IMDA

In a work of art, two eyes gaze out from a rectangular enclosure surrounded by small stones.

Kelley Bell named Baker Artist Awardee, Corrie Francis Parks and Katie Hileman are finalists

/ 3 minutes of reading

On May 30, Kelley Bell, M.F.A. ’06, associate professor of visual arts, was named one of the six 2024 Baker Artist Awardees, receiving the $10,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize. The awardees were selected by an anonymous jury from a field of almost 700 artists from across the greater Baltimore region. Corrie Francis Parks, associate professor of visual arts, and Katie Hileman ’12, theatre, and general associate in the department of theatre, were among the finalists for the prestigious 2024 Baker Artist Award. Established in 2009, the Baker Artist program was created to support artists and promote greater Baltimore as a… Continue Reading Kelley Bell named Baker Artist Awardee, Corrie Francis Parks and Katie Hileman are finalists

UMBC's campus from a bird's eye view, with gold location pegs superimposed the image to indicate research zones

Putting UMBC Research on the Map

/ 13 minutes of reading

Spring on UMBC’s main campus brings a host of familiar sights and sounds: blooms on the magnolia trees, the chatter of red-winged blackbirds calling from the reeds around Library Pond, greening grass on the campus Quad, and black-and-gold-bedecked Grit Guides leading groups of prospective Retrievers around what may soon become a home away from home. The guides cover the usual highlights—Academic Row, the Retriever Activity Center, the AOK Library, eating establishments, and residential halls. UMBC is a place to live, to learn, and to find community. And while some of the functions of campus spaces are obvious, others are often… Continue Reading Putting UMBC Research on the Map

UMBC's campus at night, featuring the Albin O. Kuhn library and reflective pond, with street lamps lighting a path.

Why We Love it Here

/ 12 minutes of reading

What gets you up and out the door each morning? And what makes a job more than a job—or even more than a career? For so many who make UMBC their professional home, the value goes way beyond a paycheck. Case in point: Employees for the 14th consecutive year rated UMBC as one of ModernThink’s Great Colleges to Work For in all 10 categories, including shared governance, mission and pride, job satisfaction and support, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Additionally, the Baltimore Sun has once again named UMBC a 2023 Top Workplace winner based on a confidential employee survey conducted… Continue Reading Why We Love it Here

Illustration by Rebecca Bradley, featuring colorful overlapping hands grabbing for wine glasses and mugs over a green picnic blanket.

Grab a Seat at the Table

/ 13 minutes of reading

These days, it’s tempting to grow numb to the polarization of society and the breakdown in public discourse and to retreat into our silos of solidarity. But a liberal arts education has the potential to offer an antidote to these seemingly inevitable fates—through modeling and practicing empathy. At UMBC, students are invited to the table to share their stories and listen to their peers. These acts of educational hospitality help Retrievers find their why and pursue the public good. It’s the first day of class. You’re looking around, bright-eyed and a little nervous, and then your instructor smiles at the… Continue Reading Grab a Seat at the Table

Safiyah Cheatam, multimedia artist and UMBC IMDA alum

From nurture to apocalypse (and back again) —The Mundane Afrofuturism of multimedia artist Safiyah Cheatam  

/ 5 minutes of reading

Safiyah Cheatam, M.F.A. ’21, intermedia and digital arts, always has her hands in something. In just the past few years, the multidisciplinary conceptual artist has exhibited work at The Peale and VisArts. She co-produced OBSIDIAN, a Rubys Grant-funded Afrofuturist podcast, with alum Adetola Abdulkadir ’17, and served as curatorial research assistant at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture for the special exhibition Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures. This summer, Cheatam is also serving as a juror for the Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship.  Cheatam devotes her days to providing programming for teen artists as the assistant manager… Continue Reading From nurture to apocalypse (and back again) —The Mundane Afrofuturism of multimedia artist Safiyah Cheatam  

A woman with dark hair stands next to a piece of art

Squaring the Circle: The Powerful Art of Hadieh Shafie

/ 3 minutes of reading

The most recent artworks by Hadieh Shafie, M.F.A. ’04, intermedia and digital arts, appear like optical illusions, tricks. Tightly stacked lines of colored pencil suddenly twist and warp into circles. The two-dimensional surface swirls and vibrates, like eddy lines in a river or sound waves blasting from a speaker. Tucked into these dancing lines, Shafie has written the Persian word for passionate love: eshgh. The drawings pull together many themes from Shafie’s work and life experience, of leaving her home country of Iran in 1983 at the age of 12 and never going back. From her childhood there, she recalls… Continue Reading Squaring the Circle: The Powerful Art of Hadieh Shafie

A Civil-War-era jacket (blue) covered with embroidered words

Sparking History at The Peale

/ 4 minutes of reading

SPARK, an annual group exhibition of works by faculty, staff, alumni, and students at UMBC and Towson University returns for its fifth edition August 13-September 25. SPARK: New Light features work from 24 artists, and opens concurrently with the Founder’s Day Grand Reopening of The Peale, a celebration of the completion of extensive renovations to the historic facility. Continue Reading Sparking History at The Peale

Student actors stand on a darkly lit stage

UMBC’s latest graduates in the arts forge new creative paths despite a challenging year

/ 11 minutes of reading

The past pandemic year saw arts communities unable to connect with audiences in traditional ways. Usually reliant on people gathering together to experience their work, creators and performers were thrust online. Some artistic experiences were rendered impossible, but the challenging situation didn’t slow the creative efforts of visual and performing artists of UMBC’s Class of 2021. Continue Reading UMBC’s latest graduates in the arts forge new creative paths despite a challenging year

SPARK IV: A New World?

/ 5 minutes of reading

UMBC artists are once again in the limelight at the annual SPARK pop-up gallery, a joint project with Towson University that can be enjoyed in person through June 26 at Maryland Art Place in downtown Baltimore. Continue Reading SPARK IV: A New World?

Career Q&A: Melissa Penley Cormier, M.F.A. ’17

/ 4 minutes of reading

Every so often, we chat with an alum about what they do and how they got there. By day, Melissa Penley Cormier, M.F.A ’17, intermedia + digital arts (IMDA), helps faculty and students at UMBC create the graphic pieces they need for presenting their research. By night, she’s building an arts practice that draws from nature and scientific processes. Here, Cormier gives us a peek into her life as an artist. Q:  Can you tell us about the type of creative work you are doing these days?  A:  I love exploring different forms and processes of photography while also mixing… Continue Reading Career Q&A: Melissa Penley Cormier, M.F.A. ’17

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