002_2023_02_06_SecondCityKeynote-1280x853.jpg
Andrew ChatfieldFebruary 20, 20235min
Through a series of fun masterclasses and performances, members of The Second City integrated the company’s tenets of improvisation into the curriculum of four Wesleyan performance courses. Since its premiere in 1959, The Second City has revolutionized improv as an art form and launched the careers of iconic performers ranging from John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Gilda Radner to Mike Myers, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Keegan-Michael Key. When Dean of the Arts and Humanities Roger Mathew Grant learned that The Second City would be available to come to Wesleyan, he thought about how improvisation is a foundational…

IMG_4135-1280x960.jpeg
Steve ScarpaSeptember 30, 20225min
For decades, the former Davison Art Center located in the Richard Alsop IV House at 301 High Street has been a focal point for the visual arts on campus, housing an invaluable and wide-ranging print collection. With the collection's move to the Olin Library, the old building has a new artistic focus as part of a Digital Design Commons on campus supporting music, dance, theatre, and visual art. “The idea is for this to be a tech hub for the arts,” said Roger Mathew Grant, dean of the arts and humanities. “The arts are always at an intersection of the…

Cynthia RockwellMarch 14, 20163min
Franklin Sirmans ’91, director of the Pérez Art Museum of Miami (PAMM), was credited for his “star power” that drew a crowd to the museum’s reception and fundraiser. The first African-American director of this publicly funded museum, Sirman was previously curator of contemporary art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. An article in the Miami Herald quoted Knight Foundation President and CEO Alberto Ibargüen ’66, who attributed the rise in attendance—double that of last year—to previously successful celebrations, as well as to Sirman’s arrival: “There is no getting around the fact that people are excited about Franklin Sirmans; they’re…

Olivia DrakeMarch 27, 20133min
View the talents of the seniors in the Art Studio Program of Wesleyan’s Department of Art and Art History. “Senior Thesis Exhibitions 2013” runs March 26-April 21 in the Zilkha Gallery. The show, features drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, mixed media and architecture. “We’re all so proud of our senior majors. The four weeks of rotating Senior Thesis Exhibitions are a wonderful opportunity for the broader Wesleyan community to experience their remarkable work,” said Tula Telfair, professor of art. Allison Kalt, Tiffany Unno, Ilyana Schwartz, Anna Shimshak and Christina You will display their artwork from March 26-31. Piers Gelly, Zoe Albert,…

Olivia DrakeFebruary 20, 20133min
Starting on Feb. 28, Wesleyan will bring together teams of artists and scientists to share approaches, skills and outcomes of their research at the intersection of art and science. The symposium, titled “Innovations: Intersection of Art and Science," is part of the Creative Campus Initiative at the Center for the Arts. "The goal of this experimental program is to elevate the arts as a means of teaching, learning and knowing through co-teaching opportunities for artists and non-artists, as well as commissioning new works by artists who are invited to work with faculty and students across disciplines in their creation process,"…