Arts and Culture

Zimbabwean Filmmaker, Activist Chosen for Spendlove Prize

October 21, 2024

Spendlove Prize winner Tsitsi Dangarembga

Tsitsi Dangarembga, a renowned Zimbabwean filmmaker, novelist and cultural activist, was selected as the 16th recipient of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance. Tsitsi Dangarembga is best known for her critically acclaimed 1988 debut novel, “...

UpstART Concert Season Promises Eclectic Mix of Music

Every year, UC Merced’s UpstART music series ignites the senses by bringing far-ranging genres to the stages. In 2024-25, take a seat for acts ranging from revolutionary mariachi and hip...

UC Merced Unveils Big Rufus, a Monument to Resilience, Diversity and Hope

UC Merced on Wednesday unveiled a striking monument to a university on the rise. A crowd of students, faculty and staff gathered in the early evening’s long shadows at University Plaza to...

UC Merced arts season silkroad train station trios

UC Merced Arts Opens Season with LitFest, Musical Tribute to Railroads

A celebration of stories and a concert highlighting the history of San Joaquin Valley’s railroads are the opening acts of the 2024-25 UC Merced Arts season . Merced LitFest and Train...

UC Merced Children's Opera "Panic in the Barnyard"

Free Performance Takes Opera Down to the Farm

UC Merced Arts invites everyone to a free performance that serves up whimsy, interactive fun and an inspiring message with a big helping of … operatic singing.  “Panic in the...

Advisor and student of Undergraduate Research Journal

Happy Birthday to Undergrad Journals that Spark Students’ Aspirations

It’s a pair of special birthdays for UC Merced’s two student-run journals for undergraduates. The Vernal Pool , which publishes creative stories, poems and images, turned 10 this...

Student Production of ’26 Pebbles’ Encircles Tragedy with Healing and Hope

It is impossible to avoid — the real-life event that frames the play “26 Pebbles” is disturbing. Heartbreaking. Which makes all the more remarkable the play’s uplifting...

Artist Mine Okubo painting exhibition in Riverside

UC Merced Professor Curates a California Woman’s 7 Decades of Artistic Accomplishment

An exhibit curated by a UC Merced professor reintroduces the seven-decade career of an American artist of Japanese descent who defied systemic racism and created a body of artwork true to her unique...

Yehuda Sharim film "Flora" still image three daughters

Sharim Film 'Flora' to Premiere at Philadelphia Festival

"Flora," the latest film by Yehuda Sharim, will have its world premiere later this spring at a festival in Philadelphia, according to the UC Merced global arts professor. Sharim...

Bobcat Art Show piece, "Alignment and Dissolution", digital art on metal.

Bobcat Art Show Puts Broad Range of Creativity on Display

The 12th edition of the Bobcat Art Show, which debuts this week in a new space, is further proof that creativity can come from anywhere in the UC Merced community. “In addition to the...