May 2014

Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Headlines 136th Commencement Ceremony

Award-winning dancer and choreographer Robert L. Battle (right), artistic director of the renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, will be the keynote speaker at the University of the Arts' 136th Commencement ceremonies, being held at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia on May 15. Battle will also receive an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree. Also being honored are pop/hip-hop bassist, producer and musical director Adam W. Blackstone BM '04 (Instrumental Performance) [Jay-Z, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake] and Emmy Award-winning film and TV sound editor Jeffrey Stern BFA '75 (Film) ["Boardwalk Empire," "Silence of the Lambs," "Goodfellas"], who will each receive a Silver Star Alumni Award.

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Art Unleashed 2014 Raises $370,000 for Scholarships

The University of the Arts celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Art Unleashed exhibition and sale April 9-15, with Hamilton Hall bursting at the seams with artwork by talented alumni, faculty and student artists. More than 1,000 pieces of art by almost 400 artists were on display, and more than $370,000 was raised for student scholarships.

The highlight of the event was the Preview Party, which kicked off what was a full seven days of sales. Attendance records were broken, with more than 750 guests enjoying a festive evening featuring superb artwork, food and drink, and entertainment by students from the Schools of Music and Dance.

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2014 Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Visits UArts

Annie Baker

Hot on the heels of winning the Pulitzer Prize in Playwriting for "The Flick," renowned playwright Annie Baker (right) visited the University's Ira Brind School of Theater Arts for a conversation with the UArts community. Baker discussed her work and answered questions from the audience at the Caplan Center Studio Theater on April 21, with new Brind School Director Joanna Settle facilitating the discussion.

Ely Illustration Award Winners Announced

Illustration senior Kate O'Hara took the top prize in the 2014 William H. Ely Excellence in Illustration Awards for her album artwork (top). Second place honors went to work by Ejay Basford '14 (Illustration) [right], while Lily Simon '14 (Illustration) took third place. Honorable mentions were awarded to fellow seniors Meredith Bentley, Alex Dos Diaz, Rebecca Syracuse and Laura Weiszer. Winners of this annual juried competition are chosen from among submissions by the entire class of graduating Illustration majors, whose original artwork is displayed in the Ely Senior Illustration Thesis Exhibition.

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Creative Writing Head Wins Prestigious Literary Award

"Transfer Station," a short story by Assistant Professor and Creative Writing Program Director Elise Juska (right), has won the Alice Hoffman Prize for Fiction from Ploughshares, one of the top literary magazines in the country. The award is for the best short story published in the magazine in the previous year. This latest accolade adds to an impressive list that includes recently being named a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection for Summer 2014

for her forthcoming book The Blessings (Grand Central Publishing, May 6, 2014).

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UArts Alum Is Rome Prize Winner

Dave McKenzie BFA '00 (Printmaking) [right] has been named a winner in the 118th annual Rome Prize Competition, awarded by the American Academy in Rome. The Jamaican-born, Brooklyn-based visual artist, whose work is currently on display in the prestigious Whitney Biennial in New York City, took home the Gorham P. Stevens/Jacob H. Lazarus-Metropolitan Museum of Art Rome Prize.