UMBC: Dresher Center for the Humanities

Our third year student, Ghazal Mojtahedi received funding from the Dresher Center to assist with her research which focuses on the immigrant experience, particularly exploring themes of identity, documentation, and how bureaucratic processes, such as passports, reduce human stories to mere paperwork.

One product of that work is a short film, “Flight Among Shadows.” Co-directed by Hashem Aliakbari, the film portrays a true story about the struggles of Iranian students in the U.S. and their visa journey.

The @univofmaryland Iranian Graduate Student Association is hosting a screening of the film at the Hoff Theater in the Stamp Union on February 8.

Soil to Skin Exhibition

Elena DeBold (IMDA ‘16), Melissa Penley Cormier (IMDA ‘17), and Lynn Cazabon (Professor, Visual Arts, CIRCA Director) were featured in the exhibition Soil to Skin, on view in the Silber Gallery at Goucher College, Towson, MD, February 13 – March 28, with an opening reception and artist talks on Thursday, February 13, 6-8pm.

Curated by our IMDA Faculty, Liz Faust.

Soil to Skin, a collaboration with Goucher College Art Galleries and Pellis /\ Terra, unveils a powerful synthesis of art, science, and community dialogue to address the legacies of land use, pollution, climate change, and environmental justice. Through interactive sculptures, archival photography, paintings, and collaborative public programming, the exhibition seeks to deepen our understanding of environmental issues while inspiring cultural shifts toward a sustainable future.

Artists: Lynn Cazabon, Se Jong Cho, Melissa Penley Cormier, Elena DeBold, Brooks Dierdroff, Rachel Gaurdiola, Artemis Herber, Sky Hopinka, Ara Koh, Jonna McKone, Nicole Salimbene, and Raymond Thompson Jr

Art School Confidential: UMBC Grad Studio Visits with Nia Hampton and Bao Nguyen

Our second year students, Nia Hampton and Bao Nguyen, were interviewed by Michael Anthony Farley (IMDA ’14) for BmoreArt. They talk about the IMDA program, city life, and how UMBC gives them space to get messy.

UMBC IMPROV ENSEMBLE

Our third year student, McCoy Chance was featured in an event with CRTs, live projection, and improvisation.

Experience a collaboration where improvising musicians and live, improvised video respond to and shape each other in real time. This unique event features visuals displayed on discarded CRT screens alongside two giant projections for the audience, creating an interesting dynamic of sound and image.

This Friday the 13th, step into a space where music and visuals intertwine, shaping a magical and mysterious night of connection and experimentation.

HEIRLOOM: Islam & Print 2024 Cohort Exhibition – Gallery CA

Safiyah Cheatam (IMDA ’21) and Dan Flounders curated their second Islam & Print cohort exhibition, HEIRLOOM, featuring work by 2024 artist fellows Hoor Imad Sherpao, Madyha Leghari, and Mina Sarfaraz.

What are the things we pass down through generations? For the 2024 Islam & Print cohort, it’s a 150-year old marriage certificate, folktales of heaven and hell, and one’s mother tongue. Precious and sacred, we cling to memories of the past to have a relationship with our ancestors and maintain our connections to cultural heritage, land, and so much more.  In Heirloom, Hoor Imad Sherpao, Madyha Leghari, and Mina Sarfaraz act as either the receiver or giver of traditions, and sometimes both.

SPARK 6: Refractions

SPARK 6: Refractions  features the work of UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) and Towson faculty, recent graduates, and current students in the historic galleries of The Peale in Baltimore City.

The title of the exhibition references a term from physics that describes the change in direction of a wave as it passes from one transparent substance into another. It’s a phenomenon most commonly observed when a light wave bends or changes appearance when it passes through a lens or a prism.

Each of the artists in this exhibition serves as an apparatus of refraction, focusing, magnifying, or redirecting our attention and perspective in engaging and surprising ways.

Featured Artists: Ada Pinkston, Ahlam Khamis, Amanda Burnham, Andrew Awanda, Anna Kroll and Chloë Engel, Cathy C. Cook and Stefanie Koseff, Corrie Francis Parks and Maksym Prykhodko, Fahmida Hossain, Jenee Mateer, Jenn Figg and Matthew McCormack, Jinyoung Koh, Jules Rosskam, Lauren Castellana, Nahid Tootoonchi, Phil Davis, Sarah G. Sharp, Stephen Bradley, Treyvon Nolen

The Manic American Humanist Show

Second Year Tomi Faison participated in a group show in NYC with her 7 channel video installation “LackLoop.”

Building on the culture-jamming roots of post-internet art, the show aimed a light on contemporary alienation as seen in the fringe political corners of the internet, from video games to 7chan and the memescape.⁠

MSAC Triennial

2023 MSAC Triennial exhibition featured alumna Rahne Alexander as a juror and the work of alumni Mollye Bendell (work featured bellow) and Aaron Oldenburg were selected for the exhibition.

Time & Punishment

first year McCoy Chance will premiered his original experimental composition ‘Roll For Punishment’ with the UMBC percussion ensemble.