College of Arts + Architecture

Lydia Thompson is the new chair of the Department of Art & Art History in the College of Arts + Architecture.

During the past academic year, the University’s Department of Music has had access to first-class standard and digital pianos through an association with the Rockley Family Foundation.

To perpetuate this program, these instruments, along with those provided other institutions, will be sold.

Individuals can make an appointment to attend a “pre-sale” Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 2-4, by calling 704-687-1999.

The final sale will be 2 to 5 p.m., Aug. 4, at Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts; no appointment is required for the final sale.

Adam Justice recently joined the College of Arts + Architecture as director galleries. In this role, he will oversee the artistic operations of gallery spaces in Storrs and Rowe Arts buildings and the Projective Eye Gallery at UNC Charlotte Center City.  

A Chicago production of Cordelia Lynn’s play “Lela & Co.,” directed by Associate Professor of Theatre Robin Witt, has received three Joseph Jefferson (Jeff) Awards honoring non-Equity Chicago theatre. 

The production received six Jeff Award nominations and won in the categories of Best Director (Play), Best Actor (Play) and Best Production (Play).

Amir Naeem, a recent graduate from the School of Architecture in the College of Arts + Architecture, has received a 2018 Emerging City Champions Fellowship from the Knight Foundation.

He will receive $5,000 for his proposal to place jukeboxes in public spaces along the CATS LYNX Blue Line. The jukeboxes will play music after users provide an idea or thought about the community. He developed his project concept while a student in Associate Professor Deb Ryan’s fifth-year architecture studio.

Watch “Origins of Opportunity” a special video that chronicled the Pride of Niner Nation Marching Band’s extraordinary trip, which enabled present-day students to explore places where history was made. Listen as they convey their thoughts and feelings about this emotional and meaningful journey.

On May 31, 137 members of the Pride of Niner Nation Marching Band departed from campus to begin a journey to Normandy, France, where they will be the first university band from North Carolina to represent the United States at an annual commemoration of the D-Day invasion.

On Thursday, May 31, the Pride of Niner Nation Marching Band embarks upon a trip that bridges the present with the past. They will travel to Normandy, France, to perform at the 74th annual commemoration of the D-Day invasion that liberated Europe.
Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to join in a celebratory send-off for the band, starting at 10:30 a.m., May 31, at the Johnson Band Center.

Kyounghee Kim, associate professor of architecture, was awarded a 2017 AIA Upjohn Research Initiative Grant ($30,000) for “Biophilic Architecture: Sustainable Materialization of Microalgae Facades” – in support of her research on high-performance building envelope design. This is her second AIA Upjohn Award; she received a 2013 AIA Upjohn Research Grant ($27,000) for “Sustainable Transparency: Kinetic Building Facades.”  

Lila Quintero Weaver, creator of the award-winning graphic novel “Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White,” was in residency at UNC Charlotte Sept. 25-29, working with students in theatre, art, English and education.