A Fall 2021 Message from Dean Brett Steele
After nearly two years away from campus, it’s been a joy to see students, faculty, and staff in person again this fall.
At the beginning of each new academic year, there is much work to do; not just the work of our creative, scholarly, and administrative practices—though there is plenty of that too—but the work of building community and creating spaces and rhythms in which everyone feels included and supported and in which we can collectively thrive. This year, we return to campus amidst a still shifting and uncertain landscape. And while I wish things were different—that the pandemic was truly behind us and the weight of the myriad challenges we face had lifted—I know that if there is any community up to the task of building together and responding to this moment, it is, most certainly, ours.
The energy and excitement of the new academic year was especially palpable at our school-wide Creating Community events on Wednesday of “Zero Week” (September 22, for those not accustomed to the UCLA academic calendar). On that day, I had the distinct pleasure of welcoming our first- and second-year undergraduate students at a welcome breakfast on Royce Hall’s west terrace, before diving into a full day of departmental orientations, followed by a wonderful reboot of our annual party, The Opening.
To all the students I met and spoke to, I am thrilled and humbled to have you join us on this beautiful 420-acre campus and very much look forward to continuing the conversations we started there. You have so much to offer and contribute to our community, and as we look ahead, I know it is your ideas, diverse perspectives, and rich creative and scholarly contributions that will lead us forward.
Students mingled and learned about volunteer and research opportunities as part of The Opening, a schoolwide event that capped Creating Community 2021. Photo courtesy UCLA Arts.
As artists and makers and scholars, we know that the rich and varied histories, passions, questions, and values we bring to this community are the very ingredients that allow us to individually and collectively shape the future. The past 20 months have exacerbated longstanding inequities and obstacles that challenge our ability to welcome the full diversity of thought necessary to do that work.
To address a few of these challenges and safeguard our community, the UCLA Arts Racial Equity Fund, to which many members of our faculty and staff have made personal contributions; and cityLAB’s BruinHub, a new space to support the many UCLA students who commute long distances and/or experience some form of housing insecurity, are two new initiatives that demonstrate the kind of inclusive, innovative thinking that make me proud to be a Bruin and dean of this remarkable school. I hope you will all join me in celebrating and supporting this important work.
Students can nap, sleep, study, and read at BruinHub, a new space designed by UCLA's cityLAB. Photo courtesy of cityLAB.
Beginnings mark a transition and with the beginning of this academic year, we note several significant transitions within our school community. Kristy Edmunds, who has led UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) for the past decade with a passionate and fierce commitment to artistry, will assume a new role as director of Mass MoCA, a vital artistic and cultural institution in western Massachusetts. While her departure is a profound one for our school, UCLA, and the cultural life of Los Angeles more broadly, it’s heartening to see her take on a role that will allow her to continue advocating for the arts and the well-being of artists. It is also a testament to Kristy’s enduring commitment to our work that she will remain engaged with us as we complete the greatly anticipated renovation of the UCLA Nimoy Theater in collaboration with B.A.R. Architects and Shawmut Design and Construction. Once completed, the Nimoy will provide a vital, inclusive and dynamic hub for contemporary performance and artistry on the LA’s Westside. Expanding on CAP UCLA’s mission and Kristy’s visionary drive to expand the “fenceline of the familiar,” the Nimoy will provide opportunities for artistic communities who represent future generations and underserved cultural practices to carry their work, vision, heritage, missions and public practices forward. So, while we are sad to see Kristy go, her legacy will endure as the next generation of artists and performers, including those of you reading this message right now, fulfill and bring to life the promise of the Nimoy.
This fall, we are also welcoming some familiar faces into new roles. Catherine Opie, professor of photography and the UCLA Lynda and Stewart Resnick Endowed Chair in Art, is now serving as chair of the Department of Art; Emerita professor Angelia Leung has graciously come back from retirement to serve as the interim chair of the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance; Lionel Popkin, professor in the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, has stepped in as the new associate dean of academic affairs; and Linda Holmes, who has served as Chief Administrative Officer of our Department of Architecture and Urban Design for the last several years now joins us in the dean’s office as the school’s Director of Operations and Information Services. I look forward to collaborating with these new members of the school’s leadership team and hope you will join me in welcoming them into their new roles.
I also am pleased to announce two important searches that are now underway: Our search for the next Shirley and Ralph Shapiro Director of the Fowler Museum has officially commenced, and I would like to express my gratitude to our excellent search committee, chaired by Chon Noriega, professor in the School of Theater, Film and Television, as well as to our executive search firm, Arts Consulting Group, whose sensitivity and expertise is helping to guide this important process. We have also commenced a search for an Executive Director and Associate Dean for Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. This leadership role will serve on and partner with the school’s leadership team to advance our strategic plan and guide the Anti- Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (AEDI) Council. They will also collaborate with university partners and external stakeholders to develop and carry out initiatives that contribute to our strategic goals. Much gratitude to Associate Dean Lionel Popkin for heading up this search effort and to the entire search committee for agreeing to serve. I encourage everyone to spread news of these two positions far and wide across your networks as we seek to attract the most diverse, qualified pools of applicants possible.
Houseguest: Shadows Fall Down. Installation view, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. August 21, 2021-January 2, 2022. Photo: Joshua White/JWPictures.com
After so many months of distance and silence, it is exciting to see our campus abuzz with energy once again. If you are on campus or in the neighborhood, I urge you to engage with the work of our incredible community, take in an event, experience a SOUNDWALK, and perhaps strike up a conversation with someone new.
And if you are unable to join us in-person on campus, there are still plenty of ways to engage with the arts at UCLA this fall. Our celebrated “10 Questions” series returns to the virtual stage with a new format and another set of urgent questions asking us to consider how to address the healing that is called for in this moment. This year’s roster of participants includes celebrated artists, bestselling authors, an elected official, and leading minds on the frontlines of climate change, racial and social justice, human rights, public health, and many other fields.
A still from "10 Questions: Who are we?" on Monday, Sept. 27. Clockwise from top left: Victoria Marks, professor of choreography at UCLA; Lauren Lee McCarthy, artist and associate professor of design media arts at UCLA; Isaac Bryan, member of the California State Assembly and former director of public policy at the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies; and Adriana Galván, dean of undergraduate education and professor of psychology at UCLA.
These dynamic, interactive gatherings create the space for the kinds of thoughtful conversations that many of us are craving, and I hope everyone in our community near and far has the opportunity to join one or more of this season’s discussions, which occur online every Monday at 7 p.m. through the end of November.
The Hammer Museum brought some of their Spun Chairs, designed by Heatherwick Studio, to The Opening, a schoolwide event that capped Creating Community 2021. Photo courtesy UCLA Arts.
It is an understatement that we have all been through so much over the past 20 months. But through it all, what I know and what I turn to again and again is our community’s creativity, strength, and resilience, which never ceases to inspire and confirm my conviction that what we do as artists, scholars, and creators of all kinds matters and makes a difference.
I look forward to seeing what our students make and do this fall, learning about our faculty’s latest research, navigating the ever-shifting landscape of our work alongside our incredible staff, and hopefully, having the opportunity to meet even more students and their families at Bruin Family Weekend, which will take place in-person on October 22 – 23.
With best wishes for a wonderful fall season,
Brett Steele
Dean, School of the Arts and Architecture
HEADER IMAGE: Students on stage at Royce Hall during a morning backstage tour as part of Creating Community 2021.
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