Congratulations to the 2017-2018 Undergraduate Student Research Grant award winners.

The Undergraduate Student Research Grant program provides $25,000 in funding per year with the purpose of encouraging curiosity, creativity, risk-taking and scholarly investigation into an interdisciplinary project or subject of interest relevant to the student’s major.

Learn more about their projects at the Undergraduate Student Research Grant page.

Tareena Rising
Through video and animation, the team will create a short narrative neo-Western film inside a painted, wallpapered, sculptural TV studio set. The film will respond to collective research into the myth of the nomadic cowboy by subverting the West with gendered interiority.

Team:

• Andy Gottschalk, Painting + Printmaking
• Kelly Boyer, Kinetic Imaging
• Brad Eisenhauer, Photography + Film
• Rachel Lamb, Theatre

Building a Rotational Caster
The team will construct a variable-speed rotational caster to create and exhibit a collaborative body of work centered around hollow-casted plastic, rubber, and glass pieces. The machine and the team’s findings will be available for Sculpture and Crafts students in the future as a supplement to flexible mold-making, foundry and kiln-forming glass curricula.

Team:

• Anthony D’Angelo, Sculpture + Extended Media, double major in Spanish
• Joe Gindhart, Craft/Material Studies

Virginia State Park Printmaking
The goal of this project will be to showcase the beauty of Virginia’s State Parks while exploring two traditional printing techniques. The project will create a series of posters that help illustrate what the parks have to offer, as a way of bringing awareness to the conservation efforts that have gone into preserving these pockets of Virginia.

Team:

• Catherine McGuigan, Communication Arts, Environmental Science double major
• Madison Hall, Communications Arts, Art History minor

48 Hour Film Fest at VCU
The 48-Hour Film Fest at VCU is a fast-paced, engaging creative quest that will occur over one weekend in February 2018. Over the course 48 hours, 10 teams will work to write, shoot, and edit short films in advance of a public screening of all films at Grace Street Theatre.

Team:

• Greer Allie Meagher, Photography + Film
• Connor Gillooly, Photography + Film
• Victoria Kee, Photography + Film
• Brittany Clark, Theatre
• Payton Baril, Kinetic Imaging
• Will Barker, Photography + Film
• Ellen Abernathy, Photography + Film

Homecoming
Homecoming is an evening length dance performance that will showcase several artistic voices responding to experiences of leaving and returning home, returning to self—contending with one’s identity and voice in the face of oppression, and the understanding of motherhood through storytelling and movement abstraction.

Team:

• Christine Wyatt, Dance + Choreography
• Jelani Taylor, Dance + Choreography
• Jaleel Jackson, Music
• Adriana DeRosa, Photography + Film
• Sarah Lubert, Painting + Printmaking

The Hush Behind the Lips
The project is a short film inspired by a true story of sexual abuse that happened to the filmmaker of the piece during his childhood. The film explores the effects of sexual abuse on both men and women in developing countries such as modern Iran. The film is intended to raise awareness and develop a sense of empathy through sharing a personal story based on a personal trauma.

Team:

• Milad Rezaei, Photography + Film
• Sepidar Misaghian, Craft/Material Studies
• Kylie Newcomb, Photography + Film
• Michelle Taft, Photography + Film, Dance + Choreography minor
• Peyton Johnson, Kinetic Imaging

The Historical Richmond Coloring Book
The team will create a coloring book based on the diverse history of Richmond. The goal of this project is to increase the knowledge of diversity and bring light to underrepresented communities in Richmond.

Team:

• Shanna Brandt, Graphic Design
• Jessica Casey, Photography + Filmmaking
• Stephanie Turner, Biomedical Engineering

Intertwined
The team will host a series of four fiber workshops for LGBTQ teenagers in the Richmond area and teach wet felting, crochet, weaving, and sewing through the lens of understanding identity by making art.

Team:

• Stuart Shepard, Craft/Material Studies, Sculpture + Extended Media
• Porcelyn Headen, Photography + Film
• Noelani Jones, Craft/Material Studies

Featured photo: Previous Undergraduate Student Research Grant (2016-2017) Communications Arts team Dawn Carr, Morgan Colonna, Katelyn O’Leary, Virginia Stephenson and Katharine Thompson work on the Depot sound stage with their dog Belle.

Photo by Diego Valdez (BFA ’14), Courtesy of VCUarts.

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Addiction and recovery artist brings practice to U.K. for week-long residency

Richmond, Virginia (Jan. 16, 2018) – Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts) is pleased to announce its partnership with Tate Exchange, at Tate Modern London. Artist John Freyer, an assistant professor at VCUarts, will be the school’s first Tate Exchange Associate. He will be in residency in London from June 26 through July 1, 2018.

Freyer will be available in Tate Exchange for conversation and coffee in a week-long project that creates space for dialogue about addiction and recovery. He will be building on his Fifty/Fifty project for an international audience.

Freyer’s work offers a unique opportunity to engage people in recovery with broader publics, emphasizing creative expression as a means of assisting in the recovery process and reducing the social stigma and isolation associated with individuals struggling with addiction. His work also revives the simple yet meaningful practice of face-to-face dialogue—a growing rarity in an increasingly technologically mediated world.

“Freyer’s work is a unique catalyst that inspires genuine, organic, one-on-one conversations that help destigmatize people recovering from addiction and those that support them,” says VCUarts Dean Shawn Brixey. “These casual conversations with the public are increasingly important amid growing national and international discussions of addiction. We’re very pleased to have the School of the Arts partner with Tate Exchange, and to have John Freyer as our first Tate Exchange Associate.”

Later this month, Freyer will produce “Recovery Roast” for Tate Exchange, working in collaboration with the Tate Roastery and with participants in recovery. As part of the experience, this specially roasted coffee will be brewed and served as Freyer and others in recovery engage the public in conversation.

Tate Exchange, a new project for the museum, sets out to ask how art makes a difference to society and creates a common space for the public to debate contemporary topics and ideas, to get actively involved, and to make a difference. VCUarts will be the Tate Exchange’s first U.S. partner.

About Tate Exchange Associates

Organisations from a wide range of fields well beyond the gallery’s normal reach have become Associates of Tate Exchange. This group programme the dedicated spaces at Tate Modern and Tate Liverpool. Working in a spirit of generosity, openness and trust, the Associates collaborate with one another around an annual theme inspired by the art on display. Now in its second year, Tate Exchange has expanded its group of Associates to 60 partners, while consistently seeking to engage audiences which are new to the museum. For the full list of Associates and more information please visit tate.org.uk/tateexchange.

About Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts

VCUarts is the top-ranked public art school in the U.S. and offers degree programs across the visual and performing arts and design. VCUarts is housed within a major urban research university that has been recognized for its community-engaged research. Encouraging intellectual inquiry in and through the creative fields, VCUarts fosters rich, interdisciplinary collaborations between artists, designers, health practitioners, and more. VCUarts manages its partnership with Tate Exchange through the Arts Research Institute, the school’s research hub and think tank that supports project development and special initiatives.

About John Freyer

John Freyer is an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Richmond, Virginia, USA. As an artist, author and educator, his practice explores how the circulation of objects and stories enrich social ties between individuals and groups. His projects include All My Life for Sale, Big Boy, Live IKEA, Free Ice Water, Free Hot Coffee and Free Hot Supper.

Freyer earned his B.A. from Hamilton College and his M.A. and M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. His work has been reviewed in The New Yorker, The Sunday London Times, Artforum, Print Magazine and NBC’s The Today Show. Freyer is a Fulbright Scholar, a MacDowell Colony Fellow and was an Artist in Residence at Light Work and the Fannon Center in Doha, Qatar. Freyer has brought his social practice projects to TEDxRVA, has exhibited at Mixed Greens, NY, the Liverpool Biennial Fringe, Liverpool, UK, and is the first U.S.-based Tate Exchange Associate at the Tate Modern in London.

U.S. press Inquiries, contact Suzanne A. Silitch, APR, director of communications, VCU School of the Arts, sasilitch@vcu.edu; (804) 828-6819

U.K. Press inquiries, contact the Tate press office at pressoffice@tate.org.uk; +44(0)20 7887 8730. For full details, visit http://www.tate.org.uk/tateexchange; for high-resolution images visit tate.org/uk/press

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RICHMOND, Va.—DMV-based choreographer and cultural organizer, MK Abadoo, is one of 25 artists in Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” list of 2018 breakout stars in the dance field. Abadoo’s community-based creative practice is highlighted, with DC critic Lisa Traiger calling her an “unapologetic activist” who “speaks her truth to power.”

Abadoo recently joined the Richmond arts community as a Visiting Arts Fellow within Virginia Commonwealth University’s new transdisciplinary initiative, the Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry and Innovation (iCubed). As a member of iCubed’s Racial Equity, Arts and Culture Core, Abadoo brings her background in dance as a medium of social change to her teaching in the Department of Dance and Choreography, and in support of local racial justice community organizing.

“I’m in awe of, and overcome by, the multiple dialogs in play: the political, the spiritual, the everyday, the cathartic, the painful, and the beautiful. Dance, or any other art form, rarely effects me this way,” says Andrew Sargus, writer for thINKing Dance, responding to his experience with Octavia’s Brood: Riding the Ox Home.

Abadoo brings her work, Octavia’s Brood: Riding the Ox Home (OBROH), to Richmond this March 23 and 24, at the Grace Street Theater. Featured as a top pick for the best dance performances of 2017 in the DC area, OBROH has been highly praised for its use of community and audience engagement, inviting the entire audience on stage for the first act of the performance. The piece will feature VCUarts dance students and Abadoo’s partners and collaborators from local organizations that advance the progress of African American women and girls.

For further information contact: MK Abadoo, mkabadoo@gmail.com, 443-745-5437

About MK Abadoo

MK Abadoo is a choreographer, educator and cultural organizer. Combining contemporary and classical, modern, neo-traditional West African, and African American Funk dance styles, her work disrupts power dynamics in support of transformative social change from a womanist perspective. She is an inaugural Visiting Arts Fellow in the Racial Equity, Arts and Culture Core at the Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry and Innovation (iCubed) of Virginia Commonwealth University. As a 2016-2017 U.S. Fulbright Fellow, she recently conducted eight months of creative research at the Noyam African Dance Institute in Dodowa, Ghana, and with the National Dance Company of Ghana. Prior to this period, she performed for over a decade with internationally renowned dance companies and choreographers including Gesel Mason, Liz Lerman, Urban Bush Women, David Dorfman Dance and the Dance Exchange.  She is also a 2017 Forty Under 40 awardee by Prince George’s County Social Innovation Fund for her leadership and achievement in the arts. She earned her BFA in dance education from the University of the Arts, certificate of Africana studies from the University of Ghana and an MFA in dance from the University of Maryland. To stay connected, visit mkabadoo.com.

About iCubed

iCubed at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a cutting edge institute focused on catalyzing collaborative connections between the university and the community at large through innovative academic and research programs. Our transdisciplinary core teams collaborate with key community members in order to develop holistic solutions to 21^st century urban challenges within the Commonwealth. For more information about iCubed or to apply to one of the transdisciplinary core teams, please visit: icubed.vcu.edu.

For further information about the iCubed Racial Equity, Arts and Culture Core, please contact: Salem Tsegaye, sntsegaye@vcu.edu, 804-828-1701

Featured photo credit Kwame Opare

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Dear VCUarts students,

Welcome back and Happy New Year. A new year brings new opportunities for our school as we continue to redefine what is possible through the arts. This spring marks the beginning of an exciting chapter in the history of VCUarts, with the long-awaited public opening of the ICA and a new international partnership with the Tate Modern in London. It’s a great time to be a VCUarts student, with opportunities throughout the semester to meet professional experts and collaborate with your peers. Here are a few things to note happening this spring:

• News about the ICA — today, VCU announced that Joseph H. Seipel, dean emeritus of VCUarts, has agreed to serve as the interim director of the ICA. Seipel will fill the role left vacant by Lisa Freiman, who announced last week that she was stepping down as director to focus on scholarly projects at VCU. In April, the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU will open to the public with its inaugural exhibition “Declaration.” This exhibition includes the work of VCUarts alumni Andrea Donnelly (MFA ’10) and Levester Williams (MFA ’16), along with faculty members Hope Ginsburg, Paul Rucker, Jon-Phillip Sheridan, Stephen Vitiello, and many others from the VCUarts community. A student preview will be held on Thursday, April 19, and a community block party will be held on Saturday, April 21. This is a historic moment of national significance and one you will not want to miss. I hope you will attend the opening and look for ways to engage deeply with our campus partner in the arts.
• Of international significance, I’m pleased to announce our partnership with Tate Modern London through the Tate Exchange. The Tate Exchange is a collaborative program that considers how art can improve the lives of people and society. At the Tate Modern, it is also a space for artists and community members to meet, share ideas and discuss the contemporary influence of the arts. Assistant Professor of Photography John Freyer will be our school’s first Tate Exchange Associate, building on his Fifty/Fifty project for an international audience and emphasizing creative expression as a means of assisting in recovery and reducing the social stigma of individuals struggling with addiction. Tate’s Director of Learning Anna Cutler will also be visiting VCUarts, with a public talk on February 22.
• In an effort to continue to acquaint myself with you and for you to learn more about me, I will be hosting three “Lunch with the Dean” events this semester. Lunches are planned for Feb. 14, March 1, and March 29. Keep an eye out for a digital invitation to reserve a place at the table.
• I know we’re all looking forward to the 2018 Undergraduate Juried Exhibition and MFA thesis shows. Curator Alex Klein, from the ICA Philadelphia, will serve as juror for the undergraduate exhibition, to be held at the Anderson on March 16. Round one and two of the MFA thesis exhibitions will open on April 6 and April 27, respectively.
• Mark your calendars: the VCUarts Fashion Show: Momentum is set for May 10 at the Main Street Station. Our talented fashion merchandising students will be organizing this event for their design peers under the supervision of Assistant Professor Rudy Lopez. This annual show is a hallmark for VCUarts and the City of Richmond, drawing an audience from across the country to see our students’ outstanding work. Keep your eye on VCUarts’ social media channels so you can be the first to order your tickets as soon as they become available.
• I’d like to congratulate this year’s winners of the Undergraduate Student Research Grants. For over a decade, this program has underscored our commitment to funding your ideas and investing in arts research at our school.
  

I also have some administrative updates I’d like to share. One of my main priorities for this year is Adjunct Faculty pay. Last semester, I worked with the VCU administration to ensure that our adjunct faculty members are paid, at minimum, $1,000/credit hour on an ongoing basis. I am deeply committed to all of our VCUarts faculty and our adjuncts are a valuable and vital part of our learning community. To that end, I have asked Sarah Cunningham, Ph.D., Executive Director for Research at VCUarts, to convene an Adjunct Pay Task Force to look at adjunct faculty needs across all departments and programs and recommend strategies to improve their quality of life. To begin work, the task force will collect and study adjunct compensation and policies at peer institutions and public research universities. The task force will convene as soon as classes begin, complete data collection in April, and produce a report by fall 2018. We will provide the community with regular progress updates, including a preliminary report in May.

Also of note, after five years of exceptional administrative service, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Faculty Affairs James Frazier, Ed.D., will be returning to the Department of Dance + Choreography as a faculty member, beginning in the fall. His work with Inclusion Infusion has helped to expand diversity and inclusion at VCUarts. Dr. Frazier has been a valuable part of my leadership team, working diligently to strengthen our community and I am extremely grateful for his service. During this transition, I have asked Associate Professor Paul Thulin to step in as the Interim Director for VCUarts Graduate Studies.

Every year brings exciting changes to VCUarts. Spring calls us to rededicate ourselves to our practices, our research and the cultivation of new ideas. I look forward to sharing the new discoveries and innovations we’ll make in 2018.

Warmly,

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Congratulations for your inclusion on the VCUarts Fall 2017 Dean’s List! This special recognition is given to students taking 12 or more credits, who earn a minimum GPA of 3.5 for the semester wth no grade below C.

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In January, Richmond Magazine interviewed Chair of Photography + Film Sasha Waters-Freyer about her latest project, All Things Are Photographable. The documentary, which covers the life and work of photographer Garry Winogrand, recently wrapped production shortly after the announcement of a $35,000 award from the Derek Freese Film Foundation. In the interview, Waters-Freyer discussed her inspiration for the project and why Winogrand’s photography is still relevant today.

I was a photography major myself in New York in the 1980s, and so I knew his work and I really loved it and admired it. But I, like other people, sort of forgot [about him]. I hadn’t looked at his books in a long time. And then, when there was this traveling retrospective that started a few years ago, I sort of remembered that I really love this photographer. I really love his work. Hadn’t thought about him in a while. I started looking at his books, and I thought, ‘I wonder if there’s a documentary about him.’ He’s an amazing artist, and he’s a fascinating guy. So I called his gallery, who works with his estate, and asked why there wasn’t a documentary about him, and they said, ‘No one’s ever asked.’
…
There’s a way you can see this story of American social life and social fabric reflected in his individual story. He was also a first generation Hungarian-Jewish immigrant, so he’s also got that immigrant story, where he’s part of that generation of young people who came out of a very working-class family in the Bronx, and just invents himself as an artist in a way that is really kind of remarkable. His relationship to photography and his coming-of-age story is really the classic American story.

Read the full interview here.

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On January 31, Theresa Pollak was honored at the 50 for 50 Arts Inspiration Awards hosted by the Virginia Commission for the Arts. Pollak was included among eight arts leaders and supporters commended by the state agency for their championing of the arts, community contributions, and dedication to the welfare of creative spaces, artists and art organizations.

Held at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Cheek Theater, the event honored 50 programs, individuals and organizations who have influenced the arts in the Commonwealth since the Virginia Commission for the Arts’s founding in 1968. The winners were selected from a pool of over 350 nominees by former VCA commissioners and creative peers.

Pollak was honored alongside fellow icons of the arts in Virginia, including Sally Mann, David Robbins, Hon. Marian Van Landingham, Dr. Andrea F. Warren, Studio Two-Three, the Virginia Opera, Richmond Ballet, and 1708 Gallery’s InLight event.

Dean Shawn Brixey was in attendance to accept Pollak’s posthumous award on her behalf, with Governor Ralph Northam visiting for the reception in the VMFA Marble Hall. The program was closed with a performance by the Richmond Ballet’s Minds in Motion Ambassadors.

Born in 1899, Theresa Pollak was the central figure responsible for the creation of VCU School of the Arts. In 1928, with the blessing of Richmond Professional Institute’s first director H. H. Hibbs, she founded the school in a stable on Shafter Street. She taught its very first class, and continued to lead the school until 1950, after which she remained a teaching faculty member until her retirement in 1969—one year after RPI became VCU. She passed away in 2002 at the age of 103.

For a full list of 50 for 50 winners, as well as more information about the state agency, visit the official Virginia Commission for the Arts site at arts.virginia.gov.

Photograph by J. O. Fitzgerald, Jr., 1948. Courtesy of VCU James Branch Cabell Library, Special Collections & Archives.

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Guests from MICA, Tate Modern and the Latin Ballet of Virginia Among Invited

RICHMOND, Va. (Feb. 1, 2018) – Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts) is hosting dozens of artists from around the world as visiting artists, scholars and professionals this spring. These guests are invited to share their expertise and advice from a range of practices in visual arts, design, performance and research. They offer insight into their careers and the future of the arts through classroom visits, one-on-one discussions, public lectures, concerts and critiques with students and faculty.

“VCUarts has a long tradition of calling on experts from a multiplicity of disciplines to enrich the education of our students,” says Dean Shawn Brixey. “We are thrilled to welcome these talented artists and scholars to our community, and we look forward to the unique interactions their visits will bring.

The line-up of visiting artists includes professionals specializing in art history, hip hop, flamenco, clay, photography, education, playwriting, furniture design and more. Events run from February to April 2018, and are open to the public. Tickets are required for some events. All venues are located in the City of Richmond.

Visiting artist lecture locations and times are subject to change. Find the latest information about these lectures, concerts and more at arts.vcu.edu/calendar and search for “Visiting Artist.”

About Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts

VCUarts is the top-ranked public art school in the U.S. and offers degree programs across the visual and performing arts and design. VCUarts is housed within a major urban research university that has been recognized for its community-engaged research. Encouraging intellectual inquiry in and through the creative fields, VCUarts fosters rich, interdisciplinary collaborations between artists, designers, health practitioners, and more.

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For press inquiries, contact:
Suzanne A. Silitch, APR, director of communications, VCU School of the Arts, sasilitch@vcu.edu; (804) 828-6819

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Looking for some arts events this February? The first Friday of every month is Richmond’s First Fridays art walk, when galleries and cultural centers keep their doors open late for exhibitions and special events. We’ve compiled a list of some of the VCUarts affiliated events happening around town on February 2, 2018, and what’s open throughout the month.

Opening reception for Alex Chitty: After (the sun-drenched neutral that goes with everything)
The Anderson, 907 1/2 W Franklin St, 5–9 p.m.
Exhibition by Chicago-based sculptor Alex Chitty.
Open to the public until Mar. 3

MSHR: Source Fold Compositor
The Anderson, 907 1/2 W Franklin St
Open to the public until Mar. 3

2018 Black Lives Matter show
First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1000 Blanton Ave, 5:30 p.m.
Open to the public until Mar. 16, church hours permitting

“Teach Appreash”: VCUarts Art Education Panel Discussion and Ball
The Byrd Theater, 2908 W Cary St, 5:00 p.m.
Try Me Gallery, 1623 W Main St, 6:30 p.m.
Guests include artist Paul Rucker and art educators Joni Acuff, Alfonso Grant and Amy Kraehe. RSVP at artedrsvp@vcu.edu

VCUarts Art Education Alumni and Friends reception
The Depot, 814 W Broad St, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Sara Wilson-McKay, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Art Education, invites alumni and friends to a reunion reception.

VCUarts MFA Open Studio: Photo + Film, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Fashion
Pollak Building, 325 N Harrison St, 5–7 p.m.

VCUarts MFA Open Studio: Sculpture + Extended Media, Kinetic Imaging, Craft, Painting + Printmaking
Fine Arts Building, 1000 W Broad St, 6–8 p.m.

Student exhibition by Kathryn Lien and Jessica Lawrence: Always Already
Sponge Gallery, third floor of The Anderson, 907 1/2 W Franklin St
Opening reception, 5–9 p.m.
Open to the public until Feb. 13

Kinetic Imaging Undergraduate Video I: Duality of Sites
Gallery A, first floor of The Anderson, 907 1/2 W Franklin St
Opening reception, 5–9 p.m.
Open to the public until Feb. 9
Closing reception Feb. 9, 5–9 p.m. with live sound + noise performance at 6 p.m.

Kinetic Imaging senior Malik Radford: Canvas to Cotton, a wearable art experience
Thread Count, 209 E Broad St, 6–10 p.m.

For more information on other First Fridays events, as well as a list of local parking spots and restaurants, visit rvafirstfridays.com.

Photo: MSHR performs for an audience at The Anderson on Jan. 26, 2018.

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Alumna Judith Godwin (BFA ’52) was the subject of a short film included in this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Anna Gaskell, “Judith Loves Martha” pays homage to “a wily 87-year-old New Yorker…[and] one of very few women of the Abstract Expressionist Movement.” The 10-minute short starring Godwin was produced by Galerie Gisela Capitain and released in 2017.

During the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, which ran from January 20 to 28 in Park City, Utah, “Judith Loves Martha” was shown at four separate screenings. An exhibition of works on paper by Gaskell, titled Anna Makes Judith Loves Martha, was shown at Baldwin Gallery in Aspen, Co., from June to July of 2017.

Godwin was born in 1930 in Suffolk, Va. She earned her arts degree in 1952 at the RPI School of Art—today’s VCUarts. She painted extensively in the Abstract Expressionist style in the 1950s, and became friends with a number of notable artists during her early career, including Martha Graham.

Gaskell is an Art Institute of Chicago and Yale University graduate. Her photographs and films are included in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum, MoMA, the Guggenheim and many more.

Image from VCU Libraries Gallery.

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Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable, the first documentary film to cover the life and work of the influential street photographer, will premiere at the SXSW Film Festival, March 9–18. Produced and directed by Professor Sasha Waters Freyer, chair of Photography + Film, the film’s inaugural showing in Texas will be of special significance to her.

“To have this film selected for one of 10 highly competitive slots in the documentary competition at SXSW is a huge honor, made all the more special by the connection between Winogrand and Austin, Texas, home of SXSW,” Waters Freyer said.“Winogrand crisscrossed the country many times taking photographs across the United States, but it was to Austin that he moved for a teaching job at the University of Texas in 1973. The city was his home base until 1978, and even all these years later he is remembered as a larger-than-life teacher and presence around the city.”

Photography today, more than any other medium, shapes how we think about our world, Waters Freyer said. “All Things are Photographable” highlights images of a bygone era — from the New York of “Mad Men” and the early years of the women’s movement to the birth of American suburbs and the glamour and alienation of Hollywood — to discover what Winogrand’s pictures say about America in the 20th century, and to reveal how they might help us navigate the flood of images in the 21st, she said.

Read more about the documentary, Professor Waters Freyer and Garry Winogrand at VCU News.

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VCU School of the Arts and VCU School of Engineering are partnering to host a screening of Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story at the Grace St Theater on February 20, 2018. The 2017 documentary covers the life of film actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000), who became a star of the silver screen while working to develop crucial communications technology during World War II.

Bombshell premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017, and will be broadcast on PBS American Masters this year. Directed by Alexandra Dean and produced by actress Susan Sarandon, the film has garnered numerous awards and critical recognition since its release, holding a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was included on the New York Times’s list of the best movies of 2017.

Preceding the screening will be a short introduction by School of Engineering Dean Barbara D. Boyan, Ph.D. The event is presented by Dean Boyan and School of the Arts Dean Shawn Brixey.

Born Hedwig Kiesler in Vienna, Hedy Lamarr emigrated to the United States in 1938, fleeing an abusive husband who had ties to Europe’s rising fascist governments. Under the promotion of MGM co-founder Louis B. Mayer, Lamarr became a sensation of Golden Age Hollywood. Throughout the 1940s she would often be typecast as a glamorous and exotic femme fatale, appearing opposite leading male stars such as Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy. She remained a recluse in her private life, taking up an interest in invention and “tinkering” that brought her into contact with Howard Hughes and composer George Antheil. Together, she and Antheil worked to develop a radio signal for Allied torpedoes that could not be jammed. Though the 1942 patent would go unused by the US Navy for 20 years, Lamarr and Antheil’s invention became the basis for GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. They were both posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.

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VCU alumnus David Waltenbaugh, Founder and Creative Director of Media Plural, says that Richmond has everything a city needs to be the new Mid-Atlantic hotspot for virtual and augmented reality. The city’s cheap cost of living, start-up friendly culture, increase in tourism and growing millennial community all point to Richmond’s future potential to lead the emerging tech industry. But it’s the influence of VCU and VCUarts that convinces Waltenbaugh that the future of VR/AR tech and content production points to RVA.

Between its top-ranked film school and innovative platforms like its Advanced Media Production Technology program, VCU’s School of the Arts could grab the reigns and play a major role in developing the thought- and production-leaders of the new frontiers of immersive cinema. … The state of Virginia invests heavily in promoting tourism and film production and in recent years has reaped the fruits of its labors: during Governor Terry McCauliffe’s four-year administration the state saw the tourism industry grow by $2.2 billion. The same benefits that directed the production of Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, AMC’s TURN, and most recently Showtime’s Homeland to Richmond should entice future immersive media productions to the area.

The city, he says, also benefits from the work of advertising juggernaut The Martin Agency and VCU’s nationally-ranked Medical Center.

See for yourself this Wednesday—head to the Workshop in the lower level of Cabell Library Feb. 14 from 3–4 p.m. to play around with VCU’s immersive virtual reality headsets. The workshop is free and open to every member of the VCU community.

Waltenbaugh earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from VCU School of Business. His company Media Plural produces “360-degree video, spatial audio and music for VR, and traditional digital media for brands, entertainment, education, and beyond” in Richmond.

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Interior Design alumna Mariya Boykova (BFA ’14) had her heart set on making an affordable home décor shop for young professionals like herself. As soon as she graduated, she opened 68 Home on 5 W Broad St in Richmond and began frequenting auctions and estate sales for furniture-owners looking to downsize or offload some retro-styled goods.

In an interview with Boykova, Style Weekly offered a glimpse into her strategies:

Because many people are unsure how to combine new and old pieces, she sets up vignettes in her shop so customers can get ideas about how to integrate pieces into existing rooms.

“People pick out elements they like and I help them figure out how to put it into their home,” she says. Boykova prefers a mix of modern and older pieces and likes to play with pattern. “I tell people not to be scared of color. It can be done right.”

All of 68 Home’s new merchandise is made locally by hand. Workshops on such things as circular weaving, tin types and making plant hangers refer to the ’70s and offer hands-on ways to decorate.

Boykova also does styling for customers designing on a budget. She adds new stuff weekly and posts frequently on Instagram to alert customers to the latest finds. Crocheted afghans in ’70s shades like gold, brown and orange are snapped up almost as soon as they arrive.

Read the full article here.

Photo by Scott Elmquist.

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Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona will be the VCUarts directorial debut for Chair of Theatre Sharon Ott. The production runs from Feb. 15 to Feb. 25 at the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts.

Shakespeare’s classic comedy pits two love-struck friends against each other in a desperate bid for the girl of their dreams. Theatre’s production is based on an adaptation by Vivian Majkowski.

Ott, who joined VCUarts in 2017, has directed countless productions for Theatre X, the Berkeley Repertory Theater, Arena Stage, the New York Shakespeare Festival, Manhattan Theater Club and many more.

“I’m thrilled,” says Ott, “to direct Shakespeare’s comedy in an edited a one-and-a-half hour version as my Theatre VCU directing debut. We’ve concocted a modern, fun approach to this play, which suits our student actors well. Just as was done in Mr. Shakespeare’s time, the production features live musicians and a musical score adapted from current pop tunes. Please come and join in the fun!”

Tickets can be purchased at VCUtheatre.ShowClix.com. See showtimes and other upcoming plays at the Theatre website.

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Interim Chair of Craft/Material Studies Susie Ganch will be one of twenty artists featured in Heavy Metal—Women to Watch 2018, opening June 28 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. The show, focussing exclusively on artists who work with metal, was listed as a “notable exhibition” in the New York Times for their preview of 2018’s upcoming shows and festivals.

Heavy Metal features sculpture, jewelry and other conceptual pieces fabricated from iron, steel, bronze, brass, tin, aluminum, copper and pewter. Ganch and her fellow artists, says the NMWA, “investigate the physical properties and expressive possibilities of metalwork,” seeking to “disrupt the predominantly masculine narrative that surrounds metalworking.”

“I am extremely proud to have an opportunity to exhibit my work alongside my peers, friends, and colleagues in the field,” says Ganch. “I am looking forward to seeing this exhibition that will celebrate the incredible breadth of methodologies, technological innovations, and abilities of this material that has been integral in shaping human development.”

To organize Heavy Metal, the NMWA consulted international contemporary art curators, who worked to create shortlists for their respective regions. The artists and works were then selected by the NMWA curatorial team. Ganch was suggested by Stefanie Fedor, executive director of the Visual Arts Center of Richmond; and Megan Rook-Koepsel, an independent curator in Washington, D.C.

Heavy Metal is on view June 28 to Sept 16, 2018. Read more from the press release.

Featured photo by Diego Valdez.

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The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ newest exhibition collects an impressive variety of art from Ancient Greece, each depicting the role of horses in Greek life. From pottery to poetry, the Greeks showed off their horses in war, competition, hunting and mythology.

But the world of ancient art can seem especially foreign to visitors who may be behind on their B.C. history. To immerse museumgoers into the world of Ancient Greece, the VMFA teamed up with Chair of Kinetic Imaging Pam Turner to integrate interactive animations into the gallery experience.

Visitors who drop by the free exhibition will be treated to a touch screen display that brings an ancient vase’s mythical icons to life, and a virtual reality demo that depicts a 360-degree view of a Greek symposium populated by wining and dining equine.

The project was central to a class taught by Turner, who granted her students creative control over the animations. To get their facts just right, Turner and her class consulted with Dr. Peter J. Schertz, VMFA Jack and Mary Frable Curator of Ancient Art, along with his education and interpretation associates at the museum.

The Horse in Ancient Greek Art is open Feb. 17 through July 8, 2018. Visit the gallery to see the animations in-person, or check them out on YouTube (The virtual reality “Horsymposium” requires mobile YouTube app).

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Christine Stoddard (BA ’12) has spent her artistic career exploring identity and personal experience through storytelling and fantastical imagery. That approach was on display at her first New York multimedia solo show, “Lady Pandora,” at FiveMyles Gallery in Brooklyn on Feb. 2.

“Lady Pandora” features a looping video installation with 63 different shorts—containing more than two hours of footage—and photo collages framed on the gallery walls. In her films and photos, Stoddard conflates signifiers of heritage, gender and nostalgia with striking masks, bird cages and symbols of human mortality.

The show, she says, helped her grapple with dualities in her own life as a Latina and Anglo-American woman.

“With ‘Lady Pandora’ I became more comfortable with my identity as a biracial woman,” says Stoddard. “In New York, and even at VCU—which is very diverse—I can firmly say that I am both: I am half-white, I am half-brown. At the end of the day it shouldn’t matter because I’m human.”

Stoddard’s installation is also a reflection of her experiences at VCUarts.

Stoddard, who majored in both Cinema and English, began exploring the intersection of the two fields in 2009 when she founded Quail Bell Magazine, an online arts and literature publication. Stoddard got the idea for the publication after taking a book arts course for both arts and English majors, and further developed the idea while studying abroad at a Glasgow artist and writers workshop in 2010. She spent the next two years building Quail Bell with submissions from VCU friends and classmates and their contacts around the world.

Stoddard also published two issues of Comicality, a print comics magazine featuring Virginia artists and writers, with her now-husband, Kinetic Imaging major David Fuchs (BFA ’11). The pair received a $10,000 grant from the Student Media Center and Student Media Commission to found the publication in 2010. They also won an Undergraduate Research Grant to produce a documentary on Edgar Allan Poe.

“What I loved about VCU,” says Stoddard, “is that the possibilities are almost endless. You can double major in all kinds of crazy things. You can work on a literary magazine. You can get an internship at any number of companies in the city.”

While Stoddard now lives in New York, her work is still influenced by her artistic roots in Richmond. Ten writers and multidisciplinary artists—including Stoddard and VCU alumni Mari Pack and Kaylin Kaupish—presented live readings at the opening for “Lady Pandora.” All were past contributors to Quail Bell, and four collaborated with Stoddard as models and writers for the installation’s videos.

Following “Lady Pandora,” she’ll host a screening of poetry films titled Noche Poetica in Brooklyn this April. She’s also pursuing her MFA in Digital and Interdisciplinary Art at the City College of New York. Her newest e-chapbook The Silhouette Woman is now out from Moonchaps.

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Addiction and recovery artist John Freyer will bring practice to U.K. for weeklong residency

RICHMOND, Va. (Feb. 23, 2018) – Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts assistant professor John Freyer will serve as the first U.S.-based Tate Exchange Associate at Tate Modern in London June 26 through July 1.

Tate Exchange, a new project for the museum, explores how art makes a difference to society and creates a common space for the public to debate contemporary topics and ideas, to get actively involved, and to make a difference. VCU School of the Arts is the Tate Exchange’s first U.S. partner.

During his residency, Freyer will be available for conversation and coffee modeled on his Fifty/Fifty project. Fifty/Fifty is a traveling series of interdisciplinary, social practice art projects—part conceptually based performance art, part turn-of-the-century medicine show—that encourages dialogue on addiction and recovery through public events, workshops and custom-blended “Recovery Roast” coffees tailored to each community.

The project offers a unique opportunity to engage people in recovery with broader audiences, emphasizing creative expression as a means of assisting in the recovery process and reducing the social stigma and isolation associated with individuals struggling with addiction. Freyer’s work also revives the simple yet meaningful practice of face-to-face dialogue — a growing rarity in an increasingly technologically mediated world.

“Freyer’s work is a unique catalyst that inspires genuine, organic, one-on-one conversations that help destigmatize people recovering from addiction and those that support them,” said Shawn Brixey, dean of the VCU School of the Arts. “These casual conversations with the public are increasingly important amid growing national and international discussions of addiction. We’re very pleased to have the School of the Arts partner with Tate Exchange and to have John Freyer as our first Tate Exchange Associate.”

Last month, Freyer produced “Recovery Roast” for Tate Exchange, working in collaboration with the Tate Roastery and participants in recovery. As part of the experience, this specially roasted coffee will be brewed and served during Freyer’s residency as he and others in recovery engage the public in conversation, creating a deeper understanding of the potential for creative expression and engagement to assist the recovery process.

For full details, visit www.tate.org.uk/tateexchange; for high-resolution images visit tate.org/uk/press.

Featured image: John Freyer (center) shares coffee with Gov. Ralph Northam and First Lady Pam Northam at the Free Hot Coffee Bike on Feb. 14, 2018. Photo by Steven Casanova.

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About Tate Exchange Associates
Organizations from a wide range of fields well beyond the gallery’s normal reach have become Associates of Tate Exchange. This group programmed the dedicated spaces at Tate Modern and Tate Liverpool. Working in a spirit of generosity, openness and trust, the Associates collaborate with one another around an annual theme inspired by the art on display. Now in its second year, Tate Exchange has expanded its group of Associates to 60 partners, while consistently seeking to engage audiences which are new to the museum. For the full list of Associates and more information please visit tate.org.uk/tateexchange.

About Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts
VCUarts is the top-ranked public art school in the U.S. and offers degree programs across the visual and performing arts and design. VCUarts is housed within a major urban research university that has been recognized for its community-engaged research. Encouraging intellectual inquiry in and through the creative fields, VCUarts fosters rich, interdisciplinary collaborations between artists, designers, health practitioners, and more. VCUarts manages its partnership with Tate Exchange through the Arts Research Institute, the school’s research hub and think tank that supports project development and special initiatives.

About John Freyer
John Freyer is an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Richmond, Virginia, USA. As an artist, author and educator, his practice explores how the circulation of objects and stories enrich social ties between individuals and groups. His projects include All My Life for Sale, Big Boy, Live IKEA, Free Ice Water, Free Hot Coffee and Free Hot Supper.

Freyer earned his B.A. from Hamilton College and his M.A. and M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. His work has been reviewed in The New Yorker, The Sunday London Times, Artforum, Print Magazine and NBC’s The Today Show. Freyer is a Fulbright Scholar, a MacDowell Colony Fellow and was an Artist in Residence at Light Work and the Fannon Center in Doha, Qatar. Freyer has brought his social practice projects toTEDxRVA, has exhibited at Mixed Greens, N.Y., the Liverpool Biennial Fringe, Liverpool, U.K., and is the first U.S.-based Tate Exchange Associate at the Tate Modern in London.

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For press inquiries, contact:
Suzanne A. Silitch, APR, director of communications, VCU School of the Arts, sasilitch@vcu.edu; (804) 828-6819

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A student-organized showcase of original garments designed by fashion juniors and seniors will be shown in a gala event at Main Street Station’s new Train Shed venue

RICHMOND, Va. (March 6, 2018) – Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts) Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising presents “Momentum,” to be held at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 10 at the Train Shed at Main Street Station, 1500 East Main Street, Richmond, Va. Tickets are available at www.showclix.com/event/runway2018.

This annual juried fashion show showcases the high-quality work of VCUarts fashion design students, as well as the strategic fashion show production talents of the fashion merchandising students. “Momentum” will feature knitwear, dresses, menswear, denim, collections from designers at the VCUarts Qatar campus, and the highlight of the event: the senior collections.

The show is organized by 11 junior and senior merchandising students enrolled in the department’s Advanced Show Production class, in collaboration with design students, fashion faculty and sponsors. Students produce all aspects of the show, from model selection and training to backstage operations.

“Fashion and retail as we have known it are breaking apart and reforming in the era of the millennial customer and the evolving digital age,” says Patricia Brown, chair of Fashion Design and Merchandising. “We must help our students launch their careers in a fast-changing environment. The runway event is the result of a journey of exploration and discovery, and launches our graduating designers and merchandisers into the new fashion space.”

Tickets are available for purchase online at www.showclix.com/event/runway2018. Tickets are $100 for front row seating; $75 for second row seating; and $40 for standing. Discounts are available for fashion students and their families. The show will also be livestreamed at arts.vcu.edu/fashion.

Featured image: John Freyer (center) shares coffee with Gov. Ralph Northam and First Lady Pam Northam at the Free Hot Coffee Bike on Feb. 14, 2018. Photo by Steven Casanova.

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About Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts
VCUarts is the top ranked arts and design school in U.S., with more than 250 faculty, lecturers and staff, 175 graduate students and 2,800 undergraduates spanning a wide range of creative research and scholarly disciplines. Faculty members are internationally recognized in their respective fields and contribute significantly to VCU, a major research university located in a creatively vibrant city and committed to mentoring the next generation of artists, entrepreneurs, scientists, scholars and engaged citizens of diverse communities around the world. The school’s fashion department is listed among the top programs of its kind in the country and offers a BFA in Fashion Design and a BA in Fashion Merchandising. VCUarts has an international branch campus located in Doha, Qatar.

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For press inquiries, contact:
Suzanne A. Silitch, APR, director of communications, VCU School of the Arts, sasilitch@vcu.edu; (804) 828-6819

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