The West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival is back in 2024 with a four-day extravaganza from April 18-21. Hosted by the Digital Art and Animation area in the WVU School of Art and Design, this year's edition showcases 130 professionally crafted videos and animations from both regional and global creators. 

Alongside film screenings, attendees can participate in workshops, engage in an insightful panel discussion, and join artist Q&A sessions. Adding to the excitement there will be three live audio-visual performances. Spread across three venues in Morgantown - the Morgantown Art Party, the Canady Creative Arts Center, and the WVU Mountainlair - the festival promises an unforgettable weekend of experimental and multimedia art, film and creativity. All festival events are free and open to the public.

The festival commences on Thursday April 18 at 6 p.m. at Morgantown Art Party on Walnut St. featuring a selection of multimedia art works by current WVU students specializing in video and animation. Works will be on display throughout the evening.

The festivals’ competitive film and video screenings begin on Friday evening at the WVU Canady Creative Arts Center. Kicking things off at 8:00 p.m. is an eclectic showcase of 16 spectacular works from both regional and international artists working in multiple genres. The event opens with a recent animation by New York based artists Dean Winkler and John Sanborn called In C, Too, an animation created using generative images and AI algorithms combined with video of dancers shot on green screen and whose natural, human motion drives this mesmerizing animation. Another highlight from this opening set is the hilarious short film I Wet My Plants by Pittsburgh filmmaker Caroline Collins, as well as the equally funny character animation called Deer Heaven by Washington D.C. based animator David Malone about a family deer hunting expedition gone awry.

West Virginia University’s School of Art and Design will hold its semi-annual pottery sale on Wednesday, April 17 from 9 a.m. to 6p.m. in the Canady Creative Arts Center lobby. 

The event is an opportunity to own unique items, all handmade by students and faculty of the Ceramics program. In previous years, the sale was on Friday and Saturday, but this year it is mid-week.  

West Virginia University School of Art and Design students explored the art of New York City over spring break. Professor Nichole van Beek led the graduate seminar to the Big Apple, where the group visited famous museums and spoke with accomplished artists.   

“It was exciting for me because I lived in NYC for 17 years and worked as an artist and art professor there, and this was my first chance to bring WVU students there and share places I love and have been inspired by for so long,” van Beek said.  

The West Virginia University College of Creative Arts has named 24 students as Canady Scholars. To be considered for the award, students must have a high grade-point average, faculty references and be fluent in two languages.

The Canady Scholarship is awarded thanks to the Valerie Canady Charitable Trust Foundation. The scholarships are named for Valerie Canady, a Morgantown native and WVU summa cum laude graduate, who was among the 270 people who died in the terrorist bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in Dec. 1988. Canady, who worked for H.J. Heinz Co. in their London office, was an accomplished linguist and artist in different media of expression, especially in piano.

Danielle Krysa will present the Deem Distinguished Lecture in the West Virginia University School of Art and Design on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at the Canady Creative Arts Center.

Krysa is the writer behind the contemporary art site, The Jealous Curator, and has curated art shows all over North America. Danielle is also an artist herself, and her narrative mixed media work is held in private collections worldwide. She is the author of several art books, including “Creative Block”, “Your Inner Critic Is A Big Jerk”, “A Big Important Art Book - Now with Women”, and two children’s books; “How To Spot An Artist” and “Art and Joy.” 

Q: Can you tell me about your connection to WVU? Did you go to school here, what years, what activities were you involved in?

A: As a WV native, I have always felt a connection to WVU.  I started taking clarinet lessons in Morgantown when I was 15. During high school, I attended Mountaineer Music camp two summers and had been a member of various All-State conferences that were held in Morgantown. Even after those positive experiences I thought I would attend a smaller school.  But in the Spring of 1998 the Pride of WV sent a Keynotes CD to every high school in the state after receiving the Sudler Trophy, and I was hooked. I graduated from the College of Creative Arts in 2002 with a degree in Music Education. While at WVU I was a member of various instrumental ensembles including the Pride of WV, where I served as a drum major for three seasons.  I also was a member of Mountain Honorary. 

After thirty years of service to West Virginia University College of Creative Arts, Associate Dean John Hendricks III will retire on June 30.

“John Hendricks is a true son of the state who is a model of character and integrity,” said Keith Jackson, Philip J. Faini/Falbo Family Dean. “I have known John since my interview at WVU in 1995. He is a dear friend and I am fortunate to be one of the many who look to him for guidance, perspective and timely humor.”

Phil Faini, a staple at the West Virginia University College of Creative Arts for more than 40 years, passed away Wednesday (June 7) at the age of 91. 

Faini, a native of Masontown, Pennsylvania, started his musical journey at age 16. He excelled as a drummer and played regularly with dance bands in the region. His work was featured on radio shows and he was recruited to become part of the 4th Army Band in San Antonio, Texas, where he played official ceremonies including a visit from President Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

The schools in the West Virginia University College of Creative Arts have selected their 2023 Outstanding Seniors.

Each school selects their top senior based on merit. From the group, administrators award the College of Creative Arts Outstanding Senior honor at the college’s commencement ceremony.

The College of Creative Arts Mentored Research Awards demonstrate the exceptional mentored research work being conducted in the arts at West Virginia University. Research in the arts can take many forms: exhibitions, performances, publications, scholarly research and more. 

“These awards highlight the high-level of creative research that our students are engaging in across the disciplines in the College of Creative Arts,” said Associate Dean of Artistic and Scholarly Achievement Mikylah Myers. “Undergraduate dance choreographers created an entirely new work for public performance; a graduate student brought together traditional Ghanian drumming with jazz drumset concepts; and an undergraduate art therapy student explored ways that art can be used in mental health diagnoses.