News

Waltz of Life & Limb at the Pence Gallery in Davis pairs recent sculptural paintings by alum and artist Mercy Hawkins (MFA, Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program, '21), with her vibrant, large-scale watercolors on paper. With this work, Hawkins seeks to answer the internal call, to encounter what the body already knows, from our own inner rhythms, heartbeat, and breath, to dancing with wild arms.

Professor Heghnar Watenpaugh will give a public lecture on "Captive Sites: Official Heritage and Armenian Memory in Turkey" at UCLA in the Weds Talk series sponsored by the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. 

The stretch of coast between Accra and Lagos is home to four distinct national communities who identify as descendants of Brazilians: the Tabom in Ghana, the Brésiliens in Togo, the Agudas in Benin, and the Amaros in Nigeria. These communities were established by people who migrated from Brazil to West Africa in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, forming what is arguably Brazil's oldest diaspora. Despite their historical, cultural, and physical separation from Brazil, they maintain a strong sense of Brazilianness through music, dance, and religious practices.

Acclaimed fiber artist and 2025 Guggenheim Fellow Josh Faught has been appointed to the Maria Manetti Shrem Endowed Chair in the Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program at the University of California, Davis.

Working primarily with textiles through techniques such as weaving and knitting, Faught draws on broader social and political histories, as well as his own experiences. He describes his process as “collaging and conflating” those influences, examining the relationships among them and considering where queer bodies exist within that matrix.

In late July, Professor emerita Diana Strazdes presented a paper, “Washington Allston’s New Paradigm for History Painting,” at the joint conference of Nineteenth-century Studies Association held in Washington D.C. There, she received the 2026 NCSA President’s Award for outstanding contributions to the Nineteenth-Century Studies Association and to scholarship in interdisciplinary nineteenth-century studies.

Alum and painting instructor Deirdre White (M.F.A. '93) will open her new solo show "Out of Place" at the John Natsoulas Gallery in Davis. "Out of Place" presents recent work that continues White's dialogue with paintings from history as well as paintings by her contemporaries.

"Out of Place" is on view from Setp. 30 to Oct.. 24, 2026. A reception is scheduled for Oct. 9 from 7-9 pm.

From concerts to rehearsals, to lectures on musical literature, the Ann E. Pitzer Center is a home for music at UC Davis. On Oct. 1, the center marks its tenth year of operation with a concert that also opens the music department’s 2026–27 season. 

Chair of the music department, Sam Nichols, says, “With this opening Shinkoskey Noon Concert, which is part of one our longest running offerings to the community, we want to convey a sense of gratitude for everyone that made the Pitzer Center come to life, and all the vibrant music activities that now take place in it.”

Professor emeritus Hearne Pardee's new solo show Landscaping features a selection of recent paintings and collages reflecting on his transition from the West Coast to the Hudson Valley. It also culminates fifty years of work from landscape, abstraction and collage.  Combining work from observation with photographs, Pardee maps his new surroundings, locating himself in views from different cardinal points and at different seasons.

Ben Rosenthal (M.F.A. '11) international premiere of his new film Ωmega One: of direct(((ive)))s will be screened on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 7 pm at mood, the Queer City Cinema FIlm Festival 22.

Julio Rodriguez (M.F.A. '27), Sierra Faust (M.F.A. '27), Lev Keatts (M.F.A. '26) and Tara Daly (M.F.A. '26) will present works in the group show Here After at the Dream Farm Commons in Oakland. Curated by artist Zoe Grey, Here After examines the Bay Area's changing arts ecosystem as seen through the eyes of emerging artists.