Winter 2026 Message from Interim Dean Lionel Popkin
There is something clarifying about January. The holidays have passed, a new year has begun, and the winter quarter stretches before us. Perhaps this can be an invitation to pause, however briefly, and consider the path ahead.
We live in a time when it can feel as though forces beyond our control shape everything: the news cycle, the political landscape, the economy, the climate. A year ago tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the onset of the Palisades and Eaton wildfires: unexpected, cataclysmic events that brought devastation to so many in our community. And yet, despite these forces, in the midst and aftermath of so much loss, we witnessed our communities showing up for one another time and time again. Each of those moments was a choice and a reminder that within each of our lives, we hold more agency than we sometimes remember. Every day, we make choices that define who we are and who we are becoming.
What work will we do? What relationships will we nurture? What will we let go of? What will we stand for, and what will we stand up for? How will we treat ourselves and others? How will we spend our time? These are not idle questions. They are responsibilities that require care, thought, and ongoing attention.
The beginning of a new quarter offers a natural moment for this kind of reflection. Not in a prescriptive way (there’s no single right answer to any of these questions), but in a way that invites honest inquiry. Each of us carries our own sense of integrity and purpose. Following it is not always easy, especially when the world feels loud and uncertain. But it is always possible. That agency belongs to us.
Across our school, I see this kind of intentionality in our students, faculty, staff, and alumni every day. The choice to make something that did not exist before. The choice to ask a difficult question. The choice to show up for a colleague, a collaborator, a stranger. The choice to keep working even when the outcome is uncertain or the world feels like it is coming apart. These choices, repeated over time, become a practice: a way of moving through the world that is creative, rigorous, and deeply human.
This is, in many ways, the heart of what I think we do here. We train artists, architects, designers, performers, scholars, and thinkers who understand that the work of creation is also the work of choosing: what to include and what to leave out, what to amplify and what to question, what to make visible and what to transform. These skills extend far beyond the studio or stage. They are ways of engaging with life itself.
So, as we begin this winter quarter, I want to extend an invitation to all of you. Make a choice to engage with something that matters to you. Reach beyond your sphere of comfort. Let yourself be moved, challenged, or simply present with the work your community is creating.
As always, a new quarter brings much to experience across UCLA Arts.
This year, we're celebrating several major milestones: Our Department of Architecture and Urban Design marks its 60th anniversary with lectures by notable alumni, an exhibition exploring the department's archives, a conference on the future of design, and more. Two faculty-led research centers—cityLAB-UCLA and the UCLA Art & Global Health Center—celebrate 20 years of impactful work. And the Hammer Museum celebrates the 70th anniversary of the UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts with Five Centuries of Works on Paper: The Grunwald Center at 70, showcasing nearly 100 works from the collection that began with Fred Grunwald's 1956 gift to UCLA.
There's still time to see excellent exhibitions at the Hammer and Fowler, including the Hammer's Made in L.A. 2025 (through March 1). You can also experience Unmade, Assistant Professor Will Rawls' performance choreographed for Made in L.A. 2025, which moves throughout the museum's gallery and outdoor spaces. Unmade will be performed Saturdays at noon on Jan. 17, Feb. 7, and Feb. 28. At the Fowler, catch Fire Kinship: Southern California Native Ecology and Art (through April 12) and Associate Professor Alex Ungprateeb Flynn's Construction Occupation before it closes this Sunday, Jan. 11.
Of the many incredible offerings at CAP UCLA this winter, I’d like to highlight two performances in March that you won’t want to miss: On Thursday, Mar. 5, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company remount the timeless dance piece Still/Here at Royce Hall, asking timely questions about the human condition while celebrating the spirit of survival. And, on Saturday, Mar. 14, CAP UCLA presents the west coast premiere of Manifestos 6: Ben Patterson, by world-renowned artist Charles Gaines.
I’m also looking forward to upcoming student presentations, including two exhibitions at the New Wight Gallery: the Department of Design Media Arts’ annual undergraduate exhibition and the Art Department’s juried undergraduate exhibition, opening Thursday, Jan. 15, and Thursday, Feb. 12, respectively. The Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance will present WACsmash on Jan. 30–31, its annual showcase of undergraduate dance projects and other creative works.
These are just a few of the amazing programs that offer us all a chance to step away from screens and schedules, to be in a room with other people, to experience something together. In a time when so much pulls us apart, these moments of shared attention are valuable. They remind us that we are part of something larger than ourselves.
Whatever this quarter holds for you, I hope you will find moments to reflect on the choices before you and the agency you carry. I hope you will extend kindness to others and to yourself. And I hope you will remember that the work we do here, in all its forms, is one way of answering those fundamental questions about how we want to live and what we want to contribute.
With best wishes for the quarter ahead and a fantastic 2026.
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