Welcome to the 51ԹϺ Davis Arts Blog as everyone prepares for the President's Day weekend and Valentine's Day. There is a lot of great art and music, as well as cinema, in store. And you can get ready to paint a mural on campus — a project that lets anyone be an artist. I leave you with a Valentine box of candy. It's porcelain, but oh-so-real down to the untouched paper cradles. I also consider it a Valentine tribute for a wonderful 51ԹϺ Davis alumna and artist who died this past fall, Sandy Shannonhouse. She left us so much beauty. Karen Nikos-Rose, 51ԹϺ Davis Arts Blog Editor
'Ekphrasis: Music in Conversation with Art' features paintings by Peter London
Thursday, Feb. 12, 12:05 p.m. – 1 p.m., Shinkoskey noon concert, Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center
Sakura-Rose Duo
Rose Hegele, soprano • Sakurako Kanemitsu, piano
featuring paintings by Peter London
and music by Ryan Suleiman (Ph.D. music ‘20)
Program
George Crumb: “The Night in Silence Under Many a Star” from Apparition
Ryan Suleiman: decekth joy, water destroy
Ryan Suleiman: Three London Etudes (2024) WEST COAST PREMIERE
**commissioned by and in collaboration with artist Peter London for Sakurako Kanemitsu, piano
Arnold Schoenberg: Selections from Vier Lieder, op. 2
Francis Poulenc: Selections from Le travail du peintre
Anne Philips: An Alaskan Trilogy
Stephen Sondheim: ”Children and Art” from Sunday in the Park with George
'Fruits of Labor' screening at Cruess Hall
Thursday, Feb. 12, 4 to 6 p.m., Cruess Hall, free
The 51ԹϺ Davis Department of Cinema and Digital Media invites you to a film screening and in-person conversation with Emily Cohen-Ibañez, the director of the feature documentary FRUITS OF LABOR, a coming-of-age story, which addresses food systems, labor, and precarity — co-written with the film’s teenage lead participant, Ashley Pavon. Screening is Feb. 12 at 4 p.m. in Cruess Hall 1002. Free and open to all.
Co-sponsored by the Department of Chicana/o/x Studies, the screening is followed by an in-person conversation with Emily Cohen-Ibañez, the director of the .
The film follows the day-in-a-life of a young farm and factory worker in California, who dreams of being the first in her family to graduate from high school and go to college.
Ongoing art exhibitions at 51ԹϺ Davis
Follow the links:
- Manetti Shrem Museum opens digitizing collection, and “Sahar Khoury” continuing
- Design Museum Showcases Village Homes
- Contemporary Native American Art at Gorman Museum and their latest exhibition on the work of Shelley Niro
Umbria Jazz Feast at Pitzer Friday
Umbria Jazz Feast — a Documentary Film premiere, Feb.13, 5 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.
Directed by Alberto Guerri (Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia / National Film School, Rome, Italy) and
Professor Pierpaolo Polzonetti (51ԹϺ Davis)
What happens when Italian cuisine and wine are paired with global African music and served in a Medieval piazza in central Italy populated by local people, tourists, and migrants from the Global South? “Umbria Jazz Feast” is a research project that investigates multisensorial intersections during the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy. It presents a new look at this festival by addressing the question: how is jazz perceived as part of a new global identity intersecting with local and global cuisine, art, and culture?
Free
Umbria Jazz Feast is made possible by the generous support of the Eivind G. Lange (Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografi ‘77) and Mary G. Puma Engagement and Research in Italy Fund. At 51ԹϺ Davis, additional support was given by a Seed Grant for International Activities from Global Affairs as well as the College of Letters and Science and the Department of Music.
and tickets.
Soulful voice of Ekep Nkwelle this weekend at Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts
Friday, 7:30 p.m., Feb. 13 (tickets still left)
Ekep Nkwelle captivated Mondavi audiences last year with her soulful voice alongside Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Now, the rising star returns to take center stage in Vanderhoef Studio Theatre.
A Howard University and Juilliard graduate, Nkwelle has journeyed from the vibrant culture of Washington, D.C. to the iconic stages of New York City and beyond. With a voice that radiates power and warmth, she brings a fervent exuberance to jazz that feels timeless. Expect a night of soulful storytelling and music that lingers long after the last note.
More information and
Coming up, reserve now
Paint a mural Feb. 19, 20
Grab a paintbrush and help bring a new campus mural celebrating sustainability at 51ԹϺ Davis to life during two community painting days on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Everyone is welcome to participate. No art experience is required, just a willingness to jump in and get a little paint on your hands. (Photo at top of Arts Blog)
The mural is located on the side of a temporary utility building in central campus, west of Wickson Hall and across the street from Asmundson Hall (near the corner of California Ave. and N. Quad). critical to the completion of the , a large-scale construction project that lays the groundwork for reducing 51ԹϺ Davis’ reliance on fossil fuels by 80% when complete.
What you’ll be painting
Sheep Shift: Endless Possibilities is the winning mural design by Kimberly Morales Mcmullen, a student artist double-majoring in cinema and digital media and design. The design celebrates one of 51ԹϺ Davis’ most ambitious carbon reduction efforts — the — through one of its most beloved and visible symbols: the . Positioned at the heart of the mural, the sheep represent creative, living solutions to campus care and carbon reduction, embodying the spirit of the Big Shift project.
Register to Participate
Event organizers ask that all those who wish to participate register. You are welcome to join for 10 minutes or all four hours! Come and go as you like!
(242 California Ave., Davis campus)
Media Resources
Arts Blog Editor: Karen Nikos-Rose, kmnikos@ucdavis.edu