UCLA Arts Newsletter
February 28, 2020
“A hundred years ago, there was no chance of me as a woman, or me as a person of color, even going to UCLA. Now different people and different brains are getting educated. And that's going to be a positive impact for the world.”
Arami Walker (BA, ‘16) studied World Arts and Cultures with a focus on performance arts and arts activism. She’s an independent musician and is set to release her debut album this year. Arami (rhymes with Jeremy) talked to UCLA about how her undergraduate experience prepared her for her career. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
We're talking to you now in Seattle, where you live. What are you up to there?
I've been in Seattle for two years. I'm recording my first album that explores my relationship with humanity, nature and technology. I'll be releasing one song a month for the entirety of 2020. I'm working closely with the radio station KEXP to keep pushing my music forward. I've built a team organically of musicians and managers. I'm an independent artist, so it really does take a team, and it's slowly unfolding and I'm really happy with where I'm at in my career.
“The whole point of my job as a teacher is to support the students—to encourage and inspire them,” says Kyle Abraham. The world-renowned choreographer is the founder and artistic director of Abraham.In.Motion, and a professor in the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture.
Abraham is a MacArthur Fellow and Doris Duke Artist Award winner, among many other accolades. Born into hip-hop culture in the late 1970s, Kyle is a self-described late-comer to the dance world. He began his formal dance training in college, and since that time has gone on to found an award-winning dance company and collaborate with organizations like Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and New York City Ballet.
This quarter, we visited Kaufman Hall to observe Abraham’s class, titled "Theories and Methods in Dance Composition II: Processes.”
In the News 
The work of UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture alumni were on full view in downtown LA galleries on Saturday, February 22. Members of the UCLA Arts community attended a tour of those galleries to take in the latest paintings and sculptural installations that their colleagues created.
The day began with a visit to Vielmetter Projects where Karl Haendel (M.F.A ‘03) and Whitney Bedford (M.F.A. ‘03) met with the group to discuss each of their solo shows.
Celebrate UCLA's centennial by sharing your own story that reflects on the institution’s 100-year legacy by looking back at the past or forward into the future.
We invite you to share reflections on your time at UCLA, lessons learned at UCLA and how they have shaped your life and work, moments from UCLA’s history that have inspired or influenced you, and/or hopes for UCLA’s future.
Submissions could take any number of forms from brief comments, to short essays, to photographs, to drawings, to videos, to performances, etc., but should be formatted or documented with the end goal of digital distribution. Submissions can respond to a single moment, work, individual, project, exhibition, performance, or space relating to the arts and architecture at UCLA; a through-line that can be followed over time at the institution; or anything in between. Critique is welcomed – one could explore gaps or missteps throughout our institution’s history and share related hopes for our future.
Announcements
Calling all dancers:
On the occasion of UCLA’s centennial celebration, the World Arts and Cultures/Dance (WACD) department is opening its studio doors and emphasizing the public in public university.
Professional/university-level dancers from within the UCLA student body and beyond are invited to join us for a series of free two-hour dance workshops with leading choreographers and dance-makers, enabling students to create stronger connections within the dance world and explore ideas and techniques together. Curated by WACD professor Kyle Abraham, workshops will take place on the first Saturday of every month from March to June. Capacity for each workshop is limited to 35 participants; preregistration is strongly encouraged. Register here.
Read the latest stories about UCLA Arts students, faculty, and alumni:
From campus news to faculty and alumni activities around the globe the UCLA Arts website is updated daily to aggregate the best news and stories about and written by the School of the Arts and Architecture community. Arts and Architecture community.
Read past editions of the UCLA Arts Newsletter
Stay engaged. Use #UCLAarts to stay connected.
