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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.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Konstantinos “Kosta” Papamichael, a visionary researcher, educator, and leader in the field of daylighting design and founder of the California Lighting Technology Center at UC Davis.

Professor Fidencio Fifield-Perez has a solo show at Dreamsong, which runs Sept. 10 through Oct. 24, 2026. It’s the first solo exhibition (ever) of the Minneapolis gallery.

During Heghnar Watenpaugh’s recent academic residency in Paris, the Louvre, the city’s most famous art museum, was continually in headlines even here in the U.S.

Assistant Professor of Design Akshita Sivakumar is one of fourteen faculty members from the College of Letters and Science who were selected in June to have their research supported by the college’s Regeneration Research Program — a program which came about as a way to sustain research as funding opportunities have become scarcer. Sivakumar is a designer, architect, and technoscience studies scholar whose work lies at the confluence of governance, social movements, technology, and the built environment.

It was a warm yet breezy week in New York City and the sidewalks were full of tourists, many coming for nearby World Cup festivities, others to celebrate Pride, Juneteenth and, especially, the city’s own Knicks basketball team’s historic win. But for students visiting from UC Davis, highlights of the week were largely concentrated in Midtown Manhattan and the Theater District.

The UC Davis Design Museum opens its 2026–27 season with Connecting Threads (together): Textile Works by Lynn Setterington which opens on Sept. 29 and runs through Nov. 20.  

Collaboration is at the heart of textile making and this idea is explored in a display of work by UK based artist Setterington. Through textiles the artist challenges contemporary issues in society and how stitch can be used to commemorate people and communities.

Alum and Senior Continuing Lecturer Michele Apriña Leavy is appearing in the West Coast premiere of "Manning" by Benjamin Benne. The work is presented by San Francisco's Crowded Fire Theatre, a critically acclaimed company for new play production on the West Coast. 

A short film about a serial bike thief slinking around the streets of Davis doesn’t seamlessly transition into meditations on how technology may hinder modern life, but no two films at the 2026 Film Festival at UC Davis could be thought of as alike, save for their resolve to serve as recognizable representations of our present-day world.