This past October, UCLA Arts honored entrepreneur, arts advocate, public servant, and philanthropist Harold Williams ‘46 with the UCLA Arts Award in recognition of his accomplishments and his contributions to the arts at UCLA. The UCLA Arts Award is the highest honor bestowed by the School of the Arts and Architecture and was presented at the school’s Board of Visitors meeting on Tuesday, October 27.
 
This fall, Anne Marie Burke (M.Arch ’98), sat down with Harold Williams to talk about his life; accomplishments; and his unique contributions to the arts, education, and Los Angeles.

Anne Marie Burke: What brought you to UCLA? You are originally from Philadelphia. Why did you come to UCLA to pursue your undergraduate degree? 

My family came west in the thirties. It was not as much a matter of choice. My father was in the real estate business and went bankrupt in the Depression. My brother, who is twelve years older than me, graduated from one of the best public high schools in Philadelphia, with outstanding grades. He was admitted to the University of Pennsylvania, but was not offered a scholarship, so we couldn't afford it. The only place he received a scholarship was USC. So, we came west.

AMB: How old were you? 

 

 

 

 

 

Over this past year, UCLA Arts has worked in close collaboration with design and technology studio, Use All Five, to radically reconceive the UCLA Arts website. Founded in Venice, CA by Levi Brooks and Jason Farrell immediately after receiving B.A. degrees from the UCLA Department of Design Media Arts in 2006, Use All Five has built a practice developing interactive projects for a broad range of clients  including Morphosis Architects, MOCA, the Guggenheim Museum, Google, YouTube, Spotify, Disney, artist Doug Aitken and many more.
 
Earlier this fall, Anne Marie Burke (M.Arch ’98)  stopped by the Use All Five studios to talk to Levi and Jason about their work, their studio, and how their education at UCLA helped establish their philosophy and approach.
 
Anne Marie Burke:  How did you guys meet? 

Levi Brooks: We met at freshman year orientation before college actually started. We ended up becoming close friends and moved in together as dorm roommates in 2003, during our sophomore year. At that point, we were doing a lot of creative projects together. Then by the senior year, we were comfortable doing what we were doing and said to ourselves, "We don't have to work for another company. We could start our own company and really launch out into the world and see what happens." I think it was a little naïve but we did get a lot of support and mentorship from the department, and especially from Henri Lucas – one of our professors. Henri helped us to really focus ourselves, name ourselves and worked with us in an independent studio course to develop who we were going be and what we should do. And then, literally the day after we graduated UCLA, we started Use All Five. Ten years ago.

AMB: How did you come up with the name Use All Five?

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

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YOU SEE LA

Five things to see and do in and around Los Angeles this winter.

HANDPICKED BY VICTORIA MARKS
Victoria Marks is a professor in the UCLA
Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance
 

THE WOOSTER GROUP: THE ROOM		CONTRA-TIEMPO: AGUA FURIOSA

THE CLOUD GATE THEATRE OF TAIWAN: RICE		KATHARINE RICE: THE CAVE

CATHERINE OPIE: PORTRAITS

 

DON'T MISS: UCLA

A destination for the arts, UCLA Arts provides opportunities for the public to experience the full depth and diversity of UCLA Arts activities and creative programming. Don’t miss your chance to engage with the next generation of cultural leaders. See below for highlights and visit our calendar for the season’s complete listing.
 

DMA LECTURE SERIES: DAVID WEXLER AKA DR. STRANGELOOP		ROZ CHAST: CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING MORE PLEASANT?

OM RHYTHM CIRCLES SOUND BATH		DEPARTMENT OF ART LECTURE: BEN DAVIS

A.UD LECTURE SERIES: GREG LYNN		MOUTHWATERING VALENTINE'S PARTY & PERFORMANCE

 

OPERA UCLA: MOZART'S COSI FAN TUTTE		JOSÉ MONTOYA'S ABUNDANT HARVEST

LEAP BEFORE YOU LOOK: BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE 1933-1957		SOCIETY OF ETHNOMUSICOLOGY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND HAWAII CHAPTER 50TH ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE

 

 

 

Alumni from the Departments of Art and World Arts and Cultures/Dance Received 2015 Choreographers in Mentorship Exchange (CHIME) Grants in Southern California.

Two Department of Design Media Arts Alumni Presented Work in the Inagural Instanbul Light Festival.

Brian MacKay-Lyons (M.Arch ‘82) Awarded Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International Fellowship

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.

Music Alumnus David Balakrishnan (B.A. '76) Nominated for Grammy Award

Irene Messoloras, (M.M. ’06) Appointed Director of Choral Activities and Vocal Studies at the University of La Verne

Three Alumni from the Department of Art Received Joan Mitchell Foundation Grants.

 

  

 

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UCLA Arts will offer the first in a series of new school-wide studio courses to promote innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

AA100: Opening the Radical Self: Practices for Body-Based Art Making is the first in a series of quarterly courses designed for students from across the School of the Arts and Architecture. These courses offer the possibility for students from Architecture & Urban Design, Art, Design Media|Arts, and World Arts and Cultures/Dance to create, think, and percolate ideas together.