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"Misconceptions" is the story of a woman who dares to search for answers "wherever they take her." It is a dramatic inquiry into the performance of fact and fiction; an exploration of how verbatim theater, performance art, and magical realism illuminate reality. This is Rich's third time performing with Blessed Unrest, along with "Lying" (2014) and "The Snow Queen" (2017). Rich is now an associate member of the company. Photos by Maria Baranova Photography
Daniel Geiszler, Charlotte Offin, and Montana Siddle have each won a Student Addy for the American Advertising Awards, Seattle, 2022. Geiszler and Offin won in the category: Elements of Advertising, Animation or Special Effects. Siddle won in the category: Sales & Marketing, Sales Promotion.
Explore the music that shaped the 20th century. Jazz is an iconic, originally American artform. Jazz 202 is offered online asynchronous in Summer 2023 at Western Washington University.
The best part of working with ceramics at Western Washington University, according to studio art majors and ceramics club members Gabe Rubanowitz and Kasey Maniulit, isn’t its expansive nature or even the act of creating. Rather, it’s getting to work with Ryan Kelly, the club’s academic advisor. Read more of this story by Kumiko Juker of The Front.
This online course executes a survey of Hip-Hop through the study of the major works of Hip-Hop Music's most influential artists. The course will cover the history, culture and influence of the art form; from the beginning as a Black inner-city youth movement of the early 1970's to a major popular culture center in the early 21st century.
Register by May 27 at 5 p.m. to audition for Noel Coward's "Hay Fever," directed by Evan Mueller. Auditions are open to all Western students.
Video auditions for “The Snow Queen” due May 8. Submit your audition now!
The B_Gallery is seeking exhibition proposals for Fall 2023. Applications are due May 20. For complete application instructions and to submit, visit the B_Gallery website.
Lainie Pennington’s choreographed work “All the Old Familiar Places” was selected for the prestigious Gala concert at the American College Dance Association (“ACDA”) Festival in Salt Lake City. Lainie's piece was also one of the only undergraduate student pieces chosen for the concert, which otherwise featured graduate students, faculty and guest artists.
In his exhibition Interstitial Volume, Seattle-based artist Henry Jackson-Spieker presents a series of installations that uniquely integrate themselves into the studio’s architecture.
Michelle Bates, author of Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativity joins us for an exclusive interview where we ask her about her experience with Holga, writing her book, personal and professional photography and for advice to photography students.
Join us on February 1 for an information session about our summer 2023 global study class in NYC.
Guest Artist Toni Pasion will be choreographing for this spring's "Dance in Concert." Come to the auditions on Tuesday, January 31 at 6 p.m. at the Commissary Studios at Western.
The Western Gallery on the campus of Western Washington University presents “Arbitrary Borders: Works by artists of color in Washington’s State Art Collection” from January 5 through March 17, 2023.
Whatcom Museum’s exhibition “Katazome Today: Migrations of a Japanese Art” presents contemporary visions of a unique and historically significant Japanese textile-dyeing process. The exhibition is co-curated by Seiko A. Purdue, Professor in Fibers/Fabrics and Western alum Amy Chaloupka, Curator of Art at the Whatcom Museum.
Register by Friday, January 6 at 10 p.m. to audition for Lauren Gunderson's "The Book of Will" directed by Evan Mueller. Auditions are open to all current Western students.
When an injury took WWU Women's Basketball player Dani Iwami off the courts, her student journey took an interesting turn. Along the way she connected with Jennifer Anable and Ryan Kelly of WWU Art & Art History and discovered a passion she didn't know she had.
On Thursday, December 1 at 5 p.m. the Western Gallery presents "Resistance & Resiliency: Accounts from Japanese American Incarceration Camps of WWII." This event welcomes two representatives of Nikkei Northwest, Fumio Otsu and Gail Kuromiya, to speak about the Japanese Incarceration Camps of World War II.
Associate Art Professor Lisa Turner's work "Plastic Bodies" is on display until January 30, 2023 at 345 Boren Ave N. in Seattle as part of Shunpike's Storefront Program.
The WWU spring 2022 opera production of Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Carlisle Floyd’s Slow Dusk was awarded Second Place in Division II of the National Opera Association’s Opera Production Competition. This is the principal opera competition for university and conservatory programs across the United States.
Savannah LeCornu, WWU alumna, ’14, brings multiple talents to Western and the surrounding community. She works on Theatre productions at WWU and Mt Baker Theatre, and her main focus of creating diverse art that is special to her indigenous relatives and that anyone can afford to enjoy.
We are currently looking for guest DJs, designers, artists, musicians and sound designers to become part of our all volunteer army of sonic liberation.
Bellingham's Circa Pottery hosts the work of Art & Art History's Ryan Kelly for the Friday, November 4 ArtWalk. Find the alley entrance between Commercial and Cornwall.
WWU Dance is partnering with Kuntz and Company to present "Documenting Grace: a Film Series," beginning Sunday, November 13. The series of six films was selected to portray dance in its power to give voice to people through movement.
BFA Studio Art alum Debbi Kenote's works appear in five upcoming or current exhibitions in Toronto, Beijing, Oakland, Connecticut, and Seattle. Image: Debbi Kenote, Anemone, 2022, Acrylic on dyed canvas over shaped stretcher bar, 25 x 25 in. (63.5 x 63.5 cm)
"Being vulnerable and showing up as my true self and having others recognize that and accept me fully for who I am makes me feel liberated."
At 14 feet tall and 63 feet wide, "Root to Rise" is the biggest painting Christen Mattix has ever created, although she did knit a rope of yarn from Bellingham's South Hill to Bellingham Bay — a feat that took more than three years.
A brief guide to help ensure you and your fellow audience members have the best experience possible.
Sign up by November 11 to audition for "Street Scene" - an American Opera by Kurt Weill and Langston Hughes - jointly staged by Music, Theatre, and Dance.
Sign up by 10 p.m. on October 21 to audition for "what the Gods gave me," written by WWU alum Eryn Elyse McVay.
Western Washington University’s Department of Design is proud to announce that 2022 graduates, Isabel Barni, Jacqueline Karis, Sybil Roberts, Joshua Shinoda, Charlie Sperry, Mavis Yao, and current seniors, Charlotte Offin and Daniel Geiszler, have won awards for their projects.
Music ensemble auditions are OPEN - September 19 and 20. Get in touch with us to learn more!
"We spent the last year working on our website, our logo, gathering musicians, dreaming up our first season, finding a new home."
Macklemore is rocking center stage but we’re all eyes for alum and 2021-2022 WWU Hip-Hop faculty Cieon White dancing in the newly released video.
Color perception is both nature and nurture. Take blue: In psychological terms, our response to blue evokes tranquility, serenity, and safety. Nowadays these associations are used purposefully by many financial institutions in their logos. And yet, there’s “feeling blue.”
With a major in theatre arts and minors in music, arts enterprise and cultural innovation, and honors interdisciplinary studies, Aidyn is a performance artist who has held leading roles on stage and behind the scenes. Her performance in “Henry V” earned an Irene Ryan Nomination from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.
Carly Cloward has been an incredible leader in Theatre as she participated in both departmental productions as well as student clubs and community performances, performing and writing works for Plays4Us, regularly volunteering to direct scenes outside of her own course work, and staying active in STP and Dead Parrots Society rehearsals and shows.
Congratulations to our Outstanding Graduates from the College of Fine and Performing Arts, including: Emma Rose DeSantis, Outstanding Graduate of Dance, who worked with contemporary dance theatre Whyteberg based in LA for her Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Dance Capstone performance.
In four short years, Alex made incredible improvements as a musical performer; Jordan brought an infectious sense of enthusiasm and eagerness to learn to the classroom, to performance ensembles, and to the offices of his professors.
Playwrights Leonard and Losansky were intentional about bringing their own experiences to light in a play that focused on the queer community without having the plot be mired in trauma — and that included bringing the stories of real people into the mix.
Richard Hodges, DMA, joins the faculty of the Music Department in the Fall of 2022 as the new Director of Voice Studies.
Ryan Dudenbostel, Western's Director of Orchestral Studies, will host a series of virtual pre-concert talks for the prestigious annual Bellingham Festival of Music's 2022 season.
Paul Bain will join the music faculty at Western Washington University this fall as a visiting Assistant Professor of Music and the Interim Director of Bands.
WWU Student Comp code for opening night is STUDENT22 - Tickets in advance at bellinghamtheatreworks.org, or purchase at the door with ID.
Learn the basics of audio recording, mixing, and editing, the underlying principles of MIDI, the ins and outs of analog and digital synthesis, as well as the fascinating history of electronic music creators, performers, engineers, instruments, devices, and more!
You don't need a ten-gallon hat to register - you don't need a belt buckle the size of a license plate.
Western students will have the opportunity to present their own art for social justice pieces during the informal performances at the culmination of the residency with NYC dance artist Briana Reed.
All students won in the category: Elements of Advertising, Animation or Special Effects.
We are honored to present Gabrielle Kazuko Nomura Gainor (’10) the College of Fine and Performing Arts Distinguished Alumni Award for 2022!
Director of Dance Susan Haines has been selected by the Dance Studies Association to present at the their annual conference in Vancouver, B.C. in October of 2022.
The Western Washington University Department of Design announces Design Days 2022! With events already in full swing, there's plenty to take in.
Thanks to Monica Gutchow, Mrs. Carole Hoerauf, the Office of the Dean of the College of Fine and Performing Arts, and the Western Washington University Foundation for supporting the work of our Dance students.
Hear about Rashawn’s journey from WWU, to Chicago, to LA working professionally on stage and screen (including South Side on HBO Max).
WWU Dance is bringing in internationally known artist Briana Reed to set a new piece on our students. We hope you will be able to participate in this residency.
Do you dream about running your own gallery creating groundbreaking art programming to encourage and support artists in your community?
The Department of Theatre and Dance will be holding auditions for William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" on May 13 and 14. Professor of Theatre Mark Kuntz will direct the production. Performances are set for Fall Quarter 2022.
“I had weekly meetings with Aric [Mayer] and Lucas [Senger]. They helped me develop the idea behind HodWall way back before I graduated college when The Blue Room wasn't a thing yet.”
The Arts Enterprise and Cultural Innovation minor is intended to enhance the College of Fine and Performing Arts ("CFPA") majors, whose career paths place them working successfully as an artist or working successfully in an arts-oriented institution.
Taught by Dana Ollestad, this three-week intensive covers the principles of manual motion picture filmmaking against the backdrop of understanding the contemporary socio-political and capital fascination with nostalgia, resulting in a deeper awareness of where these images come from, how they are made, and the way they are used to shape and market in contemporary society.
Western Washington University's College of Fine and Performing Arts ("CFPA") Dean's Office is currently offering scholarships for the academic year 2023-24. These scholarships are open to returning majors in Art, Art History, Dance, Design, Music, and Theatre Arts.
Visit SAM Gallery throughout the month of March to experience colorful abstract works by Katie Anderson, Cara Jaye, Anna Macrae, and Dana Roberts.
The event will begin with a Zoom presentation on hearing conservation and health led by Ian Cox. After intermission, WWU Director of Dance Susan Haines will lead a workshop on body health.
Jensen was a faculty member at Western Washington University for 30 years. He retired in 1997 and continued his vibrant work.
Presented by Kuntz and Company at the Whatcom Museum Lightcatcher Building, "Dialog(s)" is a movement conversation between two seated individuals. One chair will be empty, waiting for an attendees to sit down and make a gesture.
Director of Dance Susan Haines shares her research on shifting the culture of dance science began with an acknowledgment that our foundational resources come from a very narrow viewpoint.
The series will include one full length play, an evening two of one-act plays, and an evening of ten minute plays. Each play reading will be performed twice during the series. We'll read live on stage Old Main Theater, and we'll be livestreaming the readings.
Jacob Scherr is joining the Music Department as the Visiting Director of Bands beginning Winter Quarter of 2022.
Bellingham TheatreWorks presents the world premiere drama of office politics and intrigue: "Just Once", written and directed by Professor of Directing Mark Kuntz, featuring Associate Professor of Voice/Acting Evan Mueller and Theatre Arts alum Gabi Gilbride.
Jim gives so much. Following his example, now we can give back.
Daniel E. Coslett, PhD, Visiting Assistant Professor of Art and Art History, and two colleagues have recently produced an anthology that collects developing scholarship outlining a new decentred history of global modernism in architecture using postcolonial and other related theoretical frameworks.
Anna Wulfekuhle (Class of '16) and Dylan Gervais (Class of '15) performed in Tennessee Williams' Battle of Angels with NYC-based physical theater ensemble Blessed Unrest in September 2021.
The Western Washington University Department of Music is proud to announce the appointment of Heather Dudenbostel to the position of Assistant Professor of Voice and Dramatic Arts.
White is a Seattle-based dancer with a BFA in English, Art History and Dance from Western Washington University. She has studied styles such as contemporary, ballet, and jazz. Her main love has always been groove and hip-hop.
Pilates, Yoga, and breath work will get you moving mindfully, and the live format of the class keeps you engaged! Connect with alums and the Western community in this all-levels class.
Between the Keyframes is a new podcast/vidcast uniting industry legends Austin Shaw and Erin Sarofsky. The pair take on hot topics in an effortless back and forth as they candidly discuss the crazy world of Motion Design, from their biggest mistakes to their ample frustrations to the unique insights that will tee up the next generation.
Instructors Jennifer Weeks (oboe) and Pat Nelson (bassoon) along with students Martijn Wall (oboe) and Trevor Born (bassoon) will play in the pit of Pacific Northwest Opera's production of Verdi's "La Traviata" at McIntyre Hall at Skagit Valley College October 29 and 31, and November 5 and 7.
Visiting theatre instructor Patrick Midgley’s review of "All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain" was published in the latest edition of Theatre Journal.
The Western Washington University Dance program is partnering with the Pickford Film Center to present two dance documentaries for the Pickford's celebrated film festival, Doctober.
This performance is a collection of original dance pieces choreographed by our advanced choreography students.
Image: View of “Queer California: Untold Stories,” 2019, Oakland Museum of California. From MOTHA’s exhibition series “Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects,” 2015–19. Photo: Palmer Rose.
Camp Mograph brings together industry leaders for fireside chats and professional workshops in a natural setting. This year’s event sold out in 45 seconds.
Do you play a woodwind, brass, or percussion instrument? It’s not too late to become a member of the WWU Symphonic Band! All you need to do is register for Symphonic Band (2 credits) - No audition required!
The Department of Theatre and Dance is holding auditions for "Sonata Escondida" by Manuel Zarate and directed by Ana María Campoy.
Western Washington University’s prestigious Sanford-Hill Piano Series returns to live performances with a trio of concerts starting in January of 2022. The last live performance of the series was in the spring of 2020.
We are honoring the work of Professor Nolan Dennett as he keeps moving and shaking into retirement after 32 years at Western.
Kate Sechrist and Stephanie Le - graduates of Seiko Purdue's Fiber Arts studio - are featured in the Surface Design Association's exhibition in the Charles W. and Norma C. Carroll Gallery at Marshall University in West Virginia.
We want to celebrate the life of recent BFA graduate, Jackson “JZ” Zechnich, by featuring some of his work during his time as a design student.
“I sat down and had a conversation with my mom and I told her I wanted to be a professional actor. So I was preparing to starve, to live off of Top Ramen, and basically just struggle. And she stopped me dead in my tracks in the conversation and she said, ‘Don’t ever ever say that. Cause you’re setting yourself up for failure. If you’re one of those people who are lucky enough to know what they want to do and what they love to do, then you simply just find a way to make it work.’ And that was a really profound moment in my life because I was like, ‘Yeah, she’s right.’”
In fall of 2020, WWU Director of Dance Susan Haines was looking for a way to offer dance students a safe performance opportunity during COVID. She was able to gain access to Ann Morris' Sculpture Woods - an art studio and property that was recently gifted to the College of Fine and Performing Arts. The property is both retreat and collection of Morris' work, featuring numerous mythically-inflected life-size bronze sculptures.
Professor of Theatre Rich Brown has been away from Western Washington University Spring quarter of 2021 on professional leave. As part of his activity, he's performing in Yasmina Reza's award-winning play "Art" at the Oregon Contemporary Theatre, a professional theatre in Eugene, Oregon.
Western Washington University’s Department of Design is proud to announce that Coral Saville and Mercedes Schrenkeisen have each won a Student Silver Addy for the American Advertising Awards, Seattle, 2021.
In 2018, artist Ann Morris and her family made an extraordinary gift to Western Washington University: the 14-acre retreat on Lummi Island known as “Sculpture Woods."
The Department of Music is thrilled to welcome D’Anthoni Wooten to teach MUS 108, Survey of Video Game Music for Spring, 2021. The course is a critical overview of the history, development, and current state of music and audio in video games and interactive media and surrounding issues.
Watch the the animated music video for the single “Left My Mind,” produced and directed by Til and partner Paz Mallea. Follow them on Instagram, and read the critical reception to the EP from Global World Rock and American Pancake.
Winter, 2021, music lecture courses will be offered remote synchronous or asynchronous following the ICS guidelines.
I transferred to Western for the Industrial Design program, but had no goals for my career. I started taking art history classes and loved them so much that I switched majors. I have never once regretted my decision. I owe Professor Jimena Berzal de Dios a debt of gratitude for his guidance and persistence in helping me identify my career interests.
We stand in solidarity with those protesting. Black lives matter.
Theatre Arts Professor Deb Currier uses new techniques in immersive theatre for youth to address social awareness, under-served populations and non-traditional learners
Alum Henry Jackson-Spieker (Art Studio BFA, '13) enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pursue his work at the historic and idyllic Chateau d'Orquevaux in France.
The BFA students in the Department of Design had the exciting opportunity to produce a promotional video for the local non-profit, Make.Shift Art Space - a DIY art and music venue dedicated to innovative, alternative and unusual art and music.
Western Washington University Assistant Professor of Ceramics Ryan W. Kelly is exhibiting work at Method Gallery in Seattle through February 15.
WWU Music alum Andrew Christianson was one of only twenty-four singing actors (ages 20-28) from across the nation selected to compete in the semi-finals of the National Teachers of Singing Musical Theatre Competition in New York City, on Saturday, January 11, 2020.
Our work is impressionistic in nature. It is lovely to watch and is best appreciated if audience members allow the experience to wash over them without trying to 'figure it out'.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but the local Bellingham jewelry shop works to end sexual and domestic violence through their business everyday.
Learn how Paden Koltiska, a theatre major at Western Washington University, uses skills and knowledge from the Arts Enterprise and Cultural Innovation program to prepare himself for a rewarding career in theatre.
Western Washington University’s Rich Brown, associate professor of Theatre Arts, has been selected as the 2015 Washington Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Students welcome and enjoy our latest addition to the sculpture collection at Western Washington University - SPLIT STONE (NORTHWEST by artist Sarah Sze.
Choose among nine different courses - three credits each. Many of our online Music courses fulfill WWU GUR requirements.
Eight current and former Western Washington University Design students won international recognition in competitions sponsored by CMYK Magazine and Adobe.
Time-lapse video of collaborative installation project with visiting artist Christopher Hartshorne and Chris Vargas's Fall 2017 Art 120 class at Western Washington University.
Jensen, now approaching 81, is exhibiting his work at Smith & Vallee in Edison, WA. The exhibition, "Bob's Boats" is on display Aug. 5- 30, 2016
The work exhibited examines the ways in which artists translate what makes something abstract as defined by being pulled from, extracted, or as a summarization of larger concepts.
Katherine Mullen came to WWU in 2014 from Whatcom Community College as an honors student to do a double major in Dance and Sociology. Her international travels and her work in Dharamshala, India with Tibetan refugees have truly set her apart.
New Design faculty member has work featured in the Journal of the American Institute of Graphic Arts
Professors Seiko Purdue and Julia Sapin participated in Art Inquiry Night at Wade King Elementary School. About 120 students took part.
Equus, a saxophone quartet comprising four Western Washington University students, has advanced to the prestigious Music Teachers’ National Association Young Artist Chamber Music competition in Chicago.
Seattle design firm POSSIBLE has given Twitter users spreading hate a hard choice before they retweet a nasty, hateful nugget: don’t retweet – or retweet and send a donation to an anti-hate group.
Berzal's book Visual Experiences in Cinquecento Theatrical Spaces studies the performative aspects of the early modern stage, paying special attention to the overlooked complexities of audience experience.
On Friday, Feb 27, the BFA Design students presented design solutions at Wieden+Kennedy in Portland - one of the largest independently-owned advertising agencies in the world.
'Lunar Drift' is two slow-time kinetic sculptures that will constantly point at the Moon and to the Sun, wherever they are located, whether above or below the horizon, in daylight or night, clear skies or overcast lending a continual presence to the entire path of their movements.
Brett Mitchell followed his love of music around the world and rose to the top. He has become one of the most prominent conductors of our time.
The Northwest Classical Guitar Society presents guitarist Paul Grove in concert. Grove’s program this season features WWU Music Department professor David Feingold’s “Song and Dance for Solo Guitar.”
Anelese Webster was crowned “Portfolio Night All-Star,” and will be joining the Huge design team, supervised by Jon Jackson.
After a Spring Portfolio Review the students interviewed for placement at professional design firms in the Northwest, including Bellingham, Edmonds, Seattle and Portland.
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu recently announced that Kuntz and Company is one of only 163 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Challenge America grant. Kuntz and Company is recommended for a $10,000 grant to support three dance residencies by artists from different cultures.
Sebastian Mendes, born in San Francisco in 1948, died unexpectedly on Thursday, April 26, doing what he loved – bicycling around Lake Whatcom. He was a proud father, devoted husband, and Professor of Art who was a member of the Western Washington University faculty since 2001.
Western's College of Fine and Performing Arts, the Western Gallery, and the Department of Art and Art History will be hosting a celebration of Sebastian’s life in the Western Gallery on Thursday, May 10, 5-7pm. All are welcome to attend.
Liz Gerring, a nationally-recognized choreographer, will set her piece glacier on WWU Dance students in the spring of 2015. The premier of glacier received unfettered praise from the New York Times.
Gallery preparator Paul Brower took the initiative to research and personally retrofit lighting for energy savings and the health of artwork in the Gallery when funds were lacking.
Western Washington University Assistant Professor of Art Chris E. Vargas was awarded a $50,000 prize Creative Capital, a group known for applying principles of venture capital to arts financing.
Successful creative designer Stefan Sagmeister attempts to find the root of human happiness by experimenting with meditation, therapy, and drugs in this graphic design project-turned experimental documentary.
Theatre has been a treasured part of Bryce Hamilton’s life since he was in grade school. Bryce is now fundraising and acting as the Board President for Sylvia Center.
WWU Design Department student and AS Publicity designer Zach Becker won the 2015 Adobe Design Achievement award in “Interactive Experience Media/Digital Publishing” for his work “Isolation” which combines animated typography and images to create a vivid narrative about space exploration.
The WWU Opera’s April 2014 production of Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night's Dream” was awarded First Prize in Division 3 of the 2014 Opera Production Competition sponsored by the National Opera Association (“NOA”).
The WWU Opera’s April 2016 production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s and Lorenzo da Ponte’s “Così fan tutte” was awarded First Prize in Division 2 of the 2016 Opera Production Competition sponsored by the National Opera Association (“NOA”)
Visiting Art Instructor Werner Klotz and 39 Western art students have been invited by the City of Bellingham (COB) to propose six separate masterplans for a major collaborative public artwork, at Whatcom Waterway Park.
Western BFA students talk about the passion that drives them to explore and develop their portfolios as they prepare for careers in the Fine Arts.
Twelve Design majors recently wrapped up their summer internships and returned to campus to resume their BFA design sequence this academic year.
Department of Theatre & Dance playwrighting faculty Kamarie Chapman is set to debut the first full-length original musical produced by Bellingham's iDiOM Theater.
The Western Washington University Department of Art is offering a pair of upper-division architecture courses in Spring of 2015.