Of Interest
People's Inauguration
March 5, 2025
UC Santa Cruz astrophysicist explores the interconnectedness of art and science in 'Painting the Cosmos'
February 24, 2025
A new book by UC Santa Cruz astrophysicist and visual artist Nia Imara debuts tomorrow that explains the universe and traces how art has blended with science throughout human history.
Opera performance highlights Spanish music and Chicanx culture
February 21, 2025
Lecturer in Music Sheila Willey is bringing Spanish-language opera to the stage. The upcoming Opera and Zarzuela Scenes performance on March 13, 2025 at the Music Center Recital Hall on campus, will bring a wider cultural look at the artform from several Spanish-speaking countries.
Music Department showcases student excellence
February 21, 2025
Part of the University of California, Santa Cruz’s groundbreaking music education is ensuring students have a chance to perform. Throughout winter quarter, students have strived to perfect their sound and their work will culminate in a series of performances through February and March.
In Memoriam: Professor David Lee Cuthbert, Performance, Play and Design
February 13, 2025
David Lee Cuthbert, Professor of Performance, Play and Design (PPD), passed away unexpectedly on February 11, 2025. Cuthbert was a dedicated educator and designer, serving as part of the Theater Arts faculty for 25 years. His passing is a profound loss for the Arts Division and for UC Santa Cruz.
‘Random with a Purpose’ mixes dance styles for individualized performances
February 10, 2025
Every year students lead the charge in creating a dance showcase: Random with a Purpose (RWAP), which runs from Feb. 28 – Mar. 9. This year’s director, senior Emily Pflieger, hopes to shock audiences through a wide array of genres and styles that capture individual experiences of each choreographer and dancer.
Recent UCSC alumni take over the SF MOMA
February 10, 2025
Several University of California, Santa Cruz Arts and Engineering students and alumni worked together on two separate projects which are part of the same exhibition at the SFMOMA. Annalivia Martin-Straw (Porter ‘23, Art) worked with her collaborator to create an immersive racing game, which up to five visitors can play at a time.
UC Santa Cruz alumna Gillian Welch wins Grammy for Best Folk Album
February 4, 2025
UC Santa Cruz alumna Gillian Welch (Porter ’90, fine arts) alongside her musical partner David Rawlings, clinched the Best Folk Album award at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 2 for their album Woodland.
New research and art installation demonstrate the viability of using fog as a water source
February 3, 2025
In a state known for its droughts, where the southern half recently experienced devastating fires, understanding California’s natural water sources is more important than ever. Three University of California, Santa Cruz professors have teamed up to create a multipart scientific and artistic research study, Art+Fog as a collective,
The Institute of Arts and Science curates two revolutionary exhibitions
January 30, 2025
The Institute of the Arts and Sciences (IAS) is starting the new year with two imaginative and heartfelt exhibitions exploring liberation and justice. EDELO and Our Bedrock, both of which run from Jan. 31 – April 20
Professor Patty Gallagher reimagines Comedy of Errors in a new era
January 23, 2025
Shakespeare is coming to the University of California, Santa Cruz. The upcoming February performances of Comedy of Errors at the Theater Arts eXperimental Theater embody comedy and heartfelt performances.
John Jota Leaños selected as new Interim Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the UC Santa Cruz Arts Division
January 21, 2025
The University of California, Santa Cruz brought on a new Interim Assistant Dean of Diversity Equity and Inclusion for the Arts Division. John Jota Leaños, a professor of Film and Digital Media (FDM) and Guggenheim Fellow, is a Mexican/Italian-American and Chumash-award winning interdisciplinary artist, documentarian, animator, and social art practitioner whose work engages the intersections of history, memory, and power through a social justice lens.
New exhibition explores Afrofuturism through a look at the past
January 17, 2025
The newest exhibition at the Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery explores African history and Afrofuturism through the art of current PhD candidate Aaron Samuel Mulenga. Ukupupuka: An Exploration of Transcendence integrates Mulenga’s doctoral dissertation research on World War I porters called TengaTenga with the concept of the Afronaut to explore concepts of mobility, transcendence and divinity.
Honoring UCSC’s 2024 Alumni Awards recipients
January 13, 2025
Six alumni were honored on Oct. 25 at the Alumni Awards Celebration dinner. Learn more about each recipient and watch their video feature.
Dean of Arts Celine Parreñas Shimizu’s newest work addresses sexuality and the importance of higher education and relationships between women in forging one’s power
January 13, 2025
Renowned filmmaker, film scholar, distinguished professor, and Dean of the Arts Division at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Celine Parreñas Shimizu will premiere her latest film at the 27th San Francisco’s Independent Film Festival on Friday, February 7, 2025 at the Roxie Theater.
Campus secures funding for innovative research projects addressing climate action and linguistic diversity
December 17, 2024
Two cutting-edge research projects led by the University of California, Santa Cruz have been awarded funding through the University of California’s Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives (MRPI). This underscores the university's leadership in advancing creative and impactful solutions to global challenges.
Award-winning independent filmmaker Trinh T. Minh-ha visits UC Santa Cruz
December 16, 2024
On Friday December 6th, 2024, University of California, Santa Cruz welcomed to campus the internationally acclaimed independent filmmaker, music composer and scholar Trinh T. Minh-ha for a screening of her 2022 documentary, What About China?.
Gift of Bösendorfer grand pianos elevates music excellence at UC Santa Cruz
December 12, 2024
Two extraordinary Bösendorfer grand pianos have found their new home at UC Santa Cruz, thanks to the generosity of alumnus Ken Corday (Porter ’75, aesthetic studies/music). Corday, an accomplished pianist, composer, and Emmy Award-winning executive producer of Days of Our Lives, continues his longstanding support of the Arts Division at UC Santa Cruz through this remarkable gift.
Creative Technologies is a new major for a new age
December 10, 2024
Launched at the start of Fall quarter 2024, the University of California, Santa Cruz created a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary major in the Arts Division: Creative Technologies
Danza a la Rebeldía: Student-created mural unveiled at Baskin Visual Arts Center is a celebration of resilience
December 10, 2024
UCSC’s Art 139 course created a mural celebrating El Centro’s 30th anniversary, honoring the cultural resilience of Black, Indigenous, and Latiné communities through dance while fostering belonging and showcasing the power of art and collaboration.
Professor Elliot Anderson named the inaugural director of the new AI lab for the Arts Division
December 3, 2024
The Arts Division’s new AI lab on campus, A4, has an inaugural director. Professor Elliot Anderson, who is also the chair of the Art Department, is using his years of experience bridging art and technology to run the new lab.
Foundry celebrates 50th anniversary with a bronze pour
November 21, 2024
The foundry on the University of California, Santa Cruz campus has a long tradition of inviting guests to watch their spectacular bronze pour. This year’s pour is especially significant given it is the 50th anniversary of the Foundry.
Theater fireside chat aimed at bringing attention to African American students at UC Santa Cruz
November 21, 2024
Recently the founder and director of AATAT, Professor Don Williams, sat down with colleagues, including Lisa Marie Rollins, for a fireside chat about the organization and its future.
UC Santa Cruz Music Department is gearing up for a holidays filled with music
November 15, 2024
One of the most important aspects of a music education is the ability to perform. At the University of California, Santa Cruz the Music Department arranges numerous events every quarter to make sure students have opportunities to show their skills and gain valuable experience on stage.
Bringing Broadway to Santa Cruz with ‘Into the Woods’
November 15, 2024
Sheila Willey, a lecturer in voice and opera in the Music department, is bringing Broadway to Santa Cruz. Into the Woods is a three-time, Tony Award-winning Stephen Sondheim musical, and it’s coming to campus. This 75-minute production will feature lead staff accompanist Luke Shepherd along with a cast of students.
Modern politics reexamined through classic play ‘Inspector General’
October 29, 2024
Michael Chemers’, a professor of Performance Play and Design and chair of the department at University of California, Santa Cruz, most recent project adapts The Inspector General, a Russian play by Nikolai Gogol which criticized 19th century Russian politics, for a contemporary audience. The show will open on November 15 and runs through November 24 at the Theater Arts Mainstage on the University of California, Santa Cruz campus
Professor A.M. Darke creates groundbreaking work in Black representation
October 29, 2024
A.M. Darke, an associate professor of Performance, Play, & Design at UC Santa Cruz, has spent her career becoming one of the leading voices of diversity in games, especially in the context of representing Black hair. For her latest work Darke has helped compile a program that better represents coily hair in animation.
Students Power Resurvey of UC Santa Cruz Natural Reserves
December 18, 2019
Raising Awareness of ‘Deficit Thinking’
December 18, 2019
Bettina Aptheker to moderate panel on impact of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
May 16, 2019
The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz has joined forces with Bookshop Santa Cruz and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music to present 'My Own Words: The Law & Legacy of RBG'--a panel discussion and Community Read kickoff event in downtown Santa Cruz.
Summer Session at UCSC
April 9, 2018
Gary Young, Porter Faculty Member, Wins Poetry Award
July 11, 2017
Irwin 2016: May 25 – June 11 Sesnon Gallery
May 26, 2016
EXTRAV(M)AGANZA – Celebration of Student Work: 7:30 pm June 2
May 26, 2016
2016 Porter College Commencement: 9 am June 11
May 26, 2016
Queer Fashion Show 8 pm May 13-14
May 12, 2016
13th Annual Cesar Chavez Convocation 7 pm May 18
May 12, 2016
Irwin 2016 Sesnon Gallery May 25 – June 11
May 10, 2016
Gamelan Concert - Celebrating 40 Years at UCSC May 14
May 10, 2016
32nd UCSC Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation 7PM February 12
January 29, 2016
29th Annual Multicultural Career Conference
January 29, 2016
Porter Visiting Artist: Katerina Cizek - 7pm January 25
December 9, 2015
Collective Museum by Public Doors & Windows - Sesnon Gallery
December 9, 2015
Last Day of Freedom Film - Kresge Townhall 3:30pm Thursday 12/3
December 1, 2015
Utopian Dreaming: 50 years of Imagined Futures in California & UCSC Nov 6-7
November 3, 2015
Slug Parade and Expo October 25
October 1, 2015
Raymond Saunders: Black is a Color - Sesnon Gallery
September 28, 2015
An Uncommon Place: Shaping UCSC Campus - Sesnon Gallery April 8 - May 9
April 1, 2015
Doc/Undoc: The object itself carries within a crisis of identity: What is it exactly?
October 7, 2014
Porter College Hosts Ceremony for 94 Newly Naturalized U.S. Citizens
July 3, 2014
Santa Cruz Shakespeare 2014
July 3, 2014
UCSC Orientation 2014
July 3, 2014
Shakespeare Santa Cruz 2013 - The Last Huzzah
August 29, 2013
2013 Digital Arts & New MEDIA MFA Exhibition May 2-5
April 29, 2013
Dinner Parties: Art & Agriculture 4/10-5/11 Sesnon Gallery
April 8, 2013
Making the Insitute: 3 Conversations Friday April 26 - new interdisciplinary Institute of Arts & Sciences
April 8, 2013
Spring 2013 Slug Shuttle to/from San Jose Airport & Train Station
March 14, 2013
Porter Chalk Festival April 6-7
March 14, 2013
October 19, 2012
The Birth of a Poet: William Everson Centennial October 20
October 5, 2012
Lewis Watts: New Orleans Suite - Sesnon Gallery October 3-November 21
October 3, 2012
Lewis Watts: New Orleans Suite
Irwin Scholars 2012 Showcase at Sesnon Gallery May 23 - June 17
May 18, 2012
Reverend Billy: Occupy Earth & Justice 8:30pm Wednesday, May 23 Porter Dining Hall
May 17, 2012
Mark Adamo's "Little Women" Thursday May 31 to Sunday June 3
May 17, 2012
Slug Mascot Art by Marc Ratner on Display at Cowell
May 8, 2012
Shakespeare 2012 Festival Season July 24 - August 26
May 8, 2012
"Emerging Worlds" - Faculty Exhibition, Sesnon Gallery, April 11-May 5
April 26, 2012
Katerina Lanfranco: Sesnon Gallery "Natural Selection" Feb 1 - April 13
January 27, 2012
The Sesnon Gallery presents artist-in-residence and UCSC alumna, Katerina Lanfranco's new, large-scale, site-specific, hand-cut installation made in collaboration with UCSC students.
OpenLab Art + Astrophysics Exhibition Until October 26
October 21, 2011
OpenLab provides a unique opportunity for ART and SCIENCE discovery to work together in energetic and untapped explorations of research at the University of California Santa Cruz.
September 29, 2011
Sesnon Gallery: Xiaoze Xie's Resistant Archeology Exhibition October 12-November 23
September 29, 2011
This stunning exhibition of new larger-than-life paintings, prints and provocative video installation showcases Xiaoze Xie’s use of books and newspapers to symbolize the fragile nature of compressed history and memory.
Fall recreation, intramural sports guide now available online
September 21, 2011
Porter College Transfer & Frosh Combination Welcome Week Guide 2011
September 12, 2011
Porter College Transfer & Frosh Combination Welcome Week Guide 2011
Chip Lord: Public Spaces at Sesnon Gallery Feb. 2 - March 5
January 21, 2011
UCSC Professor Emeritus Chip Lord was trained as an architect and is a media artist who produces both single-channel films and video installations. As a founding member of the alternative architecture collective Ant Farm (1968-1978), Lord co-produced the video art classics Media Burn and The Eternal Frame and built the Cadillac Ranch roadside sculpture in Amarillo, Texas.
