“Listening to your music being performed by others is addictive.”
Juan Marulanda Lopez had a taste of that joy, and now he’s ready for more. As a graduate student in the University of Northern Iowa’s School of Music, Juan compiled a portfolio of original compositions as part of his degree’s culminating experience. The UNI orchestra even performed one of his pieces!
Art professor Samantha Goss and art education senior Ryan Jones completed a mural along the West Des Moines bike paths that both celebrated Iowa’s native plants and provided a valuable experience for Jones to carry into his teaching career.
Growing up in a small town in Alabama, UNI professor and art department head Jeffery Byrd dreamed of a world that would be more accepting of his LGBTQ identity. At UNI, he made that dream a reality, co-founding UNI’s first LGBTQ studies course and acting as a role model for LGBTQ students — while building community and finding love in the process.
Dazzling light shows, interactive video projections and audio feedback loops dotted the College Hill area last weekend with the debut of the first-ever Cedar Valley Illuminate Art and Light Festival. The projection art showcase featured 15 installations from local artists, students and community organizations conceived around a theme of promoting social justice and societal change.
Amidst the darkness of the pandemic, a team of University of Northern Iowa students and faculty are bringing a ray of light.
The first-ever Cedar Valley Illuminate Art and Light Festival will debut in the College Hill area this weekend, a projection art showcase featuring 15 installations from local artists, students and community organizations conceived around a theme of promoting social justice and societal change.
Growing up in Ottumwa, Isaac Campbell never imagined he’d get the opportunity to work on projects for national art galleries abroad, or work alongside a world-renowned French artist at the Louvre in Paris. But at UNI, he gained the skills and made the connections to gain access to once-in-a-lifetime opportunities — and develop lifelong passions.
At just 9 years old, Roshan Subba made the incredible journey from a refugee camp in Nepal to Des Moines. Though Subba has few memories of his time in the camp, one thing he remembers is watching other children practicing calligraphy. Subba dreamed of being able to create intricate art like that someday.
If you walk around the University of Northern Iowa campus with the right kind of eyes, you can see signs of both an arboreal crisis and the beginning of a new chapter of UNI’s biodiversity.
