December 15, 2021, Filed Under: UncategorizedDean’s Insider: Pursuing arts collaborations that are changing the field Dear Friends, I’m entering my sixth month as dean, and I’m so excited to travel outside Austin and to begin meeting supporters, faculty and alumni across the state and country. Last month, I traveled to New York for a whirlwind week of meetings, exhibitions and performances, and I had the beautiful realization that our alumni and current faculty are having an incredible impact on the arts scene in New York. On the alumni front, I met with Lauren Reid (B.A., Spanish, 1992), president of Broadway Across America, Mark Russell (B.F.A., Theatrical Design, 1978), director of Under the Radar Festival at the Public Theater, Rachel Adler Rosan (B.A., Art History, 1997), head of appraisals at the Phillips Auctions, and Fairfax Dorn (B.A., Studio Art, 1997), co-founder and artistic director of Ballroom Marfa. I had the pleasure of seeing Stories of Wonder: When the Sea is my Land, a solo exhibition by Assistant Professor Scherezade García at Praxis Gallery. I also did a studio visit with Assistant Professor Beverly Acha, who is currently the inaugural artist-in-residence for Lighthouse Works. And I enjoyed a private tour at the Whitney Museum hosted by art collector/investor Peter Kahng, who will be a guest lecturer in the School of Design and Creative Technologies this spring. I closed my visit at the headquarters of UT in New York, a program that allows our students to live, work and learn in one of the most dynamic arts and cultural scenes in the world. UTNY is a key platform that links all of these circles of influence and existing practices that the university and our alumni are advancing to connect them with our students so they can see how UT is shaping the New York arts scene. I left New York full of inspiration and excitement, and I can’t wait to return. Sincerely, Dean Ramón H. Rivera-Servera
November 2, 2021, Filed Under: From the DeanDean’s Insider: Pursuing arts collaborations that are changing the field Dear Friends, This month, we were so excited to welcome our College of Fine Arts Advisory Council members back to campus for an in-person meeting for the first time since fall 2019. This was my first chance to interact live with this important group, and it was my first state-of-the-college address. (Spoiler alert: The state of the College of Fine Arts is strong, and our programs are thriving!) We spent much of our time together talking about collaboration. We showcased engaging collaborative projects that integrate our scholarly research with our public-facing role in a city with a robust creative economy. As a research university, we want not just to excel in our disciplinary fields, but to create field-changing practitioners and visionaries. First up, Associate Professor Adele Nelson presented her collaboration with Visual Arts Center Director Mackenzie Stevens for the upcoming exhibition Social Fabric: Art and Activism in Contemporary Brazil. This ambitious exhibition, which opens in fall 2022 at the VAC, will showcase a stellar slate of contemporary Brazilian artists, including Rosana Paulino and Jaime Lauriano. The exhibition will fill more than 6,000 square feet of gallery space and is the result of a multiyear collaboration between the faculty, graduate students, the VAC and campus and global partners. This innovative show pushes our programming in new directions and exposes our students and our audiences to important voices in contemporary art. Michael Baker, chair of the Department of Arts and Entertainment Technologies, highlighted vital collaborations with industry partners that give our students valuable hands-on learning opportunities working with real-world companies to design amazing experiences. The department has partnered with global design and architecture firm Gensler for an experiential design course to create content that will be presented on an LED screen in Gensler’s lobby in Austin. As I settle into my role as dean and learn more about our college, I’m so energized and inspired by the amazing collaborations already happening among our faculty, students, staff and with community and industry partners. We’re well-positioned as we begin working on the strategic plan for our college’s future, and we’re grateful for the support of our friends of the college as we shape our vision together. Sincerely, Dean Ramón H. Rivera-Servera
October 19, 2021, Filed Under: MeetingsVideo: October 15 Advisory Council Fall Meeting Please also see included print materials here.
October 15, 2021, Filed Under: Development UpdatesFall 2021 Development Report Sondra Lomax Executive Director and Assistant Dean for Development As we move into the new academic year and under new leadership, the College of Fine Arts continues to raise the bar on excellence in 21st century arts education. To make this possible, we have maintained a robust fundraising operation during the pandemic with great help from members of our Advisory Council. For academic year 2020-2021, the College of Fine Arts received over $12 million in gifts and pledges. This accomplishment is the result of dedicated efforts by Advisory Council members, chairs and directors, development staff, alumni, and friends. To each of you, I extend my heartfelt thanks on behalf of the College of Fine Arts students, faculty, and staff. Most of this $12 million is restricted, meaning that funds are designated to specific endowments or purposes. Some are planned gifts that will provide us with transformational funding in the future. But all of these gifts share a common bond: they help the college in its pursuit of excellence so that we can continue to provide the best arts education and creative research opportunities for our students. And this year’s fundraising is off to a great start: Since September 1, 2021, the college has raised over $9.3 million! Our goal for this fiscal year is $15 million, and we are well on our way to achieving, if not, exceeding that goal. With your help, we will make it a banner year! Continue Reading Fall 2021 Development Report
October 7, 2021, Filed Under: From the DeanDean’s Insider: Life has returned to our stages and galleries Dear Friends, Our students, faculty and staff are back on campus, and we are returning to fully in-person performances and programming for the first time in more than a year. I saw my first live performance in the Butler School of Music with the Miró Quartet a couple of weeks ago, and they were absolutely fantastic. Not only are they technically impressive musicians, but they’re terrific ambassadors for classical music. The ensemble shared context and narrative around each work they performed, both educating and connecting with their audience. The quartet remained fully masked for the performance, an act of generosity to the audience members who came to see them perform. The Visual Arts Center opened three new shows for the fall, including Carolina Caycedo and David de Rozas: The Blessings of the Mystery. We’re proud to have the premiere of this exhibition at the University of Texas before it travels on to Ballroom Marfa and the University of Texas at El Paso. This week, the Department of Theatre and Dance kicks off its new season with their first in-person show: Sonnets for an Old Century, and Texas Performing Arts kicks off its 40th anniversary season with Ballet Hispánico on Oct. 30. We’re excited to welcome audiences back safely into our spaces to experience incredible work on our stages and in our galleries. I hope to see you here soon. Sincerely, Dean Ramón H. Rivera-Servera
July 15, 2021, Filed Under: From the Executive DirectorRemembering Kirby Attwell Dear Friends, I am writing with the sad news that Kirby Attwell of Houston, a member of our Advisory Council since 2014, passed away on July 6, 2021 at the age of 86. Kirby lived a long and full life, which you can read about here. A UT graduate (BA-Economics, ’57), his passions in the College of Fine Arts included the School of Design and Creative Technologies and Landmarks. An early supporter of SDCT and the growth opportunities emerging technologies could provide to the creative economy, Kirby made a gift in 2017 to fund a visiting artists residency program in the newly-created Foundry makerspace in the Fine Arts Library. In the past year, Kirby was a regular attendee of our virtual meetings, often asking thoughtful questions about our current programs and plans for the future. We could not be more grateful to Kirby and his family for their support of the college. He will be dearly missed. Sincerely, Sondra Lomax Executive Director of Development
July 1, 2021, Filed Under: From the DeanDean’s Insider: Introducing the new College of Fine Arts dean Dear Friends, I’m Ramón H. Rivera-Servera, and today I take the reins as the new dean in the College of Fine Arts. I wanted to share this video message to introduce myself. I am both excited and honored to join the college at a time when its commitment to excellence has never been greater, thanks to your dedicated support and to the leadership of Doug Dempster during the past 15 years. Doug has been exceedingly gracious and helpful to me as I have transitioned into this role over the past several months, and I am grateful for his continued guidance. I am grateful to each of you—our friends, alumni, donors and advocates. I look forward to meeting and visiting with you over the coming months as we advance our collective goal of ensuring our college is a welcoming, inclusive and vibrant place for artists, designers, performers, scholars and educators. Sincerely, Dean Ramón H. Rivera-Servera
