Records—certified sales of 500,000 records—for his work with the Stylistics, the Spinners and the O’Jays. In 2010, he was recognized

by Gov. Ed Rendell in a letter for outstanding contributions in music performance, the recording industry and in education. In October 2014, his name was added to the bronze plaque placed by the Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame outside the Academy of Music. The plaque honors an “elite group that made the Philly sound famous the world over.”

Harry Hasheian Harry Hasheian BFA ’60 (Art Education), a local artist and educator in Philadelphia, died suddenly on July 18, 2015, at the age of 77. Hasheian attended UArts, receiving his degree in Art Education in 1960. He earned his MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. He taught at Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science (now Philadelphia University) beginning in 1961 and was an assistant professor at Edinboro University from 1965 to 1984. He also taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Cabrini College, Mercyhurst College, and in several elementary and high schools. Hasheian served for three years as director of Visual Communication at the Art Institute of Philadelphia from 1987 to 1990. He also taught at the Woodmere Art Museum.

Debra Cooperstein Debra Cooperstein BFA ’73 (Art Education) passed away on May 14, 2015. Cooperstein spent 36 years as an art teacher in the Philadelphia school system. She taught at both Bartram High School and Central High School, where she was chair of the art department.

During her career, she received many commendations and awards; most notably, she was the recipient of the first Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts’ Art Teacher Award of Excellence in 2009. Cooperstein was most satisfied when she was able to encourage, mentor and guide many students into a career in the arts.

Jim Beaumont Longtime UArts staff member Jim Beaumont died on April 12, 2015.

Beaumont retired as director of Facilities Operations in September 2014. He began working at the University of the Arts in 1998 as assistant director of Campus Operations and was promoted to director in 2010. A funeral mass was held April 16 at St. Gabriel Church in Philadelphia.

FROM THE ARCHIVES Student Publications

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FROM THE ARCHIVES S T U D E N T P U B L I C AT I O N S

by Phoebe Kowalewski BFA ’04 (Printmaking) Autumn is a season both of fresh starts and nostalgia—as one year winds down, another is just beginning. For current students, there is the anticipation of a new academic year, while the memories of this anticipation come flooding back to alumni. It goes without saying that the University Archives is a place where this nostalgia comes to life. On these shelves reside the course catalogs, concert programs and exhibition postcards of bygone years. However, for me, the most potent reminders of the University’s past are the student publications the Libraries have been carefully preserving, cataloging and digitizing.

Often unofficial efforts of students from the 1930s through the present, these newsletters, zines and literary journals provide a fascinating glimpse into the lives of students over the decades, both in and out of the classrooms. Among the poems, short stories and illustrations are essays recounting war experiences (Sketchbook 1946), comics featuring such signs of the times as long-haired hippies (Nous 1968) and punk-rock ducks (Duckwork 1981), announcements of film screenings, parties and exhibitions, as well as editorials on current events on and off campus. Even the advertisements sometimes printed in the back spark interest, offering hints of how much times have changed (a studio easel for $1.49?!) and also how they have stayed the same (McGlinchey’s is still going strong).

Not only the content, but the means of production have much to say about when they were created. Some were professionally printed on or off campus, whereas others were simply photocopied and stapled. Sketchbook (1935-38, 1946) looks polished, with its neatly organized type and illustrations—especially compared with Nous (1965-68), which screams 1960s. The psychedelic font, handwritten surrealist marginalia, silver end pages and Pop Art-inspired photographs of Nous mirror the iconoclastic, anti-establishment ethos that prevailed in that era. Additionally, its wide variety of formats suggests that Nous was meant not only as a periodical but a work of art in its own right. Conversely, a majority of the 1970s and 80s-era publications in our collections are simple, photocopied zines, reflecting (at times inadvertently) the DIY, punk rock aesthetic of the era. By the 1990s, the growing ubiquity of computers supplants the photocopied typewritten text and pen and ink illustrations. In Untitled #9, issued in 1993, images of the

first Gulf War are printed from a computer—appearing crude in comparison to the slick, professional looking Underground Pool. With its crisply reproduced artwork and uniform type, this literary magazine published by the Liberal Arts Division since 2011 is available both in print and online at uarts.edu/undergroundpool.

It could be assumed that, unlike Underground Pool, most student “publications” today are only available online. With blogs, Instagram accounts and Twitter feeds, students have other, more immediate means to express themselves and communicate their ideas to the University community. Sadly, a majority of these will be lost to us—and will leave a large gap in the University Archives. Student publications show us more than what courses students took, what exhibitions or performances they were in, but how they thought, felt and interacted with the world around them—whether writing about the newly emerging swing music craze, criticizing the Vietnam War or lampooning Ronald Reagan. It can’t be overstated how important student publications are in capturing our University’s history.

The following is an incomplete list of student publications that are being cataloged and digitized for the University Archives. You can search for them in the Libraries catalog at catalog.library.uarts.edu or in our Digital Collections at collections.library.uarts.edu, where complete, full-text issues can be enjoyed.

Cover of Sketchbook, Spring 1937. Published by students of the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art. Cover design this issue by Joseph Krush CERT ’39 (Illustration).

Donated by alumnus William H. Campbell ’37 (Advertising Design).

Cover of Nous, volume iii, number iv (April 18, 1967). Photographer uncredited, but likely Anne Todd BFA ’68 (Photography) or Fran Gallun BFA ’68 (Photography).

Cartoon board game from 1968 issue of Nous. Illustrator uncredited.

Cover of the December 18, 1959, issue of The Gryphon.

Although most publications in the Archives were created by students from the College of Art, Media & Design and its predecessors, those in the performing arts also took part. This title, The Mouth-Piece (February 1975), was issued by students at the Philadelphia Musical Academy (now the UArts School of Music).

Back cover of May 1974 issue of New Asylum.

Sketchbook (1936-46*) P.M.S.I.A. Letter (1945) The Gryphon (1959-60) Nous (1965-1968) New Asylum (1974-75) Mouthpiece (1974-75) Cranberry Pie (1978-79)

...Take Five (1978-79) FUBAR (1980) Duckwork (1981-82) AvantGuardian (1982-83) Brain Dead (1987-88) Untitled #9 (1993) Underground Pool (2011- )

Cover of the Spring 1945 issue of the P.M.S.I.A. Letter. Designed by Alice Reif ’45 (Advertising Design) and screenprinted by staff and Helen Hartel ’40 (Advertising Design).

*Note: Dates reflect library holdings and may not accurately represent original publication dates.

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