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Cassandra Klos grew up in a self-declared “Trekkie household,” where science fiction and outer space weren’t far-off frontiers but constant companions that flickered across her television, threaded through dinner-table conversations and took up permanent residence in her imagination. In elementary school, that fascination found a gravitational pull in Christa McAuliffe. Though Klos was born after the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the legacy of the Concord teacher-astronaut remained deeply embedded in… read more about Framing the Cosmos Through Art and Imagination »
The Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies at Duke University, North Carolina, is seeking qualified candidates for a Studio Arts Instructor position for the Fall 2026/Spring 2027 academic year. The Instructor will teach four courses, two in drawing, and two in painting. They will also have an exhibition scheduled for their work during the Spring semester. Candidates must have graduated from an accredited institution with a terminal degree in a field related to the Studio Arts. Candidates with experience… read more about Open Position: Studio Arts Instructor »
The Department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies is seeking two Post-MFA instructors in Cinematic and Visual Arts for a one-year teaching appointment. Eligible candidates must have graduated from the MFA|EDA program at Duke in 2024, 2025 or 2026, and have their degree in hand at the time they begin teaching at Duke. The total course load for each position is four courses during the 26/27 academic year. Among their assigned courses, the Post-MFA in Cinematic Arts will teach two sections of Moving Image Practice,… read more about Open Position: Post-MFA instructor in Cinematic and Visual Arts »
Duke University has awarded distinguished professorships to 38 faculty and will recognize them in a ceremony at the Washington Duke Inn on May 18.“I am delighted to recognize these faculty members with distinguished professorships,” said President Vincent E. Price. “Their work reflects a deep commitment to excellence in research and education, advancing new ideas and discoveries that benefit society and inspire future generations.”Distinguished professorships honor faculty who are well-established members of the Duke… read more about Seven Trinity Faculty Members Among Duke's New Distinguished Professors »
Beverly McIver, an emerita professor of the practice in Duke’s Department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies, has received The Order of the Long Leaf Pine award.It is the highest award for state service given by the office of the governor. McIver, an acclaimed contemporary artist, was one of a dozen recipients of the award from Gov. Josh Stein Tuesday afternoon.The award is given “to persons for exemplary service to the State of North Carolina and their communities that is above and beyond the call of duty and which has… read more about Professor Beverly McIver Receives Top State Honor »
An exhibition at the Nasher Museum of Art showcases the experimental tapestries of artist and violinist Silvia Heyden, who made Durham her home for decades. The show brings her work back to campus more than 50 years after her first Duke exhibition and features pieces shaped by the music, landscapes and daily life that inspired her practice. Heyden died in 2015 at age 88.After settling in Durham in 1966, Heyden created tapestries reflecting inspiration from landscapes of the American Southeast, particularly the Eno… read more about Duke Students Curate an Exhibition of the Work of Durham Artist Silvia Heyden »
By his sophomore year of high school, Sam Stayn knew he wanted a career with purpose — he just didn’t know what form it would take. During the pandemic, Stayn enrolled in a virtual summer program at the Boston Architectural College. It was meant to be an exploratory, short introduction to design. Instead, it was transformative.“I realized that I needed a career path where creativity, analytical thinking and the act of making things are inseparable,” he says. That path widened his senior year, thanks to an environmental… read more about Designing with the Climate in Mind »
Art History Lecture"Thinking with Occupied Iraq, 1941-1945: On Forms and Freedom"Anneka LenssenAssociate Professor of Global Modern ArtUniversity of California, BerkeleyWednesday • March 18 • 4:30PMSmith Warehouse, Bay 10, Room A266What city will be the next center of advanced art? We’ve heard this question before. But circa 1941, with Paris occupied, the answer was undecided—and in Baghdad, artists, soldiers, and former prisoners of war (who were themselves also artists and soldiers),… read more about Art History Lecture: Lenssen »
A new exhibit at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Ackland Art Museum is something of a homecoming for documentary photographer Bill Bamberger.The UNC alumnus and Duke University professor spent the past two academic years photographing and working with more than 250 students at Durham School of the Arts for the newest iteration of his series "Boys Will Be Men." But, the story behind the project actually starts about 40 years ago. read more about "Bill Bamberger: Boys Will Be Men" Exhibit Is Investigating Manhood Through the Lens of Local High Schoolers »
Andrew Griebeler, Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Professor of Art, Art History & Visual Studies has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 ICMA Annual Book Prize for his book, Botanical Icons: Critical Practices of Illustration in the Premodern Mediterranean (The University of Chicago Press, 2024). read more about 2025 ICMA Annual Book Prize »
Augustus Wendell, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Art, Art History & Visual Studies has been awarded a grant from the Provost’s Office Undergraduate Program Enhancement Fund (UPEF) for his proposal, “The Digital Arts Performance Lab: Integrating Design, Production, and Performance at Duke”. read more about Undergraduate Program Enhancement Fund Grant Award »
Trinity students are encouraged to follow curiosity wherever it may take them. While some academic paths stay rooted in a single department, others emerge at an intersection of disciplines. For the latter journeys, Program II provides a space where undergraduates can design an intentional degree that reflects the full landscape of their curiosity, ambition and engagement beyond the classroom — connecting passions rather than choosing between them.“For students who haven’t quite found the one single major that truly… read more about Charting an Individualized Degree with Program II »
An interdisciplinary team of Duke faculty is among the international recipients of a new grant from the Schmidt Sciences Humanities and Artificial Intelligence Virtual Institute (HAVI), a program designed to bridge the gap between AI technology and humanistic inquiry. Led by Martin Fischer, Research Professor of Chemistry and Physics; Shira Faigenbaum-Golovin, Assistant Professor of Mathematics from Bar-Ilan University (formerly of Duke); and John K. Delaney, from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the project… read more about Duke Researchers Awarded Grant to Reveal Hidden Histories of Artworks Through AI and Imaging »
Duke’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences has invited its faculty to submit proposals for the creation of new research initiatives on campus.Following the successful launches of the SPACE Initiative and the Society-Centered AI Initiative, the Trinity Research Initiative will support new directions for interdisciplinary research through seed funding for nascent research collaborations, community-building, and complementary educational and outreach activities.Open to all areas of research and… read more about Trinity College of Arts & Sciences Invites Proposals for New Research Initiatives »
Gennifer Weisenfeld doesn’t just research — she excavates. "The Fine Art of Persuasion: Corporate Advertising Design, Nation, and Empire in Modern Japan" was released by Duke University Press in February 2025. Her latest book, “The Fine Art of Persuasion: Corporate Advertising Design, Nation, and Empire in Modern Japan,” is the result of a 20-year odyssey sifting through the glossy, persuasive and often underappreciated world of modern Japanese corporate advertising. From the… read more about Gennifer Weisenfeld Explores Corporate Advertising in Modern Japan »
On Friday, November 14, 2025, Richard J. Powell, John Spencer Bassett Distinguished Professor of Art & Art History at Duke University, was inducted into the American Philosophical Society. The American Philosophical Society (APS), the oldest learned society in the United States, was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin for the purpose of “promoting useful knowledge.” The Society is unusual among learned societies because its membership is comprised of top scholars from a wide variety of academic disciplines. The roster… read more about Powell Inducted into American Philosophical Society »
The Music Graduate Student Association, in conjunction with Duke Music and Erich Barganier, presented an evening of world premieres written for the Abele Saxophone Quartet on November 22, 2025. This collaboration included selections from Terry Riley's saxophone quartet, Chanting the Light of Foresight (1987), in addition to three new pieces written for the quartet:Bill Seaman - The Quiet Momentum of Sadness and Silence Chris Williams - Saxophone Quartet No. 2 Erich Barganier - Wound Round The LightThe Abele… read more about Abele Saxophone Quartet performs music by AAHVS professor »
The UNC-Duke Critical Games symposium was held to bring together scholars and artists from UNC and Duke and beyond who engage with the critical study and practice of games, both as a medium of expression and as a cultural phenomenon. The emphasis of this gathering is on art, design, culture, pedagogy, and critique. The development and sustainability of game studies and game design within and across our campuses with leaders from our respective campuses, and beyond was discussed.More information here: https://cmac.duke.edu/… read more about Duke-UNC Critical Games Symposium 2025 »
The Anson African Burial Memorial (AABM) will commemorate the site of the reinterment of thirty-six (36) enslaved Africans/African Americans on George Street in Charleston. It will serve as a memorial for not only those Ancestors but also as a memorial to the thousands of enslaved African/African Americans buried in unmarked graves throughout Charleston. The memorial will recognize their contributions in building and supporting the economy of the City of Charleston.The AABM commissioned the noted sculptor Stephen Hayes to… read more about Anson African Burial Memorial Sculpture Commission »
On North Carolina’s low-lying coast, where trunks of dead trees rise silver and bare from dark waters, a team of storytellers trace how the past continues to shape the future. Through the Bass Connections project, Ghost (Forest) Stories: Unearthing History and Climate Change, they bring together science, history and art to reveal how centuries of human activity have transformed the Albemarle–Pamlico Peninsula, while uncovering what it all means in an era of rising sea levels and intensifying hurricanes… read more about Ghost (Forest) Stories: Uncovering the Past to Understand a Changing Coast »
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… 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?" »