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For Jackie No, necessity is the mother of invention and reinvention. Immersed in art from a young age, she clearly saw art school in her cards. But when she joined a local indie band in high school, her career path hit an unexpected note — all thanks to her pinkies.“I taught myself how to play the electric guitar for the band, and after a while realized my technique couldn’t progress because I have these really short pinkies,” she confesses. “Around this time, my high school was piloting an engineering course that… read more about Pinkies, Prototypes and Endless Possibilities »
Growing up with two artists for parents, Mira Xenia Schwerda, assistant professor of Art, Art History & Visual Studies, rebelled by considering a career in diplomacy. Yet, soon, she found herself circling back to art, but with a twist: she became an art historian. Schwerda studies the intersections of photography, new media, modern Middle Eastern art and global print culture. Her research and teaching examine the global impact of photography, from its inception to the present day. In the past, the… read more about From Captions to Culture, Mira Xenia Schwerda Studies How Images Shape History »
Every movie starts with a dream, and since 2020, the Robert E. Pristo Filmmaking Award has been the launchpad for Cinematic Arts students wanting to turn their filmmaking dreams into reality. Made possible by the generosity of anonymous donors, the Pristo Award has supported a wide range of filmmaking expenses: from hiring actors and securing locations to covering equipment rentals, production design and post-production costs. Past awardees have explored a remarkable range of genres, spanning narrative films,… read more about Fueling Bold Visions in Film: The Robert E. Pristo Filmmaking Award »
Duets Season 2 Episode 5 Duke faculty Pedro Lasch and UNC faculty Sherrill Roland’s artistic collaborations ask: How does art reclaim our humanity? After spending ten months in prison for a crime he didn’t commit and for which he was exonerated, Roland returned to his art practice not just to heal, but to challenge. Through a fellowship with Lasch’s Social Practice Lab — which brings together scholars, artists, and activists — Roland created the exhibit “Processing Systems: Numbers,” a reckoning with… read more about Beyond the Frame: Art as Reckoning and Reimagination »
Philadelphia Inquirer Op-EdProfessor Jasmine Cobb wrote an Op-Ed piece, “U.S. universities must think critically about African American archival materials,” for the July 31 edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/african-american-repatriation-museums-harvard-penn-20250611.html read more about Philadelphia Inquirer Op-Ed by Jasmine Cobb »
Edward Triplett is an assistant professor of the practice of Art, Art History & Visual Studies. (Photo courtesy of Triplett) When Edward Triplett first stood among the ruins of a Spanish medieval fortress, he wasn’t just looking at weathered stone. He was looking for a story.And he found one. Using tools such as drone photography and procedural 3D modeling to virtually reconstruct historic fortifications around Spain and Portugal, the assistant professor of the practice of Art, Art… read more about Castles Crumbling: Using the Digital Humanities to Reimagine Medieval Iberia »
New Book: The Fine Art of PersuasionWalter H. Annenberg Distinguished Professor Gennifer Weisenfeld’s latest book, The Fine Art of Persuasion: Corporate Advertising, Design, Nation + Empire in Modern Japan, has been published by Duke Press.From the Duke Press website:Commercial art is more than just mass-produced publicity; it constructs social and political ideologies that impact the public’s everyday life. In The Fine Art of Persuasion, Gennifer Weisenfeld examines the evolution of Japanese… read more about New Book: The Fine Art of Persuasion »
Eight faculty in Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences have been honored with named professorships, effective July 1.These endowed positions recognize leadership and commitment to excellence in scholarship and research. Their recipients are outstanding teachers, mentors and researchers whose contributions are invaluable to the College of Arts & Sciences, as well as their students and colleagues.“Trinity is defined by the strength of its faculty, and we are extraordinarily fortunate to count these… read more about Eight Trinity College of Arts & Sciences Faculty Honored With Named Professorships »
The following is a partial list of national, university, school and departmental awards presented to the members of the Class of 2025. In some awards where there are multiple winners, only members of the Class of 2025 are included. read more about Department Honors and Laurels for the Class of 2025 »
“See yourself in it. Don’t hide,” the artist Pedro Lasch urged a packed audience at the Asheville Art Museum last week. He was discussing Coatlicue & Las Meninas: The Stanford Edition (2007/2025), his ten-foot black mirror merging Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas (1656) and the Mexica deity Coatlicue (1400s), which was on view upstairs.The artwork was commissioned for “What Can Become of Us?,” a year-long collaboration between the Stanford Institute for Advancing Just Societies (IAJS) and Zócalo Public… read more about Pedro Lasch Asks "How Do We See Ourselves in Each Other?" »
Sonia Green is a graduating senior with majors in African & African American Studies and Visual & Media Studies. She has served as a Trinity Ambassador for African & African American Studies. Trinity Ambassadors are student volunteers, nominated by their departments, to serve in this unique and important role.We asked a few of the ambassadors from the Class of 2025 to share their favorite memories from Duke. The below interview has been slightly edited for clarity. What was one of the most impactful… read more about Notes From the Class of 2025: Reevaluating "Traditional" Academia »
Graduating double major in Physics and Visual Media Studies with a concentration in Cinematic Arts, Nik Narain has been announced as this year’s recipient of the Louis Sudler Prize. Nik Narain has been selected for this award for his distinguished record of excellence in performance and creation in writing for stage/screen and comedy performance. read more about Nik Narain Receives the 2025 Louis Sudler Prize »
Alejandra Gonzalez-Acosta is a graduating senior with a major in Psychology and minors in Visual Arts and Computational Biology. She has served as a Trinity Ambassador for Psychology. Trinity Ambassadors are student volunteers, nominated by their departments, to serve in this unique and important role.We asked a few of the ambassadors from the Class of 2025 to share their favorite memories from Duke. The below interview has been slightly edited for clarity. What was one of the most impactful classes you took… read more about Notes From the Class of 2025: Seize Opportunities and Learn About Yourself »
Zócalo Public Square and Stanford’s Institute for Advancing Just Societies’ “What Can Become of Us?” Series Launches in Asheville with Art Exhibition and Panel EventASHEVILLE, NC—Zócalo Public Square, in collaboration with the Stanford Institute for Advancing Just Societies (IAJS), announces the inaugural event in their series “What Can Become of Us?,” which endeavors to envision new perspectives on migration, America’s diverse communities, and how people come together across… read more about Nationally Recognized Scholars Headline Public Program on Migration, Community-Building, and America »
Each year, Duke University awards Benenson Awards in the Arts, which provide funding for arts-centered projects proposed by undergraduates, including graduating seniors. This year, the Student Arts Award Committee awarded prizes to fifteen students for creative projects spanning film, theater, creative writing, music, dance, and visual art. read more about Announcing the 2025 Benenson Award Winners »
Stephanie M. HohliosAssistant Professor of Art History Flagler CollegeThursday, April 174:00-5:30 pmA266, Bay 10, Smith WarehouseLecture Title: Stratified Modernity: Labor and the Regional Environment in Contemporary Japanese Art This talk emerges out of a chapter to be published in the multi-author volume titled Missing Bodies’ Embodied Histories: Extraordinary Lives of Ordinary Women in Postwar Japan. The chapter examines global-facing arts activism as undertaken by women… read more about Hohlios Visiting Lecture & Professional Develoment Workshop »
“Bringing Beauty into Life, Again: How Soviet Workers Discovered Aesthetics after Stalin”Serguei Alex. OushakineProfessor of Anthropology and Slavic Languages and LiteraturesPrinceton UniversityThursday, April 10, 202512:00-1:30 pm, Smith Warehouse, A101, Bay 12As early as October 1953, seven months after Stalin's death, Izvestia, the second major Soviet newspaper, complained about the color deficiency in Soviet homes, streets, and cities: "Our people are rightly concerned that the… read more about Art History Lecture Series: Serguei Alex. Oushakine »
Alejandra Gonzalez-Acosta is one of 29 students to receive the 2025 Forever Duke Student Leadership Award.Presented annually by Duke Alumni Engagement and Development, the award recognizes graduating students within Duke’s undergraduate, graduate and professional schools for their outstanding leadership and dedication to fostering a strong sense of community at Duke.Gonzalez-Acosta, a Psychology major with minors in Visual Arts and Computational Biology, was nominated by faculty and peers for her leadership in the… read more about Psychology Senior Awarded for Outstanding Leadership »
The Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies (AAHVS) at Duke established the Anti-Racism and Social Justice Initiative in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, amidst the recognition on a national scale that institutions were called upon to respond to increasing social and cultural tensions. The initial goal of the initiative was to confront and dismantle systemic racism within academia and the arts at Duke, reflecting the department’s commitment to fostering inclusivity and justice through concrete actions… read more about 2025 Dean's Award: AAHVS Anti-Racism and Social Justice Initiative »
“Summoning Pearl Harbor”Alexander NemerovCarl and Marilynn Thoma Provostial Professor in the Arts and HumanitiesStanford UniversityMonday, March 245:00 PM, A266, Bay 10, Smith WarehouseHow do words make the past appear? In what way does the historian summon bygone events? What is this kind of remembering, and for whom do we recall the dead? In this meditation on the past, art historian Alexander Nemerov delves into what it means to recall a significant event—Pearl Harbor—and how descriptions of images can summon it back to… read more about Art History Lecture Series: Alexander Nemerov »
Showcasing the work of Duke Visual Arts students, the Student Art Exhibition opened on February 4 with a well-attended reception and runs through February 18 in the Student Creative Space in A112, Bay 12, Smith Warehouse. The exhibition features artwork from students taking Visual Arts classes during Fall 24 semester in such media as painting, video, printmaking, photography, sculpture, graphic arts,… read more about Student Art Exhibition »
Map of Reflections, a new limited edition CD in 4-sided Digipack with accompanying Zine and Polaroids by professor Bill Seaman and Monika Bugajny has been released on Elm Records. All music is written, recorded, and mixed by Seaman and Bugajny. Additional synth samples are by Stephen Spera, mastering by James E Armstrong, and photography by James Osland, with additional photography by John Supko and Mateusz Żaboklicki. Seaman is professor of art, art history and visual studies, whose work… read more about "Map of Reflections" CD By Bill Seaman »
Map of Reflections, a new limited edition CD in 4-sided Digipack with accompanying Zine and Polaroids by professor Bill Seaman and Monika Bugajny has been released on Elm Records. All music is written, recorded, and mixed by Seaman and Bugajny. Additional synth samples are by Stephen Spera, mastering by James E Armstrong, and photography by James Osland, with additional photography by John Supko and Mateusz Żaboklicki. Seaman is professor of art, art history and visual studies, whose work… read more about "Map of Reflections" CD By Bill Seaman »
Pedro Lasch: Entre líneas / Between the Lines, the first museum retrospective exhibition of associate professor of the practice Pedro Lasch’s large body of work, was installed at the Laboratorio Arte Alameda / Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL) in Mexico City, and ran fr om November 22, 2023 - May 19, 2024.While renowned for his pedagogical and socially engaged artworks, this exhibition is centered on the presentation of thirteen key series from the 1990s to the present that include painting, drawing,… read more about Retrospective Exhibition: Pedro Lasch: Entre líneas / Between the Lines »
Seven Trinity College of Arts & Sciences faculty members have been awarded funding from the Undergraduate Program Enhancement Fund. Backed by Duke’s Provost’s Office, the fund supports innovative proposals that enhance undergraduate experiential learning.Owen Astrachan, Professor of the Practice of Computer Science, will design a course called AI, Algorithms, and APIs: Great Ideas of Computer Science (Redux). He envisions the course as an alternative introduction to the major, with the goal of making it the one course… read more about Seven Trinity Faculty Awarded Funding to Enhance Undergraduate Programs »
Reflecting back on 2023-2024, we have much to be grateful for and celebrate even while we also were faced with difficult moments. Above all, we said goodbye to our long-time colleague, Prof. Hans Van Miegroet, who died suddenly in February. Hans was the core to our initial digital initiatives in the program and was the leader of the Duke Art and Law Markets Initiative. The latter complemented a course that Hans gave almost every semester on art markets that routinely filled with students from all across the university. His… read more about Year in Review 2023-24 »
Analyst, IT - Digital Humanities SpecialistThis position provides digital humanities teaching and research support as well as technical development and consulting for the Digital Art History & Visual Culture Research Lab (DAHVC) and related labs in Trinity College (ISS Lab; XR Studio lab), a research team and lab housed in Smith Warehouse at Duke University. Emphasis is on methodological workflows, project management, and presentation strategies for existing and newly developing courses and research… read more about Open Position: Digital Humanities Specialist »
As a young Duke art history professor in 1979, Caroline Bruzelius convinced officials at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to let her climb scaffolding during a renovation to get a close look at the architecture.It was, she thought, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She’d return many times over the next seven years until the work was completed in 1986.Decades passed – her work on Paris Cathedral was published in 1987, and she moved on to other projects. Then in 2019, Notre Dame suffered a devastating fire. The cathedral… read more about At Notre Dame Cathedral, a Hidden History Revealed »
Professor of the practice Beverly McIver’s solo exhibition, Beverly McIver: Entangled, opened at the Berry Campbell Gallery in New York on October 17 and ran through November 16, 2024. This is McIver’s first exhibition there since the gallery began representing her last year. Entangled is comprised of eighteen recent paintings created in the artist’s North Carolina studio with subjects ranging from reflective self-portraits that capture her… read more about Beverly McIver: Entangled »