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Author: Michael Chesnick

Macias charms Cheech, others with art and teaching

Posted on by Michael Chesnick

Alejandro Macias felt a mix of nerves and pride as he introduced his work to actor and Chicano art collector Cheech Marin at a recent exhibition opening. Then Marin smiled and told him something unexpected: He’d dreamed about one of Macias’ paintings the night before.

“I’ll go ahead and take that as a good sign that I’m doing something correctly,” the University of Arizona associate professor said with a laugh.

Macias has been honored for doing a lot of things correctly since joining the School of Art faculty in 2019 as a painting and drawing teacher — including an Arizona Higher Education Award and multiple residencies, fellowships, grants and other awards. The New York Times even used his “American Mexican” painting as a supporting image to Pulitzer-winning opinion writer Carlos Lozada’s Oct. 20 essay, “You Caught Me. I’m Speaking Spanish.”

Alejandro Macias, with his three paintings in “Soy de Tejas” at the Cheech Center: (from left): “Man on Fire (III),” “Ascension III” and “Turning Point.”

So far this year, Macias has presented work in six group exhibitions, including “Soy de Tejas: A Statewide Survey of Latinx Art” at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in Riverside, California. It features nearly 40 Chicano and Latinx artists from across Texas and the borderlands like Macias, who was raised near the Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas.

Macias is exhibiting three self-portrait paintings in the show, including the one Marin dreamed about, “Turning Point” — featuring a video loop of Macias’ own navigation across the desert terrain in Mesa, Arizona — along with “Man on Fire (III)” and “Ascension III.”

“I described my work to Cheech as an exploration of identity, assimilation and place,” Macias said, “particularly how the U.S.–Mexico border continues to shape the lives, bodies and narratives of those connected to it.”

Marin rose to fame in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s as part of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong, the television series “Nash Bridges” and the movie “Tin Cup,” filmed in Tubac and Tucson. He established “The Cheech” in 2022 with the Riverside Art Museum as the first North American facility dedicated exclusively to Mexican American and Chicano art — donating his collection of over 700 pieces.

“Meeting Cheech Marin was definitely surreal because I had an opportunity to speak about my work on such a personal level to a cultural icon,” Macias said. “Because he’s such a passionate art collector, he was deeply invested in what the artists had to say.”

Marin did a walk-through with 25 artists in early October, spending several minutes with each.

“Cheech Marin (left) has built a lasting legacy that has supported a lineage of important Chicano artists for decades.”
— Alejandro Macias

“Meeting (Macias and) so many talented artists in ‘Soy de Tejas’ was inspiring,” Marin said. “Each one offered a unique perspective on what it means to be connected to Texas and to identity. I was especially struck by the emotional honesty that runs through all of the works.”

That honesty is what sets Macias’ work apart, according to one of his former students, Vanessa Saavedra, a 2025 MFA graduate and now a School of Art adjunct instructor who took over Macias’ painting and drawing classes this semester while he’s on sabbatical.

“His work is visually pleasing, but the content can be challenging or uncomfortable for the viewer,” Saavedra said. “Alex isn’t afraid of criticism or rejection, and that fearlessness is incredibly inspiring. It’s powerful to see someone so grounded in their beliefs and so committed to expressing them for the greater good.”

Macias draws from his personal and regional histories in the borderlands to explore themes of assimilation and migration. His practice integrates traditional rendering, abstraction and multimedia approaches, using the human figure — often himself — as a central point of his works.

“These remain challenging times, but I do still believe that art has the power to foster dialogue, empathy, and understanding, even if the progress seems to be incremental,” Macias said. “My hope is that the work continues to offer a more nuanced, humanized view of the border experience, countering the harmful rhetoric and narratives that often dominate the mainstream. Having hope is the first step and I have plenty of it.” 

Local exhibition has university ties

He and Saavedra are part of a group exhibition at the Tucson Desert Art Museum, “Cruzando La Línea: Contemporary Art in the Borderlands,” through June 27, 2026, alongside School of Art Professor David Taylor and Professor Emeritus Alfred Quiroz.

Alejandro Macias saw his “American Mexican” painting used as a supporting image in New York Times columnist Carlos Lozada’s Oct. 20 essay, “You Caught Me. I’m Speaking Spanish.”

“We all have a connection to the University of Arizona as either educators or former students, and it feels special to be part of such an esteemed group that has contributed to important local and national conversations about the tensions and complexity of border life,” Macias said. His work in the show stems from his 2024 solo exhibition, “Land of Wolves,” at New York City’s LatchKey Gallery, where he held “a mirror to Border Patrol agents of Mexican descent who have surveilled the borderlands” he said.

Taylor, who is also associate dean of Faculty Affairs for the College of Fine Arts and a 2008 Guggenheim Fellow in photography, has seen Macias’ influence in and out of the classroom.

“Since joining the School of Art, Alex has been an outstanding colleague and teacher,” Taylor said. “His studio practice, which is deeply reflective of both his first-person expertise and research program, complicates and expands upon Latinx representation. Working across painting, drawing and multimedia, his output is innovative while also acknowledging a legible set of influences.”

Saavedra, who grew up in Nogales, Sonora, also received her BFA from the School of Art. She was one of Macias’ first students when he started teaching at Arizona. He also mentored her in Saavedra’s MFA thesis year and hooded her at graduation in May, which Macias called “one of the most significant and important professional moments of my life.”

“Now that both Alex and the university have trusted me to cover his classes during his sabbatical, I can see things from the other side — perhaps how he once saw me — and that makes me even more appreciative of his patience with my process and trajectory,” she said.

Saavedra’s work in the Tucson Desert Art Museum exhibition highlights the complexities of migration and cultural intersection. With her paintings and drawings, she also gives voice to the silenced lives of women across Latin America.

Vanessa Saavedra (center) received support from faculty members Alejandro Macias and Jennifer Saracino at her MFA graduation in May 2025. Saavedra and Macias both started at the School of Art in 2019, with Saavedra as an undergrad in Studio Art.

“It’s incredibly fulfilling to see Vanessa contribute to our art community through her own practice,” Macias said. “Her work is meticulous, profound, and is already making an impact in such a short amount of time. … To see her grow in the span of six years makes you realize how important higher education can be.”

Teaching honor ‘means a lot’

Not only did Macias participate in the University of Arizona’s 2024-25 Research Leadership Institute cohort, but he also was honored in late September for his commitment to teaching and mentorship in receiving the Alberto “Tito” Rios Outstanding Literary/Arts Award at the Arizona Higher Education Awards in Tempe.

“Being recognized by peers and institutions that understand the intersection of art, education and community engagement means a lot to me,” Macias said. “I found the whole (Tempe) ceremony to be incredibly overwhelming and emotional because I shared space with educators who dedicated their lives to sharing knowledge with others.”

Through Nov. 29, he’s sharing another space at Tucson’s Etherton Gallery with School of Art Professor Lawrence Gipe and MFA alum Jim Waid. Macias’ solo show, “In the Cases,” includes a variety of drawings and mixed media works from 2017-2025, mostly figurative and on paper, that explore his ongoing interest on the border as “a physical and psychological construct,” Macias said. He added that presenting with Gipe and Waid “has been inspiring, and both artists bring decades of experience and visual language that have contributed to the Tucson community” and elsewhere.

During his sabbatical, Macias is focused on developing new work for more exhibitions, including projects that further integrate painting with video documentation and installation. He’s part of a group exhibition, “The Armor We Wear,” at 516 Arts in Albuquerque, New Mexico, curated by Olivia Amaya Ortiz, a 2018 School of Art BFA graduate. The show, which also includes 2018 BFA alumna Elizabeth Denneau, runs from Nov. 8 to Jan 31.

“My work will continue to explore themes of culture, migration and belonging,” Macias said, “but in a more intimate approach that respectfully documents the lives of people who contribute to their border communities.”

Alejandro Macias received the Alberto “Tito” Rios Outstanding Literary/Arts Award from the Pete C. Garcia Victoria Foundation at the Arizona Higher Education Awards in Tempe.

Meanwhile, his paintings will stay on display at the Cheech Center through Jan. 11. Macias’ work also was included in the first two iterations of “Soy de Tejas” in San Antonio and Fort Worth, Texas. He has high praise for the exhibition’s curator, Rigoberto Luna, whose exhibition explores migration, indigeneity, race, gender and mythmaking, while also celebrating the joy, resilience and traditions that define Latinx communities.

“Rigoberto has been building bridges across the coasts of the United States to recognize and uplift artists on a national level,” Macias said. “It’s honestly history in the making.”

Since 2019, Macias has presented his work in at least 65 selected exhibitions across the nation, including six with Luna as a curator. Macias participated in the 2024 Texas Biennial at Sawyer Yards in Houston, the 2024 Border Biennial at the El Paso Museum of Art and the 2023 Arizona Biennial at the Tucson Museum of Art. In 2023, he was the recipient of the Lehmann Emerging Artist award, which included a two-person exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum. He’s held solo shows at Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts in Lubbock, Texas; Presa House Gallery in San Antonio; Tucson Museum of Art; and LatchKey in New York.

Macias’ work is included in the permanent collections of the Newark Museum of Art, Phoenix Art Museum, El Paso Museum of Art, University of Arizona Museum of Art (which acquired his first “Man on Fire” painting), Tucson Museum of Art, Mexic-Arte Museum and the Brownsville (Texas) Museum of Art. He participated in notable residencies at Elizabeth Murray in Troy, New York; Vermont Studio Center; Chateau d’Orquevaux in France, Studios at MASS MoCA, Wassaic (N.Y.) Project, CALA Alliance in Phoenix and Uncool Artist in Brooklyn, New York.

“The accolades Alex’s work has received are a clear indication of its significance,” Taylor said. “It’s been a pleasure to see his art career flourish, and we are enormously fortunate to have his influence and mentorship in our program.” 

When Macias returns to the Arizona campus in spring 2026, he can’t wait “to bring these new experiences and perspectives back to the classroom … and to continue guiding students as they find their own voices and purpose as artists,” he said. And in the summer, he will be a workshop instructor in mixed media portraits at North Carolina’s prestigious Penland School of Craft.

“Teaching remains one of the most rewarding parts of my career,” Macias said. “My students’ energy and curiosity constantly reinvigorate my practice and desire to share everything I can.”

Alum Krafft releases film ‘Ain’t Got Time to Die’

Posted on by Michael Chesnick

Shortly after Martin Krafft received his MFA in Photography, Video & Imaging from the University of Arizona School of Art, he headed to Montana and joined a hiking group through Facebook.

That’s where the filmmaker and social practice artist met Rachel Heysham, a free-spirited, young grandmother who had relocated to Missoula to start a new life out of her RV, only to learn her cancer had returned and doctors told her she had two months to live.

It was the summer of 2020. As the nation began to grapple with COVID-19, the two decided to make a documentary together — “her, in the hopes that she would survive and be an inspiration to people with cancer; me, because I was drawn to her enormous will to live,” Krafft said.

Martin Krafft

He began sleeping on Heysham’s RV couch, driving her to hiking trails, hot springs and doctor’s appointments, and fundraising for her living expenses. Filming took them from Montana to her hometown in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania — where she had survived abuse, addiction, illness and poverty — to Kansas, back to Montana and finally again to Lawrenceville, where Heysham died in November 2022. She was only 47.

Krafft pressed on and finished the documentary, “Ain’t Got Time to Die.” His 67-minute film, edited by Emma Thatcher, won or took finalist honors at several festivals in the U.S. and abroad in 2024. With the festival run mostly done, he “got tired of waiting to be able to share the film with folks” and decided to release it to the public this year through Eventive, an online streaming platform dedicated to making independent films more accessible to audiences. 

“When I was making the film, I was so caught up in being present with Rachel that I did not have much capacity to think about the life of the documentary after it was made,” Krafft said. “I just knew I had to make it. I was very glad to be able to show Rachel about two-thirds of the film. It was hard for her to watch, but she felt seen by it, understood and appreciated for who she was, without having to be anyone else.”

Rachel Heysham

Early in “Ain’t Got Time to Die,” he asks Heysham how she wants to be seen. “As a fighter,” she says. “As a survivor.” The documentary follows the highs and lows of navigating medical care with a terminal illness. (Heysham tells Krafft she was first diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma when she was 32 and had her cervix removed.) Despite debilitating pain, she rallies to go on adventures, such as hiking barefoot up mountains alongside her part-wolf puppy and kayaking.

For Krafft, though, being her medical advocate becomes a challenge, and the film looks candidly at their conflicts over her skepticism of conventional medicine and Heysham’s arguments with her daughter, Alisha. He counters the sadness with moments of levity and joy — showing heartfelt interactions between Heysham and her grandchildren and dogs.

“Now that the film is publicly available, I have to do the hard work of getting it out into the world,” Krafft said. “Everyone who I’ve gotten feedback from — family, friends and strangers — are deeply moved by it. Everyone sees how much Rachel wanted to live and are deeply moved by that.”

Social practice background

Bringing strangers into his filmmaking and art is important to Krafft. Based in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, he works as a stone mason and community and political organizer and runs Red Rock Rabbit Ranch, an artist residency that supports housing insecure artists.

Inspired by his Quaker practice, he uses video, photography, social practice, sculpture and writing to explore boundaries of “otherness” and share people’s voices not often heard in the media, he said. Krafft has worked in a Catholic Worker house serving the unhoused and Death Row inmates, as an inner-city teacher’s aide, as an alternative preschool teacher and as a nonviolence facilitator.

“Because of these experiences, I’ve interacted deeply with many different kinds of people, seen them in difficult situations,” said Krafft, who received his undergraduate degree in creative writing and economics at Emory University in Atlanta. “That’s taught me to be open to people who are different from me, to try to approach our differences with curiosity and compassion. And whenever that effort fails, to have the humility to learn from incongruities.”

Krafft invited the public to trace photographs of people who lost their lives to gun violence in 2017 on the U of A Mall.

While at the University of Arizona, he and fellow MFA graduate Elena Makansi held a 2018 interactive art exhibit, “A Memorial for Past and Potential Gun Victims,” at the Lionel Rombach Gallery. They invited participants to trace photographs of people who lost their lives to gun violence, with the option to hang the tracings on a wall for others to see. Krafft and Makansi held a similar exhibit — “Who Will Be Next?” — on the U of A Mall in 2017 and in Rochester, New York, in 2023.

Krafft and Makansi also created “Traces,” a sculpture memorial for the 2019 Pima County victims of gun violence as part of the 2019 Marcia Grand Centennial Sculpture Award prize. They traced the 204 names and or faces of those who had been lost.

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Krafft hitchhiked across the country, accepting rides from both Trump and liberal supporters and interviewing them. He weaved together their videos for a website titled “Cassandra 2020,” with help from his Quaker community.

MFA program ‘got me up to speed’

Krafft made what he called his first “documentary-ish film” in a video class with School of Art Regents Professor Sama Alshaibi.

“Even though I was the only one making documentary work, Sama has a really good ability to see what you’re trying to make, what its strengths are, and where it needs to go,” he said. “(Now retired Professor) Joseph Labate and (Professor) Martina Shenal in the photo department were also very helpful. Beverly Seckinger, a professor in the School of Theatre, Film and Television, let me sit in on her documentary class.”

Krafft’s 2020 MFA thesis project, “matriarch,” reflected upon the death of his grandmother and how his family went “about mourning and recalibrating our relationships in her absence.” Centered around a three-part experimental documentary of the same name, the installation also featured a photo book with writing, chairs, a corner cupboard holding her purse and a poem — and a wall print made from one of her water-damaged photos.

Martin Kraft’s MFA thesis installation, “matriarch”

“I was coming to the Studio Art MFA degree from a writing background. I still used that writing, narrative perspective in my work, but the MFA got me up to speed on what was happening in the art world, what kind of questions were being asked,” Krafft said. “One of the most important questions for artists to sit with is who is making the work, and how does that identity shape what they are seeing.”

What advice does he have for School of Art students wanting to follow in his footsteps?

“For anyone who wants to make a film, I would say just get started,” Krafft said. “I didn’t have a nice camera when I started shooting ‘Ain’t Got Time to Die.’ And the footage wasn’t that great, and the sound was terrible. But it was enough to put me in the world of the film and realize how committed I was to the project, which prompted me to upgrade my gear and be able to use it better on the fly.”

Krafft also said students should heed a message from his old Emory University photography professor, Jason Francisco: “If you want to be an artist, you do it because you have to do it. No one will understand or validate that choice.”

Future projects

Continuing to take Francisco’s advice, Krafft said he’s working on a documentary, “Grampy’s Red Rock Rabbit Ranch,” about the farmhouse where he’s been living in Pennsylvania with his grandfather.

“I was lucky enough to make this film with my friend, a very talented filmmaker, Laura Asherman, so that made it much easier to create than ‘Ain’t Got time to Die.’ We just got to picture lock and will start applying to film festivals in a couple months,” Krafft said.

“I’m also finishing up a video essay on a socially engaged art project called, “Poetry for Strangers,” in which I recited a Rilke poem 1,000 times to strangers throughout Berlin.”

In the meantime, Krafft hopes more people will watch “Ain’t Got Time to Die” now that it’s on a streaming platform.

“As far as a message that I want the film to convey, it’s difficult to reduce to one,” he said, “but maybe the most important one would be an invitation for viewers to channel Rachel’s curiosity for the unknown.”

That message shines through late in the film, when Heysham’s granddaughter Amanda tells Krafft why she wants to be like her grandma:

“Because she explores.”

‘Ain’t Got Time to Die’ 2024 Awards

  • Nawada International Film Festival. Best Documentary Winner. Nawada, India
  • West Kortright Center Film Festival. Best Picture, Best Documentary Winner. West Kortright Center. East Meredith, New York
  • We Make Movies International Film Festival. Best Picture Finalist. Los Angeles
  • Lake County Film Festival. Best Picture Finalist. Lake Forest, Illinois
  • Southern Maryland Film Festival. Audience Award Winner, Jury Award Finalist. California, Maryland
  • Northeast Pennsylvania Film Festival. Best Documentary Finalist. Waverly, Pennsylvania
Watch the film
Krafft’s website

Etherton show features Art profs, alum

Posted on by Michael Chesnick

University of Arizona School of Art faculty members Lawrence Gipe and Alejandro Macias and MFA alum Jim Waid are presenting their artwork at Tucson’s Etherton Gallery from Sept. 23 to Nov. 29.

The opening reception is scheduled Saturday, Sept. 27, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the gallery, 340 S. Convent Ave. A look at the group exhibition:

Lawrence Gipe

Professor, Painting & Drawing
Exhibition title: “Casbah Noir”

In his words: “My latest suite of paintings are derived from screenshots I take from my computer while researching films. Just after World War II, for about 10 years until 1955, Hollywood became enthralled with setting their movies in exotic French colonial contexts, especially North Africa. Starting around 1946, they began to replay the formula of Casablanca over and over in a sub-genre that I call Casbah Noir. My intention with this series is to investigate Hollywood’s role in creating stereotypes that persist in our country’s current perception of that region.

Lawrence Gipe, “Casbah Noir: Study No. 3 (left) and Study No. 2, 2025

Etherton says: “Lawrence has created a powerful series of paintings that slow the cinematic tempo to reveal the ideological foundations of colonialism embedded in the seductive language of film noir. In these films the Casbah becomes a metaphor for otherness, unknowability, and eroticized danger. Casbah Noir asks how Hollywood’s cinematic myths continue to shape cultural memory and political ideology today.”

Alejandro Macias

Associate Professor, Painting & Drawing
Exhibition title: “In the Cases”

In his words: “My work is mostly figure-based, and I use the figure as a way to respond to my own identity, but also social-political concerns related to the borderlands. In the show, you’ll see a variety of works spanning from like 2018 until 2025. Most of the work will be on paper. I’m interested in paper because of its durability and versatility. I’m interested in like graphite drawing because of its formal qualities, its immediacy, the fact that I can think about like technical aspects of the drawing but also abstract it. … I wanted to point out some of the work because of its color. I’m interested in the serape for its connection to my own Mexican American identity and the way I can also abstract color. And I’m also like interested in paper and in the fact that I can like mount it on panel and I can include a variety of media like found objects and like wood and collage as a way to further abstract the figure, and that it acts as a metaphor as well for my own identity.”

Alejandro Macias, “In the Cases,” Out of Sight (Conceal) II (left) and Self-Portrait (Serape), 2025

Etherton says: “We’re over the moon to be exhibiting “In the Cases.” … Raised along the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, Macias draws from personal and regional histories to explore themes of assimilation, migration and cultural hybridity. His practice integrates traditional rendering, abstraction, and multimedia approaches, often using the human figure as a central point of his practice.”

Jim Waid

MFA ’71, Painting & Art History, University of Arizona
Exhibition title: “In stars”

In his words: “I chose my title because the In starts are like the intermediate stages of the insect as they’re growing, and each one metamorphoses into a different form. And then finally the caterpillar or the butterfly arrives. And I think of that as having a resonance with the way I paint, because things are always transforming and moving into something else, evolving into something else. And until it reaches that final state, we don’t know what it’s going to look like.”

Jim Waid, “Instars” (2017)

Etherton says: “Jim is widely regarded as one of Arizona’s most significant painters. For over five decades, he has created stunning, abstract landscapes that translate the desert into densely layered, color-saturated compositions.”

Artist’s websites

Art students land national skateboarding scholarships

Posted on by Michael Chesnick

For Eden Squires and Corbin Rouette, skateboarding has inspired their artwork and photography. Now, the sport is helping the two University of Arizona School of Art students soar even higher in the classroom.

Both have landed prestigious national scholarships from the College Skateboarding Educational Foundation (CSEF).

Eden Squires

Squires, a second-year MFA candidate in 3D & Extended Media, received the 2025 “Rollin’ From the Heart” Zane Timpson Art Scholarship for $5,000. Rouette, a Studio Art major in Photography, Video and Imaging, earned a 2025 general scholarship from CSEF after receiving a $4,000 Atiba Jefferson Photography & Film Scholarship in 2024. The two were among 32 college skateboarders honored nationally this year.

The awards are based on their portfolios and involvement in the skateboarding community in Arizona, where Squires grew up in Tucson and Rouette in Prescott.

“We skate together and work together on projects,” said Rouette, who encouraged Squires to apply for a CSEF scholarship. “Eden started building skate sculptures after I had built my first one. I’m super-stoked that he’s getting support and recognition because he’s an extremely talented artist.”

For Squires, graduate school “has been an incredible opportunity to expand and challenge both my creative process and approach,” he said. “With funding from opportunities like CSEF and grants from the University of Arizona, I have been able to work on a larger scale.”

Left: Eden Squires’ “Lines of Contact” at “Border as Network” show. Right: Squires’ work at “Surface Tension” exhibition.

Squires’ skateboard-themed work was featured in two recent exhibitions: “Border as Network,” at the Pidgin Palace Arts, through August; and “Surface Tension,” at the School of Art’s Lionel Rombach Gallery, through Oct. 2. His featured piece in “Surface Tension” was a sculpture designed to be skated, incorporating graffiti-inspired art, modern technology and cameras.

Rouette, meanwhile, has started a magazine — Fine Art — that will debut Oct. 25, highlighting the collective community he’s created through college and skateboarding. He discovered his love for art after an injury forced him to stop skateboarding for months.

What started with drawing developed into working with a camera, and now Rouette’s photographs have been featured in Thrasher Magazine and Arizona Highways — and he’s exhibited his work at the Tucson Museum of Art, Praxis Photo Arts Center in Chicago and Hidden Light Gallery in Flagstaff.

Corbin Rouette

“Being involved in skateboarding made me a better skateboarder and photographer because it immersed me in the culture of the lifestyle,” Rouette said. “It’s something that I’m around constantly, documenting the world and culture that shaped me.

“In this culture, you can’t just show up and photograph it like other sports. There’s a relationship between knowing skateboarding and the tricks and photographing them.”

Rouette’s 2024 scholarship honors Atiba Jefferson, whose skateboarding prowess served as an introduction and training space to an acclaimed career in photography and videography.

“This is what sets skateboarding photographers apart from someone who wants to just take photos of skateboarding. … These tricks are all different, like art,” Rouette said. “We all skate differently, but being involved in the culture of skateboarding, you begin to understand that it’s something that runs deeper than just a kid’s toy.”

Corbin Rouette photo of a skateboarder doing an ollie over the rails (2025)

Squires said he’s gone through 40 skateboard decks in the last nine years. And when he’s not skating or studying, the grad student is mentoring other students at U of A’s makerspaces and plans to continue serving the community through creating functional public works that bring people together.

“Eden learns fast and gets excited about everything all at once,” said Joseph Farbrook, an associate professor in 3D & Extended Media. “Eden is discovering ways to make art that is driven by his lifelong passions, so it cannot help but be genuine and authentic. His approaches are new and fresh, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets recognized by magazines such as Hyperallergic, Juxtapoz or Hi-Fructose.”

After graduate school, Squires plans to move to a larger city to pursue a career in large-scale art installations and fabrication, potentially in Europe. He’s both a German and British citizen.

Meanwhile, Rouette hopes to work in skateboarding after graduation “to give back to the community that shaped and gave me everything,” he said. “Skateboarding got me here and has kept me alive.”

“Corbin is one of those rare people who pours passion into everything he does, whether it’s making art, skating or cooking for friends,” said Trent Pechon, a School of Art adjunct instructor. “He has a way of lifting up the people around him and helping them see the beauty in life, even when things are difficult. His generosity, kindness and steady presence make him someone others naturally gravitate toward.

“His art is deeply tied to who he is, and the care he brings to his relationships is the same care that comes through in his work,” Pechon said. “Corbin inspires not only through his talent, but through the way he lives.”

More work by Eden Squires

Digital Thoughts (2024)
Digital Thoughts (2024)
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Man's Best Friend (2025)
Man’s Best Friend (2025)
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Self Portrait (2025)
Self Portrait (2025)
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More work by Corbin Rouette

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Skateboarding's Shape (2024)
Skateboarding’s Shape (2024)
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Website links

New VASE lineup brings ‘world of imagination’

Posted on by Michael Chesnick

Entering its 19th season, the University of Arizona School of Art’s Visiting Artists and Scholars Endowment (VASE) lecture series will feature Yoshua Okón, Ananda Cohen-Aponte, Lauren Bon and Cannupa Hanska Luger in 2025-26.

The free, hour-long VASE presentations will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Center for Creative Photography auditorium, 1030 N. Olive Road.

“VASE creates a space of encounter where artists, architects and scholars meet our students in the fertile ground between disciplines,” Regents Professor Sama Alshaibi said.

Here’s the lineup (go to vase.art.arizona.edu for more bio details):

Heaven, Hell, and Everything in Between: Murals of the Colonial Andes (University of Texas Press, 2016).

Oct. 16, 2025, Yoshua Okón: The Mexico City artist blends video, installation and performance to engage viewers in a dialogue concerning the complexity of contemporary society. He received an MFA from UCLA with a Fulbright scholarship and co-founded SOMA, an artist-run school in Mexico City dedicated to cultural exchange and the teaching of the arts.

Jan. 29, 2026, Ananda Cohen-Aponte: An associate professor of History of Art at Cornell University, she specializes in the visual culture of pre-Hispanic and colonial Latin America. Her talk will explore the trafficking of portraits, talismanic objects, albums and numismatics that put the Andes, the Caribbean and North America into dynamic contact at the twilight of the 18th century. She is author of Heaven, Hell, and Everything in Between: Murals of the Colonial Andes (University of Texas Press, 2016).

Feb. 11, 2026, Lauren Bon: The Los Angeles environmental artist and activist is a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow in Fine Arts. Her practice, Metabolic Studio, explores self-sustaining and self-diversifying systems of exchange that feed emergent properties that regenerate the life web. Her studio’s ongoing civic enterprise, “Bending the River,” is an ambitious plan to redirect and reuse water flowing beneath the concrete channel known as the LA River.

Cannupa Hanska Luger: New Myth. Future Ancestral Technologies.

April 2, 2026, Cannupa Hanska Luger: A contemporary artist indigenous to North America, he aims to reclaim and reframe a more accurate version of 21st century Native American culture and its global relevance. He uses clay, textiles, steel and digital media to distill cultural reflection into an object, installation or action. “Whether working with institutions, communities or with the land itself, my work is inherently social and requires engagement,” Luger says.

“During this season of VASE, voices like Yoshua, Ananda, Lauren and Cannupa will bring with them a world of imagination, experience and urgency,” Alshaibi said. “For our students, these moments aren’t just about listening. They’re about stepping into the creative currents shaping art and culture today.”

Bon’s talk is co-sponsored by the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA). Last year the School of Art also collaborated with CAPLA on Ronald Rael’s talk.

The series is made possible by the School of Art Advisory Board Visiting Artists and Scholars Endowment, the National Endowment for the Arts, the School of Art, the College of Fine Arts Dean’s Fund for Excellence, the Center for Creative Photography and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Tucson.

Five join school’s faculty, staff

Posted on by Michael Chesnick

As the 2025-26 school year begins, the School of Art is welcoming five faculty and staff members to new positions.

Dr. Mont Allen

Position: Assistant Professor of Practice, Art History

Bio: Allen came to the School of Art a year ago as a principal lecturer in Art History before being promoted to a full-time faculty member in July. He teaches courses ranging from ancient Greek and Roman to Renaissance and Baroque art. He is the winner of five teaching awards, including both the Liberal Arts Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award and the Faculty Mentor of the Year Award from Southern Illinois University and the ‘Everyday Hero’ Award from UC Berkeley. With a doctorate in Ancient Art History (UC Berkeley), master’s degrees in the History of Religion (Syracuse University) and Modern European History (UC Berkeley), and a bachelor’s degree in Geography, his interests range widely, from Greco-Roman sculpture and painting, ancient sculptural tools and techniques, and the archaeology of the classical world, to Greek mythology and its visual depictions, early Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist art, and the long history of western art, as well as intellectual history and urban geography.

Quote: “Nothing brings me greater joy than discussing art and sharing ideas with other minds afire in the university classroom.” — Dr. Mont Allen

Okyoung Noh

Position: Assistant Professor of Practice, First Year Experience

Bio: Noh completed her MFA at the University of Michigan, where she served two years as Graduate Student Instructor for the year-long Integrative Project capstone course and was recognized as an Elilse Choy Lee scholar. Noh’s work spans community engagement, performance, video and installation in exploring issues of identity and mis/dislocation related to the experience of Asian women. Her work has been exhibited and/or performed in the U.S. and internationally. She will also be an artist in residence at MASS MoCA.

Quote: ”Informed by her experience in art education, Okyoung invites audiences to participate in and interact with her installations, performances, and discussion-based workshops in order to reflect on questions of immigration, identity, language and value creation.” — Laura Braverman, former Curatorial Assistant of the Museum of Modern Art

Website: oknoh.com

Kaitlyn Jo Smith

Position: Career-track lecturer in Photography, Video and Imaging (PVI)

Bio: The interdisciplinary artist received her MFA in Photography, Video and Imaging from the U of A School of Art and taught courses as an adjunct instructor the last few years. Inspired by a rural upbringing, Smith’s practice explores the intersections between work and worship by considering the implications of automation on labor and religion in relation to America’s working class. Through both traditional photographic means and the implementation of automated technologies and machine learning, her work challenges the authority of algorithms while fostering a dialogue around future applications of artificial intelligence. Smith’s work has been shown nationally and internationally. She is the 2023 recipient of the Alice C. Cole ’42 Fellowship in Studio Art, was longlisted for the 2021 Lumen Prize in Art and Technology (London) and received the College Art Association’s Services to Artists Committee Award for her video Lights Out.

Quote: “Kaitlyn has been a great asset to our extensive image/photography program. She has the ability to uniquely link established artistic techniques with cutting-edge technologies for relevant purposes.” — Sama Alshaibi, Regents Professor

Website: kaitlynjosmith.com

Megan McNulty

Position: Undergraduate Academic Advisor

Bio: McNulty advises majors and minors and prospective students in Studio Art, Art History and Art & Visual Culture Education. From 2022-24, she was a full-time Degree Auditor for various graduate programs (including the School of Art) across the University of Arizona. Originally from Mesa, Arizona, she graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science in May 2022 from the U of A, with a concentration in Law and Public Policy and a minor in Criminology. She received a certificate in Risk Management and Insurance from Rio Salado College in April 2025.

Quote: “I find advising especially rewarding because it allows me to build meaningful relationships with students, meet them where they are, and help them navigate their path towards achieving personal and academic goals.” — Megan McNulty

Ginette Gonzalez

Position: Program Coordinator, Student Services

Bio: Gonzalez supports the school’s advising office, including helping students with internships and independent study. A native Tucsonan, she was the School of Art’s Administrative Associate from 2016 to 2022. She is a first-generation college graduate and earned a BA in Classics in 2012 and an MBA in 2020 from the University of Arizona. She also earned an MA in Classics from Villanova University in 2014.

Quote: “I’m excited to streamline processes in advising to and support the advising office, students and faculty.” — Ginette Gonzalez

• Full School of Art Directory

Alum Michael Cajero, innovative sculptor, dies at 77

Posted on by Michael Chesnick

University of Arizona School of Art alumnus Michael Cajero, a prolific Tucson artist whose striking papier-mâché sculptures represented what he called the human condition, died on May 24. He was 77.

The Process Museum, on Tucson’s far southeast side, houses over 6,000 pieces of Cajero’s art, including ceramics, paintings and drawings. “I’ve dedicated a 5,700 square-foot building solely for his work,” said John Wells, owner of the museum, 8000 S. Kolb Road.

“I never get tired of the creative bombardment that poured from the mind of this artist,” U of A alum Paul Gold (BFA ’83, Studio Art), a Tucson publisher of regional art books, said about Cajero, who died one day before his 78th birthday.

Born in Tucson in 1947 at St. Mary’s Hospital, Cajero learned how to draw looking at comic books and watching a local instructor on television, Charles “Chuck Waggin” Amesbury, whose “Cartoon Corral” show ran on KVOA-TV from the mid-1950s to the early ’60s.

Cajero received his BFA in painting in 1969 from the U of A and earned his master’s in Art History and Sculpture from Kent State University in Ohio. He was the recipient of Visual Arts Fellowships from the Tucson Pima Arts Council in 1994 and 2001 and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1993. In 2003, he was voted the city’s “best artist” by Tucson Weekly readers.

“Cajero’s arte povera materials, tattered and torn, are like no one else’s; and his subjects — injustice, violence, human despair and desperation — make him an artist of searing conscience.” — Tucson Weekly, 2003

(Photo of Cajero courtesy of the artist’s Instagram page)

In his sculptures, Cajero wrapped skeletons of bendable aluminum wire with discarded wrapping paper, corrugated cardboard and other used paper products. He then painted or stained the form, usually in black.

“I like black because the sculptures stand out against the background,” he told Arizona Illustrated in a 2013 interview. “The key is to get a simple image, a quick image that reads really quickly. And black does that.”

Cajero said his creations started with an image and the form, not with words or with an idea. War and despair influenced his art.

“My interest is to shed pathos and feeling through the work about the human condition — and about living in the world,” he said.

In a 2009 Phoenix New Times review, Lila Menconi wrote that Cajero’s figures “communicate so much angst, despair, drive, survival, isolation and heart … name a heavy emotion and Cajero can sculpt it.”

“He uses figures of animals and humans to achieve visceral responses among his viewers,” Menconi wrote. “And he does this extremely well.”

Cajero moved his collection to the Process Museum because he ran out of room in his studio. Inside the building, “it was the first time in my life I’d been able to work with space the way I wanted to work with space,” he said. “I draw in space.”

Some of Michael Cajero’s work (photos courtesy of the Process Museum, John Gold and Cajero’s Instagram page):

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He added: “Each room has a different installation. They deal with different ideas, different themes. And then I have some obscure rooms where the meaning is intentionally obscure so that people can bring their own meaning to the room.”

In fall 2024, Cajero presented a collection of drawings — “Muerte: Mom Series” — at Pima Community College’s West Campus Visual Arts Gallery that delved into themes of life, death and the poignant relationship between mother and child. His mother was hospitalized with dementia the final year of her life. Cajero visited her daily and recorded what he saw in over 100 drawings, Gold said.

“Known for his work in Arte Povera and Process Museum, Cajero infuses these drawings with the raw emotionality and ephemeral quality characteristic of his assemblage sculptures,” the PCC gallery said. “By merging bold lines and fragmented forms, Cajero creates powerful, evocative pieces that reflect his deep connection to Mexican folklore and social commentary, inviting viewers to explore the complexities of human existence and mortality.”

Pima Community College hosted Michael Cajero’s “Muerte: Mom Series,” his last exhibition in fall 2024: “Explore life, death and the bond between mother and child in this powerful series of drawings,” PCC Arts wrote on its Instagram page.

PCC Arts is holding a final exhibition of Cajero’s drawings, “Dying is an integral Part of Life,” through Oct. 1, 2025, in the new health and science building gallery on West Campus.

Cajero was preceded in death by two brothers who also graduated from the University of Arizona: Paul Cajero (’65, Theatre Arts), who enjoyed a 50-year career in television in Los Angeles as a producer, writer and director; and Roy Cajero (’72, English), who was a librarian in Memphis. Roy died in 2014 and Paul in 2017. Michael’s youngest brother, Nick F. Cajero (’79, Architecture), also is a U of A alumnus.

In addition to his own work, Michael Cajero taught art to youths and adults, including at the Tucson Museum of Art.

His time at the School of Art left an impression on classmates such as Dave Castelan (BFA ’69, Studio Art), who went on to become a graphic artist for the Arizona Daily Star.

“Michael was truly one of the great visionaries ever in Tucson,” Castelan said. “His vision was evident even (as a student at the U of A), and he was always moving on to his next creation. At the end of the semester, I found him sitting on the floor going through through his art before he destroyed them, I told him his work was beautiful, but he replied they were just a learning process and he had to move on. Such an amazing will.”

Note: A Celebration of Life for Michael Cajero will be held Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, 6 to 8 p.m., at the Process Museum, 8000/8040 S. Kolb Rd. Hosts are John F. Wells and Mary Theresa Dietz. Potluck – bring a dish – drinks provided. 

Remembering faculty member Judith Golden

Posted on by Michael Chesnick

Editor’s note: As the University of Arizona School of Art moves closer to its 100th anniversary in 2027, we’re profiling former faculty and students.

Judith Greene Golden, a powerful voice in contemporary photography who taught at the School of Art in the 1980s and ’90s, engaged with themes of gender, identity, popular culture and the influence of the media.

Golden, who died on Jan. 27, 2023, at age 88, described herself as an “alchemist.”

“With the magic of photography, I transform reality into the mystical realm of myth, dreams and spirit,” said Golden, one of the early feminists working in self-portraiture, role-playing and media critiques.

When she retired from teaching in 1996, the university’s Center for Creative Photography honored her legacy by establishing the Judith Golden Archive, which houses a comprehensive collection of her photographic prints and archival materials and an online gallery of her work.

Judith Golden in 1992: Students hosting a “Patterns of Influence” symposium at the Center for Creative Photography took the professor and others out to “Downtown Saturday Night,” where Golden tried on various hats in a local antique shop. (Photo by Colleen Mullins)

Jacinda Russell, a 1999 MFA School of Art graduate in photography, learned about bookmaking from Golden and helped transfer the photographer’s slides to the CCP archive from 1997 to 1999.

“Judith’s method of artmaking was hands-on — a mixed media approach — something that is viable and sought-after today when people want to create outside the digital space,” Russell said. “She collaged, hand-painted, assembled and reinvented portraiture.”

Born on November 29, 1934, in Chicago, Golden was raised on the city’s multicultural South Side, an experience that sparked her lifelong interest in global cultures and human complexity. As a child, she took art classes at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she later earned her BFA in 1973 from the School of the Art Institute. In 1975, she completed her MFA at the University of California, Davis, studying under notable artists William Wiley, Manuel Neri, Roy DeForest, Wayne Thiebaud and Robert Arneson — central artists in the California Funk movement who instilled in Golden a sense of play and a need to mix mediums. 

Judith Golden, untitled, 1975, Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: 1979 National Endowment for the Arts Museum Purchase, © Judith Golden 1975

Golden taught at UCLA, where she worked closely with acclaimed artist Robert Heinecken from 1975 to 1979. The Hollywood influence of that time subtly shaped her visual style, blending traditional photographic technique with multimedia elements to offer a satirical commentary on celebrity culture and the constructed nature of identity.

Her “Chameleon Series” included 50 three-dimensional, hand-colored self-portraits, which transformed her from a delicate woman into “tough street guy,” said Arthur Ollman, who organized Golden’s solo retrospective “Myths and Masquerades” at San Diego’s Museum of Photographic Arts in 1986. She did a series of movie posters, where she rephotographed posters from “B” films and replaced the heroine’s heads with her own. Golden also made some artist books, one of which copied pages from an illustrated Kama Sutra and the Hindu book on erotic love by Vatsyayana — incorporating her face in the place of some females.

In 1981, Golden moved to Tucson to join the School of Art faculty. Immersed in the area’s rich Native American cultures, she began to explore spiritual and mythical themes, particularly the use of masks in ceremonial rituals — a motif that would become central in her later work.

“Her photographs during this period reflected a deeper, more symbolic approach, combining personal introspection with her unique take on cultural storytelling,” said Fern Martin, a Los Angeles producer and author who was Golden’s daughter-in-law.

Judith Golden, Juliette Man-Ray, 1979, Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Gift of Fern Martin and David Thomas Golden, © Judith Golden 1979

In 1990, Golden was awarded an Honorary PhD from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, recognizing her contributions to both photography and arts education.

Golden’s photographs have been exhibited internationally and are part of prestigious museum collections, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. Her work is featured in seminal texts such as “The History of Women Photographers” by “The History of Women Photographers” by Naomi Rosenblum and “Seizing the Light: A History of Photography” by Robert Hirsch.

“I was never one of her students, but Judith taught me a subject close to her heart … bookmaking,” said Russell, a retired associate professor of art who taught at Ball State University. “I learned many methods of binding, something I would take with me in both my MFA thesis exhibition and eventually the classroom in the years that followed. I would grow to love this medium and consider it is an essential part of my art practice.”

One of Russell’s jobs at the CCP involved scanning Golden’s slide collection — including the photographer’s “Ode to Hollywood,” “People Magazine,” “Julia’s Braid” and “Chameleon” series — and the task helped make Golden’s work memorable for years afterward.

Judith Golden, Carrot Top, 1988, Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Gift of Terry Etherton, © Judith Golden 1988

“It was the ‘Portraits of Women’ series that struck me though,” Russell said. “Judith photographed women in photography who were known at the time but would make an indelible mark in the future, including Barbara Kasten, Judy Dater and Susan Rankaitis.”

Throughout her life, Golden received numerous grants and honors, including support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Polaroid Corp.

As an educator, Golden was “fiercely committed” to mentoring young artists, Martin said.

“Her decades of teaching at UCLA and the U of A left an indelible mark on generations of students, many of whom cite her as a foundational influence in their creative lives,” Martin said. “Her teaching combined technical excellence with a deep philosophical engagement with art as a form of social and personal inquiry. She insisted on a rich blend of technical expression and meaning in all finished pieces, no matter beginner or grad student.”

Martin said Golden was a “deeply loving and caring mother” who struggled as a single parent to balance her artistic and academic pursuits while trying to be a grounding presence to her family.

Judith Golden with former assistant Sue Van Horne, left, in Albuquerque. (Selfie by Sue Van Horne)

Golden is survived by her son, David, and daughter, Lucy, and grandchildren Julia, Joseph, Jonathan Joshua and Camille, and a wide community of friends, colleagues and former students.

“Judith leaves behind a body of work that speaks with clarity, courage and compassion — a legacy that will continue to inspire and challenge the way we see the world,” Martin said. “She was a fearless advocate for the truth and power of art and or constant reinvention of her art and herself.”

Fern Martin, Colleen Mullins, Arthur Ollman and the Center for Creative Photography contributed to this story.

CCP’s Brito receives museum award, ’40 Under 40′ honor

Posted on by Michael Chesnick

By Charlie Snyder / Arizona Arts

School of Art alumna Denisse Brito, learning and engagement manager at the Center for Creative Photography, received the 2025–2026 Museum Impact Award – a national honor from the American Alliance of Museums – for her community outreach, audience engagement and mentoring.

In addition, Brito was named to the 2025 class of “40 Under 40” honorees — an inspiring group of Tucson-area young professionals who exemplify leadership, service and a deep commitment to community — by the Southern Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Brito (BFA ’14, Art & Visual Education) was one of eight individuals and four institutions recognized this year for the Museum Impact Award.

“I was surprised and thrilled,” said Brito. “It’s very rewarding to see the field recognize CCP’s community outreach work. To me, it signifies that building bridges with the community and offering access it’s important to the field. That is what makes my work purposeful and impactful; and I’m glad it’s affirmed.”

Denisse Brito headshot
Denisse Brito.

In its announcement, AAM highlights Brito’s work across Southern Arizona:

 “Denisse collaborates with communities to create programs that reflect various perspectives and stories. She prioritizes engaging, educating, and inspiring curiosity, ensuring that museum content is accessible and relatable, encouraging deeper understanding and personal reflection. By incorporating multiple languages into her work, she helps visitors connect more deeply with the art and its context. Denisse advocates for mentorship, having mentored over 20 students in building practical skills for careers in the museum field.”

“Everyone on staff of the CCP is proud of Denisse’s accomplishments as Learning and Engagement Manger, and, as director I am very thankful for her efforts in making CCP programs welcoming for and accessible to folks beyond the campus walls in Tucson and beyond,” said Todd Tubutis, CCP Director.

Arizona Arts asked Brito about her role and accomplishments and why these areas of her work, including multilingual initiatives, community outreach, audience engagement and mentoring, mean so much to her.

Multilingual Initiatives

Developed fully bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibition experiences. Spearheaded the multilingual text for the exhibition The Place Where Clouds Are Formed in collaboration with Tohono O’odham Community College. Partnered with the Office of Native American Advancement and Tribal Engagement and the Chemehuevi Tribe to lead the Indigenous Language Sign Project.

Why it matters: “The multilingual initiatives are not just about translation; they are about invitation. By creating bilingual and trilingual exhibitions, this work acknowledges and validates the linguistic and cultural identities of many audiences. It ensures that Indigenous and Spanish-speaking communities see themselves represented and welcomed at CCP.”

Community Outreach

Built meaningful partnerships with communities across Southern Arizona, including Indigenous and Hispanic populations, co-creating culturally responsive programming.

Why it matters: “Community outreach builds trust. These collaborations demonstrate a shift from extractive models of engagement to mutual learning, which strengthens cultural relevance and belonging.

Audience Engagement

Increased CCP tour participation by 68%, demonstrating significant growth in public interest and accessibility.

Why it matters: “That kind of growth isn’t just about numbers, it’s a reflection of how connection and representation resonate.”

Student Mentorship

Mentored more than 20 University of Arizona students from varied academic and cultural backgrounds. Equipped students with foundational skills in museum education, programming, and community engagement.

Why It Matters: “Mentorship is about investing in the next generation. It opens pathways for those who might not have otherwise seen themselves reflected in these careers, while cultivating leaders who prioritize community and education.”

40 Under 40 Award

For Brito, being named a 40 Under 40 honoree “is more than just recognition — it is an affirmation of impact,” the Southern Arizona Hispanic Chamber said in a news release. “These individuals represent a diverse range of industries, from business and education to public service and the arts, yet share a common thread: their dedication to making Southern Arizona a better place for all.”

The 40 Under 40 Awards Breakfast will be held Aug. 25 at the Tucson Convention Center. The event will feature a keynote address by Olympic Gold Medalist Kerri Strug, a Tucson native and member of the legendary 1996 U.S. women’s gymnastics team, the “Magnificent Seven.” Strug’s vault on an injured ankle secured the first-ever Olympic gold medal for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team.

More on Denisse Brito

In fall 2024, Brito received the College of Fine Arts’ Excellence in Service Award for community engagement. 

She also serves as co-principal investigator on two photovoice-based research projects supported by the University of Arizona’s Office of Research, Innovation & Impact (RII) and HSI Initiatives.

The first project, “The Arts, Health, and Binational Resilience,” was supported by the HSI Faculty Seed Grant Program. Students created visual narratives that explored immigration journeys through the U.S.–Mexico borderlands to generate dialogue around health and resilience.

The second project is “Building Health Resilience: Reflections on Care, Consciousness, and Community.” This exhibition at CCP was developed through an international collaboration with Universidad Sonora and Instituto Interamericano de Educación Superior para la Salud. It uses socially engaged art practices to spark conversations about health issues in Southern Arizona communities.

Serafim makes history as Udall Center Fellow

Posted on by Michael Chesnick

Assistant Professor Marcos Serafim has been named a 2025-26 Udall Center Fellow — the first faculty member from the University of Arizona School of Art to receive the prestigious scholarly honor since the program began in 1990.

The fellowship will help Serafim expand his fine arts research project, “SEMIPERMEABLE,” through new installations, performances and funding opportunities. His project blends digital art, data visualization and documentary strategies to address the HIV/AIDS crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Assistant Professor Marcos Serafim

In its 36th year, the Udall Center Fellows Program supports University of Arizona faculty pursuing public policy-related research by giving them time and resources to focus on their work. The 2025-26 cohort includes five U of A faculty members representing six schools and departments.

“The Udall Fellowship is an important program that explores the intersection between various disciplines (including fine arts) and public policy,” School of Art Director Colin Blakely said. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase the broad impact the arts can have, and Marcos’s work is a perfect example of the relevance of studio practice to cultural and societal concerns. He’s a deserving recipient of the fellowship.”

A Brazilian artist and documentarist, Serafim works with audiovisual media across theatrical exhibition and installation. He’s part of the School of Art’s Photography, Video and Imaging program, which ranks No. 3 in the nation among graduate schools according to U.S. News & World Report.

Serafim’s project, “SEMIPERMEABLE: Data, The Ongoing HIV/AIDS Crisis and the U.S.-Mexico Border,” focuses on how issues like healthcare access, race and class intersect, especially for queer-mestiza/o individuals living with HIV. Using interactive digital tools, he and his team create real-time visual and sound experiences that explore the idea of “semi-permeable” barriers — physical, social, and informational — that shape life in border communities.

Frame grab from Marcos Serafim’s “Membrana Semipermeable.”

“My main goals are to make a sensible set of entangled membranes … as the (HIV) virus can penetrate the geographic borders and the digital membranes that structure our lives,” Serafim told Arizona Arts.

Serafim said his artistic methodology challenges traditional scientific paradigms, proposing that “human relationship to data is generally and intensely determined by aesthetics, sensoriality and emotional connection.”

His project has already produced multiple artworks and performances, including last summer in Brazil.

“I’m trying to understand how we deal with technology and data in regard to ethnicity, queerness, and health,” he told Arizona Arts. “A piece of data that is scientific and that shows us part of a reality and of how we organize socially can be easily distorted and misunderstood.”

Serafim has exhibited work at the 5th and 6th Ghetto Biennale in Haiti; the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Brazil; the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC), the Queens Museum, and Flux Factory in New York. His work has been screened in film festivals in multiple countries. He holds a BA in Film and Video from Parana State University in Brazil, an MA in Studio Art from Eastern Illinois University and an MFA in Studio Art from Michigan State University.

The 2025-26 Udall Fellow cohort

(Above, from left)

  • Stacey Tecot, Professor, School of Anthropology, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences; Director, Laboratory for the Evolutionary Endocrinology of Primates 
  • Carolyn Barnett, Assistant Professor, School of Government and Public Policy & School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies
  • Maria Porter, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Economy and Moral Science, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • Marcos Serafim, Assistant Professor, School of Art, College of Fine Arts 
  • Adriana Zuniga-Teran, Associate Professor, School of Geography, Development and Environment
Tailgate Party

Tailgate Party

Roger Masterson
I fell down some stairs

I fell down some stairs

Lyle Emmerson Jr.
What Do You See?

What Do You See?

Utvista Galiante
Floral Arrangement

Floral Arrangement

Janessa Southerland
Half Off Special

Half Off Special

Wilbur Dallas Fremont