Campus Stories - Art & Art History
Stanford launches search for the next vice president for the arts
This month, Stanford launched the search for a new vice president for the arts with the goal of having the new leader in place by the beginning of the 2021-22 academic year. Reporting to the president, the vice president will represent the arts at the highest levels of the administration. They will champion the arts as fundamental…
How VPUE’s ITALIC program pivoted to a virtual immersive arts experience
As the Stanford community adapted to virtual instruction this past academic year, one signature Stanford Introductory Studies program has had to find new ways of not only teaching and learning but also delivering on the promise of community and connection. Led by artist Chris Kallmyer, ITALIC students virtually occupied Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center with sound…
Stanford’s Public Art Committee set to expand contemporary art offerings across campus
The transformation of the arts at Stanford – begun a decade ago with the creation of the arts district – continues on, with transformative art installations in other locations on campus as well. The Public Art Committee, chaired by Matthew Tiews, interim senior associate vice president for the arts and associate vice president for campus engagement,…
Cantor Arts Center launches Asian American Art Initiative bolstered by major Ruth Asawa acquisition, The Michael Donald Brown Collection and other works
The Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University announced today the establishment of the Asian American Art Initiative (AAAI), a significant effort to acquire, preserve, display and research art related to Asian American and Asian diaspora artists and their practices. The initiative is anchored by the museum’s acquisition of 233 ceramic masks that comprise Untitled (LC. 012, Wall of Masks) by Ruth…
2021 Denning virtual visiting artists announced
During the fall quarter, in the face of extended restrictions of on-campus activities due to the pandemic, the Office of the Vice President for the Arts announced an expedited round of grants available to Stanford staff and faculty in any academic department or program to support three virtual visiting artists for the winter and spring…
‘Formed & Fired: Contemporary American Ceramics’ at the Anderson Collection breaks the mold
From ancient pottery and medicinal clay to 3D-printed joints and pajamas that restore athletes’ muscles, the use of ceramics for objects rooted in decoration, ritual and utility is as old as it is expansive. The practices of four living artists whose exploration of the medium provides commentary on its past and insight for the future…
STANFORD ARTS | 2019-2020
In April 2020, Vice President for the Arts Harry Elam delivered his final presentation to the Stanford Faculty Senate before assuming the presidency of Occidental College. He said that the arts had informed his work, his scholarship and life at Stanford and that in his various roles he sought to make the arts “inescapable” for…
Stanford Department of Art and Art History presents Out of the Dark: Works by Xiaoze Xie
Out of the Dark is an online showcase of Xiaoze Xie’s recent paintings from The Library Series, the video Transience, and Forbidden Memories (Scrutiny and Objects of Evidence), a research-based project focusing on the history of banned books in China. Virtually displayed to scale in multiple spaces in the McMurtry Building, Xie’s recent work employs a variety of mediums, including painting, installation, photography,…
Stanford’s makerspaces are adapting to the pandemic
In normal circumstances, the many makerspaces of Stanford University offer tools, resources, supplies, workshops and personal assistance to campus creatives producing art, engineering, textiles and science. But the same personal instruction and shared resources that make Stanford’s makerspaces so practical are, unfortunately, also problematic during the coronavirus pandemic. Aparna Sharma, operations manager at the Robin Li and…
Artists on the Future at Stanford
Stanford Office of the Vice President for the Arts presents the second season of “Artists on the Future: The Komal Shah and Gaurav Garg Artist Conversation Series.” The first conversation features visual artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. The free webinar takes…
To instruct, entertain and persuade: political art at the Cantor
As the 2020 presidential election approaches, artists across the nation – including Deborah Kass, Richard Serra, Stephanie Syjuco, Carrie Mae Weems and others represented in the Cantor Arts Center’s permanent collection – are creating new works to protest, comment on U.S. politics and inspire people to vote. Elizabeth Kathleen Mitchell, the Burton and Deedee McMurtry Curator and…
Visiting Artist Fund in Honor of Roberta Bowman Denning call for proposals: 2020-21 Virtual Visiting Artists
The Office of the Vice President for the Arts invites proposals for the Visiting Artist Fund in Honor of Roberta Bowman Denning, to support virtual visiting artists for the winter, spring, or summer quarters in 2021. All academic departments and programs at Stanford are invited to submit proposals; proposals that include two or more departments…
Cantor Center curator named to National Gallery of Art fellowship
The Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA), an internationally renowned research institution that convenes scholars from around the globe at the National Gallery of Art, announced that Cantor Arts Center Associate Curator of European Art PATRICK CROWLEY will be among its 2020-21 academic year appointments. Crowley, who specializes in classical antiquity, will serve as CASVA’s spring…
Cantor lights celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment
To commemorate this year’s 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, the Cantor Arts Center was washed aglow in purple and gold, the official colors of the suffrage movement, for the night of Aug. 25. The 19th Amendment granted millions of women the right to vote. The special light show harked back to “Forward into Light,”…
Stanford Humanities Center 2020-2021 Fellows
The Humanities Center offers residential fellowships for the academic year to Stanford and non-Stanford scholars at different career stages, giving them the opportunity to pursue their work in a supportive intellectual community.
artsCatalyst Grants 2019-20
This past academic year, the Office of the Vice President for the Arts awarded 33 artsCatalyst Grants to faculty members from across the University. These grants foster arts experiences that enhance classroom experiences for undergraduate students. Activities included field trips to Bay Area cultural organizations, workshops with visiting artists, and attending performances. 2019-20 artsCatalyst Grant Recipients Why is Climate Change…
