Newsletter

Annual Kickball Tournament

6th Annual Undergraduate Art History Symposium

The Department of Art History and The Art History Association held their 6th annual Undergraduate Art History Symposium in April. The virtual symposium included presentations by more than 150 student-scholars, and also featured a keynote address by Corine Wegener, director of the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative.

Since its inception in 2018, the symposium has grown into a multi-day virtual event, and the largest of its kind in the world. The Department of Art History looks forward to even more success with its next symposium, slated for April 2024.

See the full list of participants and learn more about the event on the Undergraduate Art History Symposium website.

2023-24 Mainstage Season

The Department of Theatre Arts presented six staged performances throughout the fall ’23 and spring ’24 semesters as part of its annual Mainstage Productions season.

This academic year's offerings included "Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls," directed by Assistant Professor Tony Speciale; "Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies," directed by Theatre Arts alum Lester Mayers ’19; "Aaliyah in Underland," directed by Theatre Arts alum Angelina Bell ’23; "Urinetown: The Musical," directed by Associate Professor Catherine Doherty and music directed by adjunct lecturer Brittany Proia; William Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure," directed by Lecturer Isabel Smith-Bernstein; and "New Pages," a partnership between the Departments of English and Theatre Arts featuring student playwrights in Visiting Assistant Professor of English Aaron Ricciardi’s Craft of Dramatic Writing class and Smith-Bernstein’s Dramaturgy class.

2023-24 Music Concert Series

The Department of Music hosted a jam-packed year of concerts as part of its yearly Music Concert Series. This year's theme was "Visions and Variations," and shows ran the gamut from visiting artists like Grammy Award-winning jazz artist Laurel Masse of the Manhattan Transfer to mainstay student performances like Chamber Jazz and the Spring Voice Recital.

The series also included 2024 Davenport Resident Hafez Modirzareh's March 6 performance; “Deep Listening,” a film tribute to composer and humanitarian Pauline Oliveros in February; and two performances by the Concert Choir and College-Community Chorale in March and May.

New Paltz Design Week

The Department of Design presented the 8th Annual New Paltz Design Week from April 8 to 12, which included a slew of workshops, networking events, and three keynote addresses.

This year's Design Week keynote lectures were delivered by Bob Usdin, CEO of ShowFab; Hélène Lesterlin and Micah of the Good Work Institute; and Christopher Sleboda and Kathleen Sleboda, graphic designers and publishers of Draw Down Books. Workshop topics ran the gamut from from 3D scanning and printing to custom keychain making, letterpress printing, and rock collecting.

The week also included a "Pizza and Portfolio" chat with a group of Graphic Design alumni, a dialogue with C&G Partners' founding partner Keith Helmetag, and an open house for the MA in Digital Design and Fabrication program. As has become tradition, the week was closed out with a Slide Slam emceed by Associate Professor Aaron Nelson, where students, alumni, faculty, and local designers shared their current work in a rapid presentation format.

BFA/MFA Thesis Exhibitions

Fine & Performing Arts congratulates this year's BFA and MFA grads on their thesis exhibitions, held in four installments (BFA I, BFA II, MFA I and MFA II) at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at the conclusion of the spring 2024 semester.

This year's exhibiting BFA students were Hannah Apuzzo, Harrison Atwater, Beanie Beanish, Matt Benson, Patty Boltman, Julia Carmello, Siton Chen, Mariah Day, Kelly Green, Hope Grunert, Greta Hahn, Ezra Heller, Reed Humphrey, Althea Llewellyn, Jakob Ike Lobel, Alejandro Lopez-Reyes, Isabella Ligotino, LUCIFER!, Harry Lubiner, Lydia McNally, Grace Morrow, Riley Osborne, Adriana Reyes, Isabella Rios, Olivia Rose, Olivia Schmidt, and Bridget Vasquez.

From the MFA program, we congratulate Gokul Bakshi, Kevin Byrd, Marielena Ferrer, Cassie Jain, Maedah Ojaghloo, Paige Van Doren, Laura Dortmans, Alexandra Mancuso, Emily Parker, Joe Pillari, Brianna McQuade, Nick Rosen, Xinhui Zhou, Ankita Sikari Sunuwar, and Massimo Tarridas on their thesis exhibitions.

Bachelor of Science in Visual Arts students present "Metamorphosis"

"Metamorphosis," an exhibition celebrating the work of the emerging artists from the Bachelor of Science in Visual Arts and Bachelors of Arts, was displayed April 22-May 6 in the Fine Arts Building Rotunda, with an opening reception on May 3. The exhibition highlighted an inspiring range of skills, styles and expertise in many different mediums including painting, ceramics, digital design, sculpture, metalwork and woodwork.

Congratulations to Catherine Abel, Charles Beck, Justin Blochwitz, Morrigan Brady, Niamh Doherty, Alexa Dorst, Christine Dougall, Natalie Grieco, Olivia Holt, Sarah Kaye, Wren Kingsley, Jennifer Robayo, Nikki Ross, Rhi Ruxton, Karina Schwarz, Jamie Sherrard, Lorelei Siegel, Abigail Taylor, Julia Torgalski, and Alexia Wagner on a successful exhibition.

Foundation Students Exhibit Work

More than 260 first-year or transfer Foundation Art students exhibited works in Smiley Arts Building from April 29 to May 6. The show was the culmination of the students' coursework in Visual Thinking: Drawing I, Visual Thinking: Drawing II, Design: Color and Design: Form. We congratulate these new students on a great show and wish them luck in their remaining years with F&PA!

2024 Design Show

The Department of Design capped off its first year as its own department with the 2024 Design Show, a celebration of graduating students that featured final projects and portfolios from the MA in Digital Design and Fabrication and the BFA Graphic Design programs.

The Design Show was organized by the Department of Design in the School of Fine & Performing Arts, with support from Campus Auxiliary Services, Inc.

Eddy & SAA's "Tending to Our Community" event

Costume Shop Hosts Clothing Repair Cafe

The Theatre Arts Costume Shop hosted its annual Clothing Repair Cafe on March 6 in the costume shop in Parker Theater.

The Clothing Repair Cafe—spearheaded by Costume Director and Design & Technology Concentration Head Kaitlyn Kociela—is an educational event where attendees learn how to repair their own clothes. Faculty, staff, and students were encouraged to bring items of clothing that were in need of repair.

According to the Sustainable Fashion Forum, repairing damaged clothing—rather than discarding it—not only extends a garment's longevity, but also reduces its environmental footprint.

Eddy Hosts Four Zine Making Workshops

Eddy at New Paltz hosted four zine making workshops during the spring semester. The "Zines for Earth" events—which took place in February, March, and April—invited participants (including "ecopoets, researchers, environmentalists, visual artists, DIYers, gardeners, and anyone who has something to say about our planet") to create zines for its growing Earth Day Library.

The zines created through these workshops were displayed and shared with the community at the College's Earth Day event, held on the Old Main Quad on April 27.

Sensory Friendly Concert

The Music Therapy Program—in partnership with the Department of Teaching and Learning and the Disability Resource Center—presented a sensory-friendly concert on April 21 in Studley Theatre.

The program featured both student and community performers. Ear plugs, sensory aids, and a quiet room were offered in an effort to provide a positive and inclusive musical experience for every audience member and performer.

2024 Davenport Residency for New American Music

The Department of Music welcomed renowned saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh as its 2024 Davenport Resident for New American Music.

Modirzadeh, a Grammy-nominated saxophonist and professor of creative/world music, spent 10 days on the New Paltz campus coaching and performing with an interdisciplinary cross-section of music students and faculty. On March 5, they performed works they created together, and also presented the world premiere of the new composition "Beyond Song," which Modirzadeh and Associate Professor Alex Peh created with the support of a National Endowment for the Arts grant.

Modirzadeh is an NEA Jazz Fellow and Senior Fulbright Scholar. His Grammy-nominated work on saxophones can be heard on Pi Recordings, while his published research can be found in Black Music Research, Leonardo, Critical Studies in Improvisation, and Popular Music Studies.

Saturday Arts Lab Exhibition

Saturday Arts Lab, New Paltz's teaching and learning studio lab for children ages 4-11, hosted its exhibition of student works in the Fine Arts Building on April 13. Works were displayed by the young artists who took part in SAL programs "Shapeshifting: Working with Mixed Media," "Artist Choices: Making Your Mark," "Art Explorations," "Flexible Form," and "Art and the Environment."

Maker Day

Smiley Arts Building was the site of Maker Day on April 13, an event where children ages 4-11 were invited to participate in hands-on art activities with their families and New Paltz faculty and staff.

Visiting Artist Kyungmin Park

The Ceramics program hosted visiting artist Kyungmin Park, a South Korean-born ceramic artist, for a workshop on April 12 in the Fine Arts Building. Park's work explores themes of introspection, diversity, societal expectations, and illuminating human connections across cultures and languages. After two decades in South Korea, she moved to the United States, seeking greater creative opportunities. 

Wood Design Exhibition

The 20th annual Wood Design Student Exhibit took place March 1-7 in the Fine Arts Building Rotunda, with an opening reception held on March 1. The show featured dozens of works intricately created from wood, including functional pieces like lamps and tables.