UCLA Arts alumnus, artist, and filmmaker Zach Blas joins the podcast to discuss his upbringing in Point Pleasant, West Virginia; his initial interests in film and what ultimately inspired his passion for art and technology; his life-saving experience as a Tori Amos groupie; and his current work and contribution to the exhibition Digital Witness: Revolutions in Design, Photography, and Film at LACMA, part of Getty’s region-wide initiative PST ART: Art & Science Collide.

UCLA Arts alumna and lecturer Davida Persaud joins the podcast to discuss her passion for community-based work, activism, and the arts; her experience in the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance Ph.D. program; and the origin and future of MuralColors, a company she co-founded that produces, preserves, and restores public artworks.

UCLA Arts alumnus and artist Amir H. Fallah M.F.A. ‘05 joins Works In Progress to discuss his initial interests in art, skateboarding, and graffiti; how he has time after time had to sink or swim; the ups and downs of being an independent magazine publisher; and the therapeutic power of his 2023 Fowler Museum exhibition, The Fallacy of Borders.

UCLA Arts alumnus and Detroit-based artist and professor Osman Khan M.F.A. ‘04 joins "Works In Progress" to discuss his remarkable journey from the tech world to the art field, how he arrived at UCLA, the inspirations behind his provocative and poignant work, and his upcoming solo exhibition at MASS MoCA, Road to Hybridabad.

UCLA Arts alumna, emerging researcher, and education evaluation specialist Lindsey Kunisaki ‘15 joins "Works In Progress" to discuss what initially drew her to the arts, what she gained from her time in UCLA’s Visual and Performing Arts Education (VAPAE) program, the importance of culturally sustaining pedagogy, and California Proposition 28, the largest investment in arts and music in our nation’s history.

UCLA Arts alumni and active practitioners Dami Olufowoshe M.Arch. ‘16 and Katie Chuh M.Arch. ‘16 join "Works In Progress" to discuss what initially drew them to architecture, what they gained from their time at UCLA, how they have adapted to rapidly evolving technology, and any advice they can provide to aspiring architects.

Dancers and UCLA Arts alumni Jackie Lopez ‘04, Harry Weston ‘12, and Alli Gray ‘10 join "Works In Progress" to discuss what initially drew them to Hip Hop; what they gained from their time at UCLA; the history and future of Versa-Style Dance Company, a non-profit organization and dance ensemble; and any advice they can provide to aspiring dancers.

Artists Jackie Amézquita M.F.A. ‘22 and Roksana Pirouzmand M.F.A. ‘22 both currently have work on view at the Hammer Museum at UCLA’s biennial "Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living." For the first episode of the new season, the UCLA Arts alumnae join "Works In Progress" to discuss what originally drew them to art, their work in the show, what they gained from their graduate studies at UCLA, and what it's like to be a working artist in Los Angeles.

Design media arts students worked alongside environmental science students this spring to create design and art projects that draw attention to climate change and ecological inequality. Professor and department chair Rebeca Méndez led the “Introduction to Ecological Art and Justice” class this quarter, the final part of a three-quarter sequence, and joined several students to discuss design’s ability to change minds and spur action.

Native American Indigenous artist and UCLA alumna Mercedes Dorame will deliver the keynote address at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture’s 2022 commencement on Saturday, June 11th at 4 p.m. This will be the first commencement ceremony to be held in-person since 2019. Dorame spoke to the UCLA Arts podcast Works In Progress about how her Tongva heritage informs her practice, which encompasses photography, sculptural installations, and sound art.

The Fowler Museum exhibition Aboriginal Screen-Printed Textiles from Australia’s Top End invites us to explore more than 70 distinctive, screen-printed textiles made by contemporary artists at five Aboriginal-owned art centers across northern Australia. These textiles combine traditional cultural knowledge with contemporary production techniques to produce dazzling, unique fabrics. Their bold colors and striking patterns have inspired interior design, furnishings, and fashion apparel. ...

This winter quarter, design media arts students researched Los Angeles and its ecologies through the lens of climate change. Department of Design Media Arts professor and vice chair Peter Lunenfeld emphasized the importance of design research in the hybrid seminar/studio course “Introduction to Ecological Art and Justice,” part of a three-quarter sequence. Students conducted original research in order to think through historical and on-going issues of environmental racism in Los Angeles and s...

Dance Camera West, the world-renowned dance film festival, marks its 20th anniversary this year. From March 24-April 2, the festival will screen the top films selected from a record of over 400 submissions from around the world, in a live in-person event at two Los Angeles venues. UCLA professors of choreography Lionel Popkin and David Roussève, who are board members of Dance Camera West, and the festival's executive and artistic director Kelly Hargraves join the UCLA Arts podcast "Works In P...

Classes rooted in AEDI – anti-racism, equity, diversity, and inclusion – are being taught across the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture. This winter quarter, two undergraduate Art studio classes – painting and new genres – are being taught as AEDI-themed courses. On this episode of the UCLA Arts podcast "Works In Progress," we spoke to faculty members Patty Wickman and Vishal Jugdeo as well as students about this shift and how students are responding in the classroom.

UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance will present award-winning choreographer Ronald K. Brown and his company EVIDENCE’s newest dance work, The Equality of Night and Day: First Glimpse, at Royce Hall on Saturday, March 5. The work features recordings from UCLA distinguished professor emerita Angela Davis’s speeches. CAP UCLA is highlighting the activist and educator's legacy with a special exhibition drawn from UCLA Library Special Collections.

Edgar Arceneaux is an artist-in-residence at UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, where he is developing his work-in-progress "Boney Manilli," a live performance, exhibition, and single-channel film. On the latest episode of "Works In Progress," Arceneaux discusses his inspirations for the work, from 70’s disco group Boney M. and 90’s pop duo Milli Vanilli, to losing his mother to dementia. He also discusses his extensive research process, working on themes across an array of media, and ...

At just 16 years old, Jimmy Wu committed a crime that led to 13 ½ years of incarceration. In a Los Angeles juvenile detention facility, IOW introduced him to creative writing. He now runs the organization and is an advocate for juvenile justice reform. This quarter, Wu is teaching a class at UCLA through the Visual and Performing Arts Education program (VAPAE) called “Arts Programs in Correctional Institutions.”

A cultural and economic corridor that's central to Southern California’s Black community is getting a new look. Destination Crenshaw is a $100 million revitalization project that will bring public art, pocket parks and small business investment to 1.3 miles of Crenshaw Boulevard in South Los Angeles. Helping bring this project to life? UCLA faculty and alumni. On this episode of "Works In Progress," hear from two UCLA scholars who are advising the project, Darnell Hunt and Marcus Hunter, an...

Art and science students at UCLA want you to reconsider the human relationship with nature, even if it means shrinking you down to the size of an insect – or at least creating an immersive environment that helps shift your perspective to the scale of tiny creatures. This past fall, students from the Department of Design Media Arts (DMA) collaborated with environmental science, biology, and public policy students in the course “Introduction to Ecological Art and Justice.” The students st...

As we approach the end of 2021 and the second holiday season of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us are tired, frustrated, and impatient to see transmission rates drop and restrictions further loosened. Meanwhile, our front-line medical workers are bracing themselves for a repeat of last winter’s surge in hospitalizations, driven this year by the non-vaccinated. Dr. Thanh Neville is an ICU physician, researcher, and the current medical director of UCLA’s 3 Wishes Program – which fulfills end-...