Retrospectives, Books, Albums: Corcoran Faculty Shine in 2021
From exploring the roots of social justice to winning awards as varied as Aperture and Google’s Creator Labs to the Fulbright Association, here are just some of our faculty’s remarkable accomplishments during an unpredictable year. Check out student and alumni accomplishments, too!
A Journey to the Past: Dean Kessmann’s Exhibition Visits the Origins of his Career
Dean Kessmann, one of our beloved professors of photography and program head for studio arts, is having a career survey exhibition at VisArts that opens on September 3rd and runs until October 24, 2021. The exhibition will have over one hundred pieces from 12 different projects made between 1994 to 2020, curated by Kristen Hileman. There will also be a limited edition catalogue with three essays by the following authors: Kristen Hileman, Joshua Gamma, and Molly Springfield. The opening reception will be on Friday, September 3 from 7-9 pm (time may change).
Stephanie Travis and Flourishing Conversations
Stephanie Travis, Program Head of Interior Architecture, was interviewed by Amy Kwak for Flourishing Conversations, a program from BECO Management.
Washington Post Features Siobhan Rigg in Restart the Arts Campaign
Congratulations to Siobhan Rigg, Associate Professor of Studio Arts who currently also serves as Program Head of Design, on being featured in the Restart the Arts feature in the Washington Post.
Loren Kajikawa Joins Brown and Emory in a Virtual Panel
Watch our Music Prof. Loren Kajikawa's virtual panel “Adventures in Digital Publishing” (if you don't see the video yet, check back in a day or two)! This event was hosted by the Association of University Presses, the Brown University Digital Publications Initiative, and Emory University’s Digital Publishing in the Humanities initiative. The discussion was about the first peer-reviewed hip hop album, A.D. Carson’s i used to love to dream, which was published in the Tracking Pop series at University of Michigan Press (Kajikawa serves as a series co-editor, and worked closely with A.D. Carson to recruit the project).
A Celebration of the Art Community: Heather Stebbins Featured in Album
Heather Stebbins, Assistant Professor of Electronic & Computer Music has a track on "Play well with others," which will be released on September 10.
Iron Orchid
Assistant Professor of Piano and Chamber Music, Ning Yu, released a solo piano and electronic album, Iron Orchid, in collaboration with composer and producer David Bird.
Prestigious Honor Awarded to Dana Tai Soon Burgess, who also launches Podcast
Dance Professor Dana Tai Soon Burgess, also a Corcoran alumni, recently received the 2021 Selma Jeanne Cohen Lecture Award, one of the most prestigious dance and dance history lectures given in the field. The award provides a dance researcher or practitioner the opportunity to present a major paper or interdisciplinary presentation, based on research or a body of accomplished work, at the Fulbright Association’s annual conference. The lecture was held in October 2021.
Professor Burgess also recently launched slantpodcast.com ("Conversations About the World through a Hyphenated Lens"), where prolific Asian American artists, writers, and thinkers explore questions about race, identity, and creation in America. In a recent episode, Dana sat down with Susan Choi, the 2019 Book Award winner. Susan discusses navigating her mixed racial identity growing up in the midwest, her father's experience as an Asian immigrant in America during racial segregation, and the importance of exploring and writing about adolescence. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.
Exploring Roots for Social Justice with Dana Tai Soon Burgess’ Video Series
The Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company, led by Dance Professor Burgess, has been releasing new videos in their Social Justice Leaders Video Series monthly. This August, they released A Portrait of J. Rosamond Johnson. In addition to being an immensely talented artist, Johnson was a social equality groundbreaker. His shows in the early 1900s featured culturally-diverse performers on stage. Off stage, he worked hard in the struggle for justice - even serving as the Grand Marshall in the Silent Protest Parade in 1917. View the video series here.
New Publication By Loren Kajikawa
Music Program Head Loren Kajikawa recently published a chapter in Sounding Together: Collaborative Perspectives on U.S. Music in the Twenty-21st Century. The book encourages scholars in music circles and beyond to explore the intersections between social responsibility, community engagement and academic practices through the simple act of working together. Kajikawa’s chapter, co-authored with Daniel Martinez HoSang of Yale, discusses Kajikawa and HoSang's experience creating a new interdisciplinary course “Music, Politics, and Race,” which they taught at the University of Oregon. The book, published by University of Michigan Press, is available for free as an open-access publication.
Paul Farber Quoted in Time and The New York Times
William Wilson Corcoran Visiting Professor of Community Engagement Paul Farber was quoted in a Time article, America Has Always Struggled to Memorialize Tragedy. Some Communities Are Trying to Do Better for COVID-19. He was also interviewed by the New York Times in Alabama Begins Removing Racist Language From Its Constitution.
Aperture and Google's Creator Labs Announce Corcoran Professor as a Winner of Photo Fund
Professor Matt Eich was selected by Aperture and Google’s Creator Labs for a fund that recognizes artists' exceptional vision. Since 2015, Eich has photographed his home state of Virginia, documenting both its natural beauty and the brokenness of its landscape. “We are honored to partner with Google on the Creator Labs Photo Fund,” says Aperture’s Creative Director, Lesley A. Martin. “Aperture’s team of editors has selected a dynamic and diverse group of photographers, whose talent, vision, and promise are truly inspiring."
Corcoran Professors Awarded Grants from Prestigious DC Arts Commission
Corcoran’s professors Dean Kessman and Janis Goodman each received an “Arts and Humanities Fellowship Program Grant” from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The grants are provided to individuals in order to help sustain their practice as artists in the District. Natalie Cheung, a part time professor at the Corcoran, also received this grant as well.
Artistic Thought and Purpose: Corcoran Professors Contributions to Academic Literature
Corcoran's Professors Michele Carlson and Maria del Carmen Montoya recently published essays in Out of Place: Artists, Pedagogy, and Purpose. The contributions in this volume engage individual and collective artistic practices as they adapt to the factors and historical conditions of the people and communities they serve through solidarity, equity, and creativity. Congratulations, Professors Carlson and Montoya!
A Return to Normalcy: VOA News Profile Features Corcoran Professor
Corcoran’s Professor A. Scott Wood was recently featured in a Voice of America News profile called “An Orchestra Returns.” The piece showcased Professor Wood’s upbringing as a musician and his work as a conductor, describing the process of the Arlington Philharmonic performing for a live audience since the pandemic began. Congratulations, Professor Wood!
Critical Acclaim for Corcoran Professors’ Architectural Design Book
Professors Stephanie Travis and Catherine Anderson of the Corcoran recently published 25 Concepts in Modern Architecture, and the reviews are in. The book is "essential reading for students as well as anyone interested in understanding the development of design" (Calvin Tsao, FAIA, Tsao & McKown Architects, Brooklyn). It discusses modern and contemporary architecture through text and drawn diagrams to explain its ideas. It’s the perfect guide for visual learners who wish to know more about architecture and take advantage of the subject.
The Responsibilities of Preservation in Nature
Corcoran’s Professor Janis Goodman will have her exhibition Infinite Journey featured in gallery neptune + brown. The exhibition contains art pieces painted with layers of translucent pigment, creating a graceful visual display of the natural world and our duty to protect it. Opening December 4th, Professor Goodman will host a meet and greet at the gallery from 4-6 p.m. Congratulations, Professor Goodman