Arts and Culture

merced theatres art kamangar center photo

Professor’s Documentary Film about Refugee Family Honored at Vienna International Festival

Songs that Never End,” Professor Yehuda Sharim’s intimate film about a family transitioning from Iran to life in Texas, is a finalist contender in the International Documentary Film Festival Vienna and will stream on the festival’s site for one week starting Thursday.

UC Merced Professor Arias Wins Guggenheim Fellowship

Arturo Arias, a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation professor in the Humanities at UC Merced, has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for his ground-breaking study of contemporary indigenous novels from Guatemala and Mexico.

Arias was one of 173 American and Canadian fellows announced Wednesday by the Board of Trustees of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Grammy-Winning Drummer Antonio Sanchez to Perform Free Concert in Merced

Antonio Sanchez broke new ground for musical storytelling with his award-winning soundtrack for “Birdman.” He’s earned multiple Grammys for his work with guitar master Pat Metheny. Now, Sanchez, one of the most acclaimed drummers and composers in jazz today, is heading to Merced for a one-night performance.

Concert Series Slated for Merced in 2020

A collaboration among the city of Merced, community members and the University of California Merced is bringing a little night music back to the Merced Open Air Theater.

Friday evening concerts will begin at the outdoor half-shell, in Applegate Park, starting in summer 2020.

Chancellor Brostrom Welcomes Maria Echaveste for Conversation on Democracy

At a time of dramatic political division in our society, the role of universities — as places where people can connect with others and explore ideas — is more important than ever, according to Maria Echaveste, the featured guest for a conversation with interim Chancellor Nathan Brostrom.

Brostrom welcomed the former senior White House official before a capacity crowd of campus and community members at the UC Merced Arts & Computational Sciences Building on Nov. 5.

Dawson Wins Harriet Tubman Prize for Book on Aquatic Culture of African Diaspora

As a child, Kevin Dawson traveled from California to visit his grandmother in Harlem, where he recalls playing in Jackie Robinson Park. Dawson, an avid swimmer and surfer, would peer through a fence with his cousins to check out the park’s large swimming pool.

“I remember thinking how fun it’d be to go in the pool. But there was never any water,” he said. “It was a disadvantaged and underfunded community.”

Students Bring Death to Life in Annual Downtown Dia de los Muertos Celebration

Death is a part of life, a loss surrounded typically by mourning and grief. But what if the passing of a loved one were also a transition to be celebrated?

Students Engineer Art from Trash for Annual Yosemite Facelift Event

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, or in this case art.

Each year Global Arts Studies Program Lecturer Richard Gomez brings students to Yosemite to create an art installation from nothing other than trash found in the park. This project is part of the Yosemite Facelift initiative, an annual effort by the Yosemite Climbing Association to preserve the natural beauty of Yosemite National Park.

National Writing Project Kicks Off Under New Leadership

It’s a new school year, which also happens to be a new chapter of the UC Merced Writing Project.

The UC Merced Writing Project is a local affiliation of the National Writing Project, which aims to improve writing skills among students as well as the art of teaching writing among educators.

The National Writing Project’s mission is to enhance student achievement by improving the teaching of writing, and therefore learning, in the nation’s schools.

UC Merced Unveils Second Phase of Merced 2020 Project, Says Thank You to Leland

Two simple words, “Leland Legacy,” captured the significance of Wednesday’s opening event for the second phase of the Merced 2020 Project, an event that doubled as a goodbye and thank you to outgoing Chancellor Dorothy Leland.

The message graced a wall of the new Sustainability Research and Engineering Building in large white block letters, a nod to Leland’s tireless effort and motivation to lead the award-winning expansion project.