Arts & Design Stories & News

UNI campus

UNI Gallery of Art to present 'Present / Tense: Sculpture, Paintings and Drawings by Tom & Malayka Gormally'

The University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art will present an exhibition titled "Present / Tense: Sculpture, Paintings and Drawings by Tom & Malayka Gormally," which will be open to the public from Monday, August 23 through Saturday, September 25. Please note, the Gallery will be closed Monday, September 6 for Labor Day.

Seattle-based artists Tom and Malayka Gormally will present a public lecture on Thursday, September 23 at 6:00 p.m. in KAB 111. A closing reception will follow.

UNI professor Hannah Porter-Occeña

UNI professor wins international music contest

Winning accolades is nothing new for UNI assistant professor and professional flutist Hannah Porter-Occeña. The accomplished flutist recently won Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation’s 2021 international music competition, which means she will take her mission of musical education around the world.
UNI alum MaKayla McDonald

Rising opera star returns home

UNI alum and classically trained singer MaKayla McDonald never envisioned a place in the industry for a young, Black queer singer. Now the dynamic, up-and-coming soprano - who performs Friday through Sunday as Ida B. Wells in “The Suffragist” at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center - is winning lead roles in opera houses across the country. 

Recent UNI Art graduate awarded space at Hearst Red House Studios

The UNI Alumni Studio at the Red House Studios – a partnership between the Hearst Center for the Arts and the UNI Department of Art – was awarded in July to a recent graduate of UNI’s studio art program.

Andrew Dickerson (BFA Photography, 2019) will be using the space, located on the Hearst property, to further his art practice over the next year. 

Gallagher Bluedorn receives $2 million gift for renovation and expansion

The Pauline R. Barrett Charitable Foundation has invested $2 million in the renovation and expansion of the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. 

“Pauline was known throughout the Cedar Valley for her philanthropy and volunteerism,” said UNI President Mark A. Nook. “During her lifetime, the university was fortunate to have her support for student scholarships as well as various capital projects across campus. UNI and the Cedar Valley are stronger because of Pauline’s transformational support of her community.”

Students participate in a theatre workshop at UNI.

Teaching through theater

A new partnership between UNI’s Department of Theatre and its Classic Upward Bound program is helping prepare low-income and first-generation Waterloo high school students for college, by using the skills gained through acting and improvising.
Orchestra performing

Music composition graduate student honored with orchestra performance

“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!

UNI professor Samantha Goss and student Ryan Jones

UNI professor and student create mural that brightens West Des Moines bike paths

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.
UNI art professor Jeffery Byrd

Art professor creates a more inclusive reality

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.
An art exhibit at the Cedar Valley Illuminate Arts and Light Festival

A night at a projection art festival

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.