Image of student installing master's degree show at Manetti Shrem Museum
Studio art major Arielle Rebek in the studio

First Student Show at UC Davis Manetti Shrem Museum

UC Davis will break down the walls of the exhibition box with “from this point forward” opening May 27. The multidisciplinary exhibition by 28 graduate students will include physical works by students in art, design and theatre, a sound installation, presentations by art history and history students, performances of works by composers and readings by creative writers.

It will be the first student show at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art which opened in November. An opening reception will be held June 1 from 6 to 9 p.m. and the exhibition will be on display through June 30. The museum and all the programs are free and open to the public.

Watch video of participating students

“UC Davis has a great tradition of coming together as a creative community to engage ideas and challenges,” said Rachel Teagle, founding director of the museum. “We saw this first student show as an opportunity to celebrate the makers, scholars and researchers across the arts and humanities who are part of that community, and to make their work accessible to all of our visitors. The creative and scholarly works that make up ‘from this point forward’ will showcase each discipline and each student, and will, in the shared space of the museum, enter dialogue with the work of other disciplines and other students.”

Some of what’s on tap in “from this point forward”:

• Design student Nikitaa Sivaakumar has prototyped an inexpensive solar light for developing countries.

costume design
Kristine Doiel costume design

• Theatre and dance MFA student Kristine Doiel is showing costumes she designed for the ancient Greek play The Trojan Women.

• Phil Acimovic, music composition doctoral student, has interviewed people about sounds and the memories and emotions they elicit to create an installation composed of snippets of the interviews and the sounds.

• Writer Chelsea Hicks Bryan turns part of her novel about a woman of mixed Native American and European heritage into a live retro radio-style program.

• Art history major Corrie Hendricks intertwines a hands-on knitting session with a discussion on crafting in today’s political climate.

Ben Ehrmann art
Ben Ehrmann, studio art MFA

• Art major Ben Ehrmann’s performance videos “embody a complex narrative of courageous, and at times, humiliating acts that include both violence and humor.”

Showing the wide range of creative endeavors

“An exhibition like this is an excellent way to show the wide range of creative, intellectual achievement that takes place in the College of Letters and Science,” said new college dean Elizabeth Spiller. “Having our students’ accomplishments showcased in a highly visible setting like the Manetti Shrem Museum will give the campus and the larger community a much better picture of the many dimensions of the college.”

At the opening reception, the winner of the inaugural Keister & Allen Art Purchase Prize award will be named. The award winner, a graduating studio art MFA student, will have their artwork purchased for the museum’s permanent collection.

The award was endowed by Shaun Keister, UC Davis vice chancellor for development and alumni relations, and Walter Allen, business analyst in client services, information and educational technology. This award revives a longstanding and important UC Davis tradition that allows the museum to preserve the artistic legacy of its MFA students, many of whom have gone on to have a significant impact on the art world.

• Master of Fine Arts studio art students Henry BellYuan ChenMike ColeBen EhrmannVincent PachecoArielle RebekMuzi Rowe and Faith Sponsler.

• MFA design students Asma Al Dabal, Victoria Baird, Megan Johnston, Nikitaa Sivaakumar and Tieni Wu.

• Music doctoral students Phil AcimovicDaniel Godsil and Aida Shirazi

• Creative writing M.A. students Chelsea Hicks Bryan and Jamil Kochai.

• Art history M.A. students Natalie De La Torre, Jennifer Gutierrez, Corrie Hendricks, Renata McRee, Lorella Silvestri and Virginia Van Dine.

• Doctoral history students Rebecca EgliKelly Sharp and Miguel Novoa.

• Theatre and dance MFA student Kristine Doiel.

— Jeffrey Day, content strategist in the UC Davis College of Letters and Science

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