Looking for art? Go to the mall…
Jessica Wimbley, a UC Davis’ MFA graduate and local artist, is one of 20 California artists featured in the State of California’s “Your Actions Save Lives” campaign, which provides Californians with information about how they can do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19. The program partnered with more than 20 artists across California — including Sacramento’s Wimbley — to reach hard-hit communities throughout the state. Wimbley's exhibition is located at the Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento.
Wimbley’s masking series reminds viewers of the importance of wearing masks to help bring an end to the pandemic. It features video and still photography projected onto masks worn by people representing California’s diverse communities.
The video on display in the exhibition is below.
Wimbley’s work is featured on exterior signage and indoor digital displays at Arden Fair Mall, while a billboard overlooking Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood was featured this month. The series is also featured on LED and mobile billboards, and in print and television ads in English and Spanish, in a campaign reaching 11 California markets.
To view the Masking Series by Wimbley, visit the mall or view the project here.
A video interview of Wimbley produced by the Sacramento Bee is here.
New episode of ‘The Backdrop’ highlights Manetti Shrem Museum’s reopening
The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art is set to reopen to the public on June 3, following a 14-month closure due to the pandemic.
On this month’s Backdrop podcast, the museum’s founding director, Rachel Teagle, discusses the four new exhibitions on display: “Wayne Thiebaud Influencer: A New Generation,” “Working Proof: Wayne Thiebaud as Printmaker,” “Andrea Bowers: Education Should Be Free” and “Arnold Joseph Kemp: I would survive. I could survive. I should survive.”
Teagle also discusses the importance of Thiebaud’s work, the pandemic-related challenges the museum staff overcame and how the museum used the yearlong closure to deeply examine issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in every aspect of its operation.
The Backdrop podcast is a monthly interview program featuring conversations with UC Davis scholars and researchers working in the social sciences, humanities, arts and culture. It is available free, on demand at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Stitcher, Amazon Music, YouTube and Spotify. The Backdrop is hosted by public radio veteran Soterios Johnson.
Reserve your free timed tickets to the Manetti Shrem Museum here.
Shinkoskey presents ‘Undergraduate Composers’
Thursday, May 27, 12:05 p.m. to 1 p.m., free, via UC Davis Music’s YouTube Channel.
Jennifer Ellis, harp
Kurt Rohde, viola and Laurie San Martin, clarinet , both UC Davis professors of music
Learn more about this performance on the UC Davis Department of Music website. This is the last noon concert until next fall.
Davis Feminist Film Festival starts Friday
The Davis Feminist Film Festival is a grassroots festival of short films from around the world. In its 15th year, and increasingly international in scope, the festival is a true campus- community partnership that uses art as a springboard for exploring social issues often ignored by mainstream media. Davis Feminist Film Festival interns and the Festival Director are responsible for curating films, and coordinating the event.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 15th annual Davis Feminist Film Festival will be available online on the Davis Feminist Film Festival website from Friday, May 28th through Sunday, May 30th. Viewers will be able to access and watch all films at their convenience throughout the 72 hours. Tune in for over 50 independent documentary, narrative, and experimental films and provides an inclusive public space for underrepresented artists to raise consciousness about the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, ability, sexuality, and other socially constructed categories.
Viewers are encouraged to engage with others and share their thoughts and chat throughout the weekend. One way to chat is to join the Discord group.
To learn more about the unique films happening each day, go here.
TEDxUCDavis is recruiting directors
TEDxUCDavis is recruiting directors for the 2021-2022 school year. Join a team of motivated and open individuals who are looking to continue the philosophy of "ideas worth spreading" through their community. Apply here. Contact tedxucdavisteam@gmail.com if you have any questions.
For more information, go here.
Coming up next week
Getting ‘ArtCurious’ with Jennifer Dasal
Tuesday, June 1, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., free, via Zoom. Register.
Join Jennifer Dasal (‘02, Art History) — curator of modern and contemporary art at the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the creator and host of the ArtCurious podcast — to hear about her new book, ArtCurious: Stories of the Unexpected, Slightly Odd, and Strangely Wonderful in Art History. Dasal will share the story of her introduction to the world of art history at UC Davis, her career path since graduation, the creation of her internationally beloved audio show, tales from her book, and why fun stories matter in our journey to make art more accessible for all audiences.
Organized by the Department of Art and Art History in conjunction with the Arts & Humanities 2021 Graduate Exhibition, opening virtually on June 10, 2021. This program is co-sponsored by the Manetti Shrem Museum.
Art history prof to moderate 'Rethinking the Iran Initiative'
Wednesday, June 2, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., free. Register.
Talinn Grigor, UC Davis professor of art history, will moderate this week’s online event by Rethinking Iran Initiative at John Hopkins School of Advanced international Studies. Their programming focuses on the theme: “Iran and the US: a critical Juncture,” which will include fireside chats, policy forums, and roundtable discussions.
Tune in for a talk with Leili Sreberny-Mohammadi who tracked two decades of art activity, charting sanctions alongside art exhibitions and other events across the art world of Iran & its diaspora to enumerate the consequences of sanctions on Iran's visual arts. Together, Grigor and Sreberny-Mohammadi will answer the question: ‘What impact have sanctions had on Iran's artists and world?"
For future events and further information, visit the Rethinking Iran website.
'Juliet and Romeo' by Catalyst
A Shakespearean tragedy gets a contemporary musical comedy makeover when the UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance and Catalyst: A Theatre Think Tank present Juliet and Romeo. Developed in a special collaboration with Southern Utah University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, the musical will be accessible virtually Thursday, June 3 at 6 p.m. through midnight on Saturday, June 5, here. The performance is free and open to all. The production will be featured as part of the Mondavi Center’s HomeStage series with promotional support from the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art.
Juliet and Romeo was created by Paul Gordon, a Tony Award nominee for his music for Jane Eyre and Curtis Moore, an Emmy Award nominee for original song for Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. A contemporary spin on the Bard’s classic centers on a second-rate author who finds himself in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” and his determination to figure out how to change the ending.
The production is co-directed by Broadway veteran Mindy Cooper, UC Davis professor of theatre and dance, and alumna Lisa Quoresimo, Ph.D., performance studies, ‘18, who is assistant professor of theatre and dance at SUU. Gordon and Moore are the Granada Artists-in-Residence for spring 2021.
Learn more about this event on the Mondavi website.
Social Media of the Week
We came across this Facebook post by the City of Davis Arts & Cultural Affairs commemorating the death of mural artist Mark Rivera.
