Alumni in the News: Winter 2016
Alumni from the Departments of Art and World Arts and Cultures/Dance Received 2015 Choreographers in Mentorship Exchange (CHIME) Grants in Southern California.
The CHIME mentorship program pairs choreographers for a year of collaboration with financial support from the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. The CHIME program aims to make time for choreographic investigations and develop an arena for constructive critique among artists. Among the choreographers selected for the CHIME mentorship program are Brennan Gerard (Art, M.F.A. ’13), mentor; Ryan Kelly (Art, M.F.A ’13), mentor; Meena Murugesan (Dance, M.F.A. ’14), mentee; and Alexx Shilling (Dance, M.F.A. ’14), mentee.
Two Department of Design Media Arts Alumni Presented Work in the Inagural Instanbul Light Festival.
2015 was the United Nations International Year of Light. The Istanbul Light Festival took place at the Zorlu Center in November of 2015. Participating artists included Refik Anadol (M.F.A ’14) and Pascual Sisto (M.F.A. ’08).
Brian MacKay-Lyons (M.Arch ‘82) Awarded Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International Fellowship.
RIBA International Fellowships reward the particular contributions non-UK architects have made to architecture. MacKay-Lyons studied architecture at the Technical University of Nova Scotia (graduating 1978) and received his master’s degree in architecture and urban design from the UCLA School of Arts and Architecture.
Wil Carson (M.Arch ’05), Robert Hale (M.Arch ’81), John Ruble (M.Arch ’76), and Tom Wiscombe (M.Arch ’99) Received 2015 AIA|LA Design Awards.
In December, four UCLA Architecture and Urban Design alumni were honored at the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles (AIA|LA) prestigious 2015 Design Awards program. Wil Carson was senior project designer for two projects that earned Honor Awards, Robert Hale’s and Tom Wiscombe’s firms, Rios Clementi Hale Studios and Tom Wiscombe Architecture respectively, received Citation Awards, and John Ruble’s firm, Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners, received a Merit Award. For a complete list of awards that went to UCLA faculty and alumni, click here.
Music Alumnus David Balakrishnan (B.A. '76) Nominated for Grammy Award.
David Balakrishnan has been nominated for a Grammy Award in composition for album Confetti Man. With his band, the Turtle Island Quartet, Balakrishnan "blends elements of Indian classical music, jazz, western classical, and bluegrass on European string instruments in an attempt to redefine art music."
Irene Messoloras, (M.M. ’06) Appointed Director of Choral Activities and Vocal Studies at the University of La Verne.
This fall Messoloras began her first year as director of choral activites and vocal studies at the University of La Verne. Her diverse musical and educational experiences include everything from building up small high school and college choral programs to producing choral presentations at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She has re-built the ULV Chamber Singers and Chorale ensembles and presented a holiday concert in December 2015.
Three Alumni from the Department of Art Received Joan Mitchell Foundation Grants.
The Joan Mitchell Foundation is an artist-endowed non-profit organization that engages individual artists through grant making, programming, and collaborations. Amir Fallah (M.F.A., ’05) was one of twenty-five recipients of the 2015 Painters and Sculptors Grants. Wendy Red Star (M.F.A., ’06) and Shizu Saldamando (B.A., ’00) were two of ten inaugural recipients of the Emerging Artist Grants.
Photo credit: Refik Anadol's Infinity Room for the Istanbul Light Festival