David Ellsworth

David Ellsworth (MFA’73) Received the Smithsonian Institute’s 2021 Visionary Award

Nov. 5, 2021

“Recognitions can come in many forms, from a simple smile to a museum acquisition,” said Ellsworth. “It is an acknowledgment that the intrinsic value of an art object is not the price, but the process. Recognitions acknowledge a maker’s motivations. While the object supports the ego, the process supports the soul.”

STEAM student tracing stump rings.

A scientist, an artist, and student interns walked into a forest

Oct. 25, 2021

When you were in high school science class, was one of your lead instructors a sculptor? Maybe, but you probably didn’t know about it. Working with teaching artists is one way CU Science Discovery approached its recent ‘Forests and Fire’ field course held at Cal-wood Education Center, located near Jamestown. The course was part of CU Science Discovery’s efforts to foster STEM engagement and career exploration among Colorado high school students.

Glenn Ligon’s “Rückenfigur” (2009), one of the artist’s trademark neon sculptures. Collection of Whitney Museum of American Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, ICA Boston. © Glenn Ligon. Courtesy of the artist; Hauser & Wirth, New York; Regen Projects, Los Angeles; Thomas Dane Gallery, London; and Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris

Glenn Ligon, article written by Megan O'Grady

Oct. 17, 2021

"For over 30 years, the artist has been making work that speaks to American history — ambiguous, open-ended, existentially observant. At a time in which the fundamentals of fact and fiction are being questioned, his art captures the truth of a culture in decline." Written by Megan O'Grady, Assistant Professor of Critical and Curatorial Studies for the New York Times Style Magazine.

A rally, organized in part by Decolonize This Place, outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2019.Credit...Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

The Artists Bringing Activism Into and Beyond Gallery Spaces

Oct. 1, 2021

At a time when the basic power structures of the art world are being questioned, collectives and individuals are fighting against the very institutions funding and displaying their work. Article written by Megan O'Grady, Assistant Professor of Critical and Curatorial Studies.

Victoria Cantons’s “T̶r̶a̶n̶s̶g̶e̶n̶d̶e̶r Woman No. 2” (2021).Credit...Courtesy of the artist

These Literary Memoirs Take a Different Tack

Sept. 29, 2021

This article featured in the New York Times Style Magazine is written by Megan O'Grady, Assistant Professor of Critical and Curatorial Studies. "Rather than prioritizing confession and catharsis, today’s authors are focusing on the question of who gets to share their version of things and interrogating the form, along with themselves."

Dr. George Rivera

Artnauts celebrate 25th anniversary with new exhibition

Sept. 24, 2021

For its 25th anniversary exhibition this year, Dr. George Rivera and the Artnauts decided to exhibit in a country where they saw a major crisis of contention: the United States. With increasing tensions surrounding COVID and race relations, the exhibition titled Uncanny Times aims to address the discord that divides and alienates us. Artists were asked to explore this theme using whatever medium they wished.

Yumi Roth

Social Change Drives Shifts in Graduate Arts Education Across the Southwest

Aug. 24, 2021

Roth at CU Ƶ says that graduate programs are evolving to reflect students’ changing goals. In the past, most aspired to academic positions or commercial sales through gallery representation. “Now many students are exploring socially engaged, field-based practice, starting their own small businesses instead of going into the academic or gallery world,” Roth explains. “Students are looking for a third way.”

Ting Lester as Hummingbird. Photo by Bex Anderson.

Teen birdwatchers turn research into performance art

Aug. 3, 2021

The Side by Side project teaches high school students about local birds’ ecosystems through performative arts and scientific observation. Through a grant provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF), this group of 11 high school students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) spent their summer days observing the birds interacting with the environment through the guided arts and sciences approach of the project.

Adam Milner

BFA Alumni Adam Milner Inserts Sculptures Into the Everyday of NYC

July 19, 2021

In lieu of a gallery, Adam Milner’s sculptures can be seen all around New York City — from a bodega to a dog’s collar. Paintings belong on the wall, and sculptures belong on pedestals, right? Maybe not, according to Adam Milner, whose current exhibition Public Sculptures is premised on spontaneous encounters with art — not in a museum or gallery, but in the spaces we least expect: those we frequent as part of our daily lives.

Sama Alshaibi

MFA Alumna Sama Alshaibi Wins Prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship

April 23, 2021

Sama Alshaibi talks about her experience in the MFA program at the Ƶ and her upcoming 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship. Landing in Colorado just months before 9-11 Sama Alshaibi, an Iraqi immigrant, found her world forever changed. Looking for opportunities to make work about the complex history of the US Middle East relationship, CU Ƶ’s Department of Art & Art History became a home for her creativity to thrive.

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