
Featured Faculty

Cláudio Bueno has committed his life to working for social, cognitive and environmental justice
Cláudio Bueno, a new Acting Professor of Art who recently arrived from Brazil, sees the university as a place where can collaborate on a world-changing level.

Grant Whipple Explores Ecological Crisis in the Banal Experiences of Everyday Life
It’s been six years since Grant Whipple, with his partner and six-month-old twins “stuffed under each arm,” arrived in Santa Cruz, excited at the prospect of living in a magical place between the redwood mountains and the sea.

James Gordon Williams’s Goal is to Not just Think Out of the Box But to Destroy the Box
For James Gordon Williams, music is a calling, not a choice. It’s a sonic art that can close distances between people in a divisive world.

Patrick Michael Ballard integrates puppetry, writing, collaborative stewardship of objects, and acts of whimsical care
Patrick Michael Ballard, a “fool magician” with a poet’s sensibility, pursued creative endeavors spanning visual arts to performance before landing at UC Santa Cruz this year as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Performance, Play and Design.

Rebecca Wear gravitates toward culturally specific pieces that distill big ideas about identity and politics
A performance director who has directed new plays all around the country, Rebecca Wear is inspired by the new, open-minded pedagogical approaches of her colleagues at UC Santa Cruz.

Joseph Erb is a Leader in Getting the Cherokee Language Included in the Latest Technology.
The son of a Cherokee mother and a white father, Joseph Erb gained an appreciation for his rich indigenous heritage from family, friends and community people.

For Anna Friz Radio Silence is Not an Option
Advised by her teachers when she was a child that she didn’t have what it took to be an artist, Anna Friz took matters into her own hands and decided to do DIY art-related projects that later included street performance, cabaret and drag shows.

Kristen Gillette Intertwines Teaching and Design
Kristen Gillette’s first encounter with UC Santa Cruz happened when she made the trek up from UCLA to UCSC for a one-quarter UC Intercampus Exchange Program. The school and its beautiful surroundings turned out to have an impact that would charter the course of her future career.

Matt Schumaker’s Computing Makes All the Right Music
Connecting the recording of a Formula One racing car together with a Cathy Park Hong poem about a drive in California might not seem to most people like musical components, but for composer and Assistant Professor in Music, Matt Schumaker, these are the epitome of musical sounds…more

The Rainforest Became Pamela Rodriguez-Montero’s Most Influential Teacher
Citing nature as her inspiration, Acting Assistant Professor of Costume Design, Department of Performance, Play & Design, Pamela Rodriguez-Montero, grew up near the lushness of the rainforest in Barva de Heredia, a small town in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, where most…more

TONY Award Winning Costume Designer, Clint Ramos, Joins UC Santa Cruz’s Art Division Faculty
Growing up in Cebu, the Philippines surrounded by a close-knit extended family, Clint Ramos has fond memories of his childhood there.

Jorgge Menna Barreto, Assistant Professor, Art, Environmental Art and Social Practice Questions Art’s Role in the Environmental Debate
Jorgge Menna Barreto had always dreamed of having a farm as a classroom.

Printmaker and Photographer Sarah Sanford Looks to Nature and Science for Inspiration
“In this time of unprecedented challenges, I find it’s ok to let go of normal expectations,” advises Sarah Sanford, one of the Art Division’s newest faculty members.

New Arts Faculty Bring Wide-Ranging Expertise and Diverse Perspectives to the Division
The UC Santa Cruz Arts Division is pleased to announce five new faculty hires who will begin teaching throughout the current 2020-2021 academic year. These professors bring with them a wide range of expertise in their respective fields and the Arts Division is thrilled to welcome them.

Film Installation and Photo Exhibition by Professor Isaac Julien Opens at McEvoy Arts
West coast debut of ‘Lessons of the Hour’ offers immersive portrait of visionary writer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass

New Film by Jennifer Taylor Portrays Vermont Town as Microcosm of Divided America
For the Love of Rutland, a new documentary by UCSC associate professor of film and digital media Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, is an exploration of the multiple problems now faced by rural America—most notably the opioid epidemic, income inequality, racism, and xenophobia…more

Yve Chavez Learns from Her Own Native American History What to Teach Others
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California as a member of the Tongva tribe, Yve Chavez grew up on the land of her ancestors and has successfully merged her love of art and art history with her profound knowledge of her native culture.

Arts Professor to Participate in Television Academy Foundation’s 2018 Faculty Seminar Program
UC Santa Cruz associate professor of film and digital media L.S. Kim has been selected to participate in the Television Academy Foundation’s 2018 Faculty Seminar Program.

Marianne Weems Joins Theater Arts Department at UC Santa Cruz
Founder and Artistic Director of The Builders Association, Professor Weems will bring an affiliation with her renowned experimental theater company to the campus.

Associate Professor of Film and Digital Media John Jota Leaños Receives California Documentary Project Grant
UC Santa Cruz associate professor of film and digital media John Jota Leaños is the recipient of a 2017 California Documentary Project grant from California Humanities.