Arts and Culture

UC Merced Celebrates 15 Years as a Hispanic-serving Institution

October 8, 2025

Photo depicts a graduation cap with writing on it in Spanish at UC Merced's commencement.

Fifteen years ago, UC Merced was designated as a Hispanic-serving institution. And though recent developments at the federal government have left what that designation means in limbo, the mission of serving the university’s largest demographic has remained unchanged. More than 53 percent...

ShiPu Wang's curated exhibition titled “Chiura Obata: An American Modern” on display at the Crocker Museum in Sacramento.

First Sacramento, then the Smithsonian for Arts Faculty Member’s Curation

What is art’s place in turbulent times? How does an immigrant live and thrive in a host country with laws that render one’s existence alien? And how does one continue to see beauty even...

UC Merced's new Multicultural Center opened last month after years of searching for a permanent space on campus.

New Multicultural Center Captures Past, Present and Future of UC Merced

Diversity, equity and inclusion are pillars of UC Merced’s mission to serve, teach and conduct research. After years of working to find a permanent support space for students of all...

The Children’s Opera is geared toward children ages 3 and older and is just 45 minutes in length.

Annual UC Merced Children’s Opera Showcases the Arts to Local Little Ones

Parents don’t have to venture to San Francisco to give their children a taste of opera. With UC Merced’s Children’s Opera, little ones can have a unique cultural experience without...

When Art Imitates Art: The Centuries-Old Tradition of the Copyist

There’s a striking image of “San Andres” that was recently on display at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center. The illumination of the saint’s torso and visage are iconic....

GAMWS Spring Showcase to Exhibit Student Art

Where do Shakespeare and swing dancing collide? At UC Merced’s Global Arts, Media & Writing Studies (GAMWS) Spring Showcase. For the second time this academic year, students, faculty and...

Shakespearean Sustainability Gets Curtain Call in Yosemite

Unlike traditional theater productions, there was no red curtain, special lighting, microphone feedback or elaborate stage makeup at Shakespeare in Yosemite. Instead, squirrels scurried across the...

A Night of Community Art Showcases Principles of Community

Fourteen students, faculty and staff members drew upon their artistic skills to create an array of art pieces to showcase at UC Merced’s Night of Community Art on April 19. The event is the...

Devon Glover, The Sonnet Man, speaks to students at Gracey Elementary School in Merced.

Shakespeare Rapper Schools Students with Hip Hop Sonnets

In what world are Shakespeare and hip-hop related? Ask Devon Glover. Glover is The Sonnet Man, a Shakespeare-loving rapper who sets The Bard’s famous sonnets to hip-hop instrumentals. Using...

Yu-Han Chao, a former UC Merced faculty member, will be reading an excerpt from her new book, a collection of short stories, at the university's Write! Look! Listen! series.

Former Faculty Member to Read from New Book at UC Merced Author Series

UC Merced is a research institution and while groundbreaking work is done in its labs, that doesn’t mean the arts aren’t thriving, too. For the past 10 years, the Write! Look! Listen!...