2 minute read
Dean’s Message
Dear friends,
I am thrilled to present this spring issue of CONNECT, which exemplifies the cross section of several areas in the arts. Here, we share stories about how so many members of the CTSA community are working in various ways to uplift and advocate the arts in our community. From representation to advocacy, being ambassadors and mentors – this issue features an extraordinary range of students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members who build bridges and create opportunities for our community to thrive!
As I round the corner to the last quarter of my first year as dean, I reflect on our progress and connections that helped inspire these stories.
JoVia Armstrong (Ph.D. '22) shares her journey in music from being a professional musician to her performance inspired research in the ICIT Ph.D. program at UCI to her professor appointment at the University of Virginia.
Music faculty Kojiro Umezaki shares his story about his creative foundations and time with Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad Ensemble to his longstanding community engagement with the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation students in Montana.
Bradford Chin, an M.F.A. candidate in dance, has become a leader in disability in dance and shares his passion for making dance more accessible and inclusive as an art form and space of social justice work.
Art alum Garnet Hertz bridges art and technology in his new book Art + DIY Electronics, coming out this May, about how DIY creative technologies explore the complexity of what it means to be human.
We bring a spotlight to our alumni, Marissa Diaz, Andrea Yorita and Kaysie José, who are now teaching and advising their own students; and to our arts champions, Matt Bailey and Goran Matijasevic, whose gifts are helping CTSA students to excel.
I am inspired daily by our CTSA community of bridge builders who signal the way into more expansive spaces of connection and possibility. These stories feature creatives and leaders connecting people, places and projects while opening doors wider for others. We can imagine all that we might creatively share to help better the world when we see how those from our community are building and traveling bridges. To be it, you have to see it.
