News Archive - Erika Johnson

Cross-campus Exhibit Bridges Art and Science

This fall UC San Diego is among 70 institutions taking part in a five-month-long regional exploration of the intersections between art and science, led by Getty. The sprawling art event—called “PST ART: Art & Science Collide”—extends from Los Angeles to San Diego and Palm Springs.

Dancing Joyously for Justice

Ana María Álvarez calls herself an “artivist.” As head of UC San Diego’s dance area in the Department of Theatre and Dance, she is expanding the notion of dance as a tool for imagining new futures. "Art has the capacity to shift worlds and redefine narratives."

19 Faculty Join the School of Arts and Humanities

They are arts activists and philosophers of language, scholars of avant-garde children's literature and composers of experimental music. The School of Arts and Humanities welcomes 19 new faculty members for the 2024-25 academic year.

Farfy Foundation Gift Spurs Student-Led Music Festival

Thanks to a gift from Marco Londei and Liquin Wang—founders of the Farfy Foundation—undergraduate students will have the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of creating a musical production through a new course in UC San Diego’s Department of Music that will culminate in a student-produced music festival on campus in May 2025.

UC San Diego’s Mandeville Art Gallery Receives Grant from New York-Based Teiger Foundation

Since 1966, UC San Diego’s Mandeville Art Gallery has presented highly experimental contemporary art within the context of a major research university and the greater region. The gallery also serves as a laboratory for learning about curatorial practice, with programs for students to gain hands-on skills in museum studies.

Hypnotic Art Installation Celebrates Black Movement and Liberation

This summer, Mandeville Art Gallery at UC San Diego presents a new video commission called "The Portal's Keeper," which explores liberated Black realities by artist LaJuné McMillian.

Associate Professor of Literature Brandon Som Wins Pulitzer Prize in Poetry

Love and respect anchor the words written by Associate Professor of Literature Brandon Som in his latest work, “Tripas: Poems,” which garnered the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. Department of Music alumna Mary Kouyoumdjian's multimedia work “Paper Pianos," which melds music and audio documentary with first-person stories of refugees, was also named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in Music this year.

Composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir Allures Listeners with Otherworldly Orchestras

UC San Diego music alumna Anna Thorvaldsdottir has been described by NPR as “one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary music.” She recently won the 2024 CHANEL Next Prize and just premiered her newest orchestra METAXIS.

UC San Diego Student Selected for National Public Service Scholarship

Junior John Paculdo Koenigshofer is one of 20 students selected from 700 applicants across the nation to become a Key into Public Service Scholar by The Phi Beta Kappa Society, a national academic honor society that advocates for the value of a liberal arts and sciences education.