October 24, 2016
Rachel Librach
For the VAPA department, October represents more than just a chance to be festive for Halloween.
Students and faculty members in the VAPA department are celebrating National Arts and Humanities Month to educate UCCS about the arts.
NAHM is a national recognition of the importance of art culture in the U.S.
Art history, music, theater and dance programs at UCCS incorporated art culture appreciation in various ways this month, said Michaela Steen, visual resources coordinator for the VAPA Department in her newsletter.
The holiday started 30 years ago by Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit organization that supports companies who promote art, to celebrate the National Endowment for the Arts’ 20th anniversary.
Suzanne MacAulay, professor of art history and chair of the VAPA Department, attended the Textile Society of America’s 15th Biennial Symposium in Savannah, Georgia from Oct. 18- 23 for the art history program.
MacAulay gave a presentation about European missionary teachers that taught colonialist ideas to the Maori culture in New Zealand who weaved delicate patterns.
Students in art history professor Lauren Kinnee’s AH 3000, Art of the Pre-Raphaelites class presented their intensive research as well.
Research topics focused on the English landscape and the combination of word and image on painting frames.
Several faculty members in the music program also gave performances this month.
On Oct. 16, Glen Whitehead, associate professor of music, performed at the Atlas Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. with Matthew Burtner, Joy of Motion Dance Center’s Youth Dance Ensemble Company and Pulitzer Prize-winner Rita Dove.
Whitehead participated in a panel discussion with Mary Jane Sullivan, lecturer of film studies, at the American Association of Geographers Rocky Mountain Chapter on Oct. 21. Whitehead and Sullivan’s presentation is the “New Approaches to Sound and Music through Environmental and Geographical Investigation.”
Colin McAllister, Music Program director, was part of the Hennessy 6 Jazz Ensemble that played for the Peak FreQuency concert on Sept. 23.
Planning for the concert started this past summer, according to McAllister. Around 100 people attended the concert this year, which is an average number for the event, said McAllister.
The biannual UCCS Visual Art faculty show “New Horizons,” opened at GOCA on Oct.7. The show features work from Visual Art faculty Matt Barton, Corey Drieth, Marina Eckler, Pauline Foss, Abbey Hepner, Nikki Pike, Stacy Platt and Claire Rau.
Emmy award winning actress Allison Janney visited campus as part of the Prologue series on Oct. 12 to discuss her life as an actor on stage and screen.
Upcoming events include theater productions and concerts on campus.
Lewis Keller and William Malone, lecturers in the VAPA Department, will perform in the Peak FreQuency concert Oct. 21.
The UCCS Theater Company will perform its second show of the season, “1001” on Oct. 28. The play was directed and performed by theater students and demonstrated the different perspectives on Islamic culture in today’s society.