Students in the West Virginia University School of Art & Design are encouraged to engage the world as a fertile ground for art making and critical research through the School’s Global Positioning Studies program. For seven years, students have learned about art and art history through regional travel in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, to sites across the U.S. including Jackson Hole, New York City, Hawaii and Maine, to global study in France, Chile, China and other locales. This year, a preservation studies program in San Gemini, Italy was added to the list of GPS programs. 

The San Gemini Preservation Studies GPS is a four-week series of courses, field projects and place-based experiences run through the San Gemini Preservation Studies International Institute for Restoration and Preservation Studies.

From mainstage plays to large music ensemble concerts and art exhibitions to visiting artist lectures and student recitals, the West Virginia University College of Creative Arts’ 800-plus students and 100 faculty members present hundreds of events throughout the year. From September through April, the College will host The Curiosity Series, 25 events that are a chance for fans of one genre of music to listen to another or to attend a lecture on an arts topic that holds interest for them.

“We know that people are curious about the arts, but we also know that the arts can be intimidating so people typically stick to what they know,” said Keith Jackson, interim dean. “People know what to expect at a rock show – they may not know what to expect at a wind symphony concert or a visiting artist lecture, so they shy away from attending. We want our community members to have an open mind and try something they have been curious about.” 

One West Virginia University professor will research whether the inclusion of known visual arts therapy approaches in the art curriculum can help foster higher self-efficacy among middle school students.

Terese Giobbia, Ph.D., coordinator and assistant professor of Art Education in WVU’s School of Art and Design, has been awarded the Mary McMullan Grant from the National Art Education Foundation for the 2018-2019 calendar year. The highly competitive grant is available for research projects that promote art education as an integral part of curriculum and improve the instruction of art in public and private schools.

When the State of Minds campaign wrapped up on Dec. 31, 2017, more than $1 billion had been raised thanks to the incredibly giving and dedicated West Virginia University family.

The College of Creative Arts raised approximately $23 million during the 10-year campaign which created more than 50 new scholarships, built and opened the Art Museum of WVU, launched four new programs and many new majors in the college and started an extensive study abroad program in the School of Art & Design.

The 2018 West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival is an international, competitive film festival that screens compelling and innovative works in narrative film, documentary, experimental video and animation.

The festival takes place this year on Saturday, April 14 in the WVU Creative Arts Center. From 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., the festival will screen upwards of 50 independent films and videos from across the country and around the world, including works from such diverse countries as Germany, Japan, Turkey, Poland, Iran, Russia, Bulgaria, Italy, Brazil, Slovenia, Canada, Switzerland and the UK. In addition to showcasing new and exciting works in the genres of Documentary, Short Narrative, Animation and Experimental Video, this year’s festival includes a special screening of works that explore the topical theme of “Borders.” Student works from aspiring filmmakers at the college level and young filmmakers under 18 will also be screened. Awards will be presented in each of the festival’s competitive categories. 

The festival schedule is:

This month’s Lunchtime Looks at the Art Museum of WVU will be presented by Shoji Satake, associate professor in the School of Art and Design and the coordinator of the Ceramics program. He will discuss the newly opened ceramics exhibition “Flowing Beyond Heaven and Earth:  Chinese Master Ceramists,” currently on view in the upper gallery. 

This program begins at 12 p.m. Wednesday, March 28. Art enthusiasts are encouraged to bring their lunch to the museum and converse with other participants. At 12:20 p.m., the group will move to the upper gallery for the in-depth look at the new ceramics exhibitions. Audience members will have a chance to ask questions and comment on the works of art