Fall 2024 UConn M.F.A. in Digital Media Design Open Studio

The UConn Digital Media & Design (DMD) Department is excited to announce the semiannual M.F.A Open Studio will be held on Friday, December 6th, 2024 from 3:30 – 6:30 PM in the first floor of Bishop Center at UConn’s Storrs campus.  This event will be featuring work from all three years of M.F.A. candidates across all departments of the Digital Media & Design program: 2D and 3D animations to narrative and documentary films, mobile apps, websites, and games.

Featured Artists Include:

Musawir Abrar (first-year candidate), undecided working thesis title, Film/Video Production focus

Sabrina Claman (second-year candidate), Melancholy Comfort, Motion Design & Animation focus

Nooshin Farashei (third-year candidate), Woven Garden, Motion Design & Animation focus

Maria Farhadi (third-year candidate), Mindmaze, Web/Interactive Media Design focus

Amara Khaled (third-year candidate), the [re]Voiced Collective, Web/Interactive Media Design focus

Yuna Kim (second-year candidate), undecided working thesis title, Web/Interactive Media Design focus

Hongchan Lee (second-year candidate), undecided working thesis title, Web/Interactive Media Design focus

Soyeon Lee (first-year candidate), undecided working thesis title, 3D Animation focus

Nurudeen Musa (third-year candidate), Of Home and Now, Motion Design & Animation focus

Tariq Rakha (third-year candidate), A Soft Heart is Stronger, Game Design focus

Evgeniia Rein (third-year candidate), The Furthest East, Game Design focus

Christian Romero (third-year candidate), The Festival, 3D Art & Game Design focus

Mohammad Edalati-Tabrizi (first-year candidate), undecided working thesis title, Film and Web/Interactive Media Design focus

Michael Toomey (second-year candidate), Deep Sea Journey, Web/Interactive Media Design focus

Maham Waqar (second-year candidate), Gulab, Film/Video Production focus

This event is free and open to the public.

The University of Connecticut’s Department of Digital Media & Design creates future leaders in entertainment, design, business, and communications. Students study animation, film/video production, game design, web/interactive media design, digital media business strategies, and digital culture. Our commitment to experiential learning prepares our students to respond to real-world challenges, and we encourage students to find and express their voice, building from their unique background and perspective. We acknowledge that a diversity of thought and expression is needed in today’s society and see great promise in our DMD students’ abilities to make a difference in the world as future digital media content creators, distributors, and analyzers.

The University of Connecticut’s School of Fine Arts balances artistic and cultural legacies with the innovative approaches and techniques of contemporary art. In doing so, the School of Fine Arts serves students at UConn in both their educational and their professional development. The outstanding faculty from the four academic departments (Art & Art History, Digital Media & Design, Dramatic Arts, and Music) are committed to providing rigorous professional education and all offer undergraduate and graduate degrees. The academic programs are supported by specialized and uniquely focused showcases, stages, exhibition spaces and forums which include the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, The William Benton Museum of Art, Contemporary Art Galleries, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, and von der Mehden Recital Hall.

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If you would like more information about the 2024 UConn DMD MFA Open Studio, email Meredith Friedman at digitalmedia@uconn.edu.

Resurgence:: 2024 UConn B.F.A. in Digital Media Design Senior Exhibition 

The UConn Digital Media & Design (DMD) Department is excited to announce the 2024 DMD BFA Senior Exhibition, Resurgence. The in-person exhibition is open from April 6 to April 24, 2024 in the Jorgensen Gallery at UConn’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, with an opening reception on Friday, April 5 from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. EDT.  Also featured on opening night are two programs of screenings of films and animations in the Jorgensen Auditorium at 3:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., culminating with awards. Regular gallery hours are Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and prior to performances, and during most intermissions. All events are free and open to the public.

Limitless features the work of 45 senior UConn DMD Bachelor of Fine Arts students from the Storrs and Stamford campuses. Exhibited artworks range from 2D and 3D animations to narrative and documentary films, mobile apps, websites, and games. The title Resurgence reflects the expansive hopes of the exhibiting artists – to rise up against challenges and to overcome setbacks. To learn more about the exhibition, visit: http://dmd.uconn.edu/bfashow. 

Exhibiting artists:

Manuel Alvarez (East Hartford, Conn.), God Mode, narrative short film
Palmer Anderson (Madison, Conn.), To Be Changed, 3D animation
Hannah Bagley (Mystic, Conn.), Unwavering, video game
Paolo Bautista (Newington, Conn.), Nurtured by Nature, Perfected by Science, website
Evan Beaman (New Hartford, Conn.), RACE INSTINCT, narrative short film
Robin Bologna (Greenwich, Conn.), Bothersome, 3D animation
Samantha Bresmon (Bethel, Conn.), Numi the Goblin Girl, 2D animation
Jason Chan (West Hartford, Conn.), Apple’s Law, 2D animation
Nick Cioffi (Trumbull, Conn.), The GM’s Grudge, 3D animation
Kasimir Comunale (New Haven, Conn.), Fishtopher, 2D animation
Pedro DeLima (Danbury, Conn.), The Princess and The Sword, 2D animation
Veronica Fahs (Wilton, Conn.), Ilaria, narrative short film
Megan Flynn (Chatham, N.J.), ClimbConnect, mobile app
Sydney Fournier (South Windsor, Conn.) Growing Pains, 3D animation
Matt Freeman (Amesbury, Mass.), Hockey Threads, website
DJ Furano (Greenwich, Conn.), Eyes in the Sky, documentary short film
Brooklyn Green (Vernon, Conn.), Marcy’s House, documentary short film
Alexander Gutting (Weston, Mass.), The Mysterious Box, 3D animation
John Hitchiner (Granby, Conn.), Dreamin’, 2D animation
Eun Sok Hong (Shelton, Conn.), Love Letter, 2D animation
Yuri Jimenez (Bridgeport, Conn.), UConn Outing, mobile app
Lexis Johnson (Paxton, Mass.), Prayer to God, narrative short film
Matthews Jordao (Trumbull, Conn.), It’s Gonna Be Okay, narrative short film
Kieran Kelly (Bernardsville, N.J.), Mouse House Maze, 3D animation
Haydn Kerr (Sydney, Australia), Cosmic Journey, website
Jonathan Kopeliovich (Los Angeles, Calif.), WHUS Radio: 100 Waves of Sound, website
Carlie Kubisek (Southington, Conn.), Cardinal North, 3D animation
Mary McGaffigan (Tyngsboro, Mass.), The Guided Path, 2D animation
Marisa Morneau (Ellington, Conn.), 80HD, mobile app
Gabriel Pontore (Newtown, Conn.), Labyrinth of Past Echoes, 3D animation
Dante Radcliffe (Groton, Conn.), Testing Me, 2D animation
Joy Rollins (Storrs, Conn.), Lune and the Light, 2D animation
Lauren Ruggiero (Andover, Conn.), Time Consuming, 2D animation
Sydney Salazar (Ansonia, Conn.), For Granted, 2D animation
Sydney Salomon (Long Island, N.Y.), Jack of All Trades, 2D animation
Evelyn Santana (Stratford, Conn.), Wisp’s Call, 2D animation
Gabriella Shorr (East Greenwich, R.I.), The Chocoholics’ Guide to College Baking, website
Daniel Suitum (Woodstock, Conn.), A Parent-ly Knot, video game
Tony Tran (Branford, Conn.), Baneland, video game
Jasper Treese (Cape Code, Mass.), Imposter, documentary short film
Allison Tuttle (Killingworth, Conn.), Reminiscing, documentary short film
Karli Vare (Fairfield, Conn.), Yarn Over, website
Annamaria Vdovenko (Simbury, Conn.), Rabbit Hole, 2D animation
Bianca Velez (Norwalk, Conn.), WorryBox, mobile app
Christopher Vivas-Nava (Bridgeport, Conn.), Reminiscent, 2D animation
Brandon Zheng (Willimantic, Conn.), Witch and Mushkin, 3D animation

The University of Connecticut’s Department of Digital Media & Design creates future leaders in entertainment, design, business, and communications. Students study animation, film/video production, game design, web/interactive media design, digital media business strategies, and digital culture. Our commitment to experiential learning prepares our students to respond to real-world challenges, and we encourage students to find and express their voice, building from their unique background and perspective. We acknowledge that a diversity of thought and expression is needed in today’s society and see great promise in our DMD students’ abilities to make a difference in the world as future digital media content creators, distributors, and analyzers.

The University of Connecticut’s School of Fine Arts balances artistic and cultural legacies with the innovative approaches and techniques of contemporary art. In doing so, the School of Fine Arts serves students at UConn in both their educational and their professional development. The outstanding faculty from the four academic departments (Art & Art History, Digital Media & Design, Dramatic Arts, and Music) are committed to providing rigorous professional education and all offer undergraduate and graduate degrees. The academic programs are supported by specialized and uniquely focused showcases, stages, exhibition spaces and forums which include the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, The William Benton Museum of Art, Contemporary Art Galleries, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, and von der Mehden Recital Hall.

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If you would like more information about the 2023 UConn DMD BFA Senior Exhibition, email Meredith Friedman at digitalmedia@uconn.edu.

Download a .pdf of this press release.

Limitless: 2023 UConn Digital Media & Design B.F.A. Senior Exhibition 

The UConn Digital Media & Design (DMD) Department is excited to announce the 2023 DMD BFA Senior Exhibition, Limitless. The in-person exhibition is open from April 1 to April 28, 2023 in the Jorgensen Gallery at UConn’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, with an opening reception on Friday, March 31 from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. EDT (with a screening of films and animations starting at 6 p.m.). Regular gallery hours are Monday-Friday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and prior to performances and during most intermissions. All events are free and open to the public.

Limitless features the work of thirty senior UConn DMD Bachelor of Fine Arts students from both Storrs and Stamford campuses. Exhibited artworks range from 2D and 3D animations to narrative and documentary films, mobile apps, websites, and games. The title Limitless reflects the expansive hopes of the exhibiting artists. For these students, the future has no limits. To learn more about the exhibition, visit: http://dmd.uconn.edu/bfashow. 

Exhibiting artists:

Giana Adragna (Newtown, Pa.), Jade Wedding Journal, mobile app
Agustina Aranda (Bridgeport, Conn.), Say Something, documentary short film
Nicole Bottone (Ridgefield, Conn.), Nightfall (日夜渴望), 2D animation
Willow Chau (Chester, N.H.), La Cuisine de Chau, website
Trinity Caban (New Haven, Conn.), Rooted Obsession, narrative short film
Matt Ciccone (Wallingford, Conn.), Alta’s Odyssey, video game
Dan Collette (Middlebury, Conn.), Tutti, web app
Dean Corelli (Bedford, N.Y.), Legend of Silva, video game
Josh Estevez (Bronx, N.Y.), The 9 Chambers: Tower of Doom, video game
Andy Gardner (Bridgeport, Conn.), iDriver, mobile app
Wren Halpern (East Northport, N.Y.), Camp Hemlock, 2D animation
Sergei LeFaivre (Brookline, Mass.), Story of Success: UConn Basketball, 3D animation
Walter Luciano (Stratford, Conn.), Don’t Break Your Controller, video game
Caitlin McCarthy (Easton, Conn.), Escape from the Grey, 2D animation
Parker McKenzie (Newtown. Conn.), Bird vs Evil, 2D animation
Shannon Nasution (Norwalk, Conn.), I’m Sorry for Your Loss, narrative short film
Christopher Orrico (Cos Cob, Conn.), The Ladder, documentary short film
Sarah Oxner (Shelton, Conn.), House Pets, narrative short film
Tiana Rawlings (Manchester, Conn.), Deadly Serious, narrative short film
Stephen Rivas (New Canaan, Conn.), March, 3D animation
Sandra Robel (Southington, Conn.), Reign, 3D animation
Shane Rungkagoonnuwat (Chiang Mai, Thailand), Creatures of One’s Mind, 3D animation
Madison Salvatore (Alburtis, Pa.), The Bacchus is Dead!, video game
Jack Seraphin (Fairfield, Conn.), Manila, narrative short film
Grace Smedberg (Newington, Conn.), Trespasser, 3D animation
Madalynn Stewart (Norwalk, Conn.), Augustus, 3D animation
Brenna Thorpe (Branford, Conn.), Husky Wait Time, mobile app
Yazmine Uvidia (Queens, N.Y.), I Choose You, installation
Nandita Venkat (Glastonbury, Conn.), Tender Memory, video game
Cynthia Wan (New Fairfield, Conn.), Violet, website

The University of Connecticut’s Department of Digital Media & Design creates future leaders in entertainment, design, business, and communications. Students study animation, film/video production, game design, web/interactive media design, digital media business strategies, and digital culture. Our commitment to experiential learning prepares our students to respond to real-world challenges, and we encourage students to find and express their voice, building from their unique background and perspective. We acknowledge that a diversity of thought and expression is needed in today’s society and see great promise in our DMD students’ abilities to make a difference in the world as future digital media content creators, distributors, and analyzers.

The University of Connecticut’s School of Fine Arts balances artistic and cultural legacies with the innovative approaches and techniques of contemporary art. In doing so, the School of Fine Arts serves students at UConn in both their educational and their professional development. The outstanding faculty from the four academic departments (Art & Art History, Digital Media & Design, Dramatic Arts, and Music) are committed to providing rigorous professional education and all offer undergraduate and graduate degrees. The academic programs are supported by specialized and uniquely focused showcases, stages, exhibition spaces and forums which include the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, The William Benton Museum of Art, Contemporary Art Galleries, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, and von der Mehden Recital Hall.

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If you would like more information about the 2023 UConn DMD BFA Senior Exhibition, email Marcella
Vertefeuille at digitalmedia@uconn.edu.

Download a .pdf of this press release.

Resilience: 2022 UConn Digital Media & Design B.F.A. Senior Exhibition 

STORRS, CT – The UConn Digital Media & Design Department is excited to announce the 2022 DMD BFA Senior Exhibition, Resilience. After two years of virtual exhibitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are thrilled to hold an in-person exhibition which is open from April 2 to April 29, 2022 in the Jorgensen Gallery at UConn’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, with an opening reception on Friday, April 1 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. EDT. Regular gallery hours are Monday-Friday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and prior to performances and during most intermissions. All events are free and open to the public.  

Resilience features the work of 25 senior UConn DMD Bachelor of Fine Arts students from both the Storrs and Stamford campuses. Exhibited artworks range from 2D and 3D animations to narrative and documentary films, digital publications, interactive websites, and games. The title Resilience reflects the challenges and experiences of the exhibiting artists’ senior year during the transition from distance learning to in person. For many of them, this tumultuous year not only strengthened the extent of their creative process, but also brought forth new and meaningful ideas through their work. To learn more about the exhibition, visit: http://dmd.uconn.edu/bfashow. 

Exhibiting artists:

Ben Anderson (Stonington, Conn.), Evergreen, 3D animation 

Brenna Ashby (Hopedale, Mass.), Evolution, 3D animation 

Natalie Curtis (Lebanon, Conn.), The Stolen Child: Animating Poetry, 2D animation 

Megan Du Plessis (South Windsor, Conn.), Invisible Ties Oceans Apart, short documentary film

Quinn Erno (East Lyme, Conn.), Rise: Mountain Bike Documentary, short film 

Arianna Gomes (Bridgeport, Conn.), Graphicsbyari Brand Suite, website 

Colleen Green (Stamford, Conn.), ReadR, website 

Paula Guerrero (Stamford, Conn.), Gatcha!, 2D animation

Eric Laputka (Bridgewater, N.J.), Pizza Time, 3D video game 

Jon Larsen (Stratford, Conn.), Paint Knight, 2D video game 

Samir Lee (New Haven, Conn.), Esc, VR experience 

Matthew Luxeder (Prospect, Conn.), American Boy, short documentary film

Nicole Mata (Tolland, Conn.), How to Conserve Bread, 2D animation 

EJ McCabe (Bridgewater, Mass.), Cats vs Robots, 2D animation/short film 

Sofia Messerrly (Port Chester, N.Y.), Enter: Net, 2D animation/music video

Jaret Ostop (Madison, Conn.), Illusions and Witchcraft, 2D animation 

Davis Peng (Old Greenwich, Conn.), Witch of the Forest, 2D animation 

Lauren Platt (Skillman, N.J.), Starry-eyed, 3D animation 

Kevin Rodican (Yonkers, N.Y.), Scholarship, short film/music video

Heather Rutishauser (Monroe, N.Y.), Floating to Freedom, short documentary film

Emmanuel Sainville (Stratford, Conn.), L’Union Fait La Focus, 2D & 3D animation

Meira Tompkins (Dunstable, Mass.), Internship, website

Cara Tracey (Darien, Conn.), PeakBag, mobile app

Miles Waterbury (Clinton, Conn.), Nutz, 3D animation

Chaofan Yu (Jinan, China), Vista, mobile app

The University of Connecticut’s Department of Digital Media & Design creates future leaders in entertainment, design, business, and communications. Students can study animation, film/video production, game design, web/interactive media design, digital media business strategies, and digital humanities. Our commitment to experiential learning prepares our students to respond to real-world challenges, and we encourage students to find and express their voice, building from their unique background and perspective. We acknowledge that a diversity of thought and expression is needed in today’s society and see great promise in our DMD students’ abilities to make a difference in the world as future digital media content creators, distributors, and analyzers.

The University of Connecticut’s School of Fine Arts balances artistic and cultural legacies with the innovative approaches and techniques of contemporary art. In doing so, the School of Fine Arts serves students at UConn in both their educational and their professional development. The outstanding faculty from the four academic departments (Art & Art History, Digital Media & Design, Dramatic Arts, and Music) are committed to providing rigorous professional education and all offer undergraduate and graduate degrees. The academic programs are supported by specialized and uniquely focused showcases, stages, exhibition spaces and forums which include the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, The William Benton Museum of Art, Contemporary Art Galleries, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, and von der Mehden Recital Hall.

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If you would like more information about the 2022 BFA Exhibition, email Stacy Webb at digitalmedia@uconn.edu.

Download a .pdf of this press release.

Graduating BFA seniors from the University of Connecticut Department of Digital Media & Design are excited to showcase their senior project work in the virtual exhibition Unraveled. The online exhibition launches Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at http://dmd.uconn.edu/bfashow. In addition, an online screening featuring film and animation premieres will take place via YouTube on Friday May 7, 2021 at 7pm EDT at http://youtube.com/uconndmd. Unraveled is presented by UConn Digital Media & Design (DMD) and the Virtual Jorgensen Gallery at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts. All events are free and open to the public.

Unraveled features the work of 22 senior UConn DMD Bachelor of Fine Arts students from both Storrs and Stamford campuses. Exhibited artworks range from 2D and 3D animations to narrative and documentary films, digital publications, interactive websites, and games. The title Unraveled reflects the feelings and reimagined workflows of the exhibiting artists’ senior year. Everything they may have planned – or thought would be – became “unraveled.” For many of them, this tumultuous year not only influenced the trajectory of their projects, but also the subject of their work. 

The exhibition includes work by the following students:

Simone Alston (Greenwich, Conn.), Glittergirl Online, 2D animation

Andrea Blanco (Stamford, Conn.), Amor, Sabor, Esfuerzo, short documentary film

Destin Brown (New Haven, Conn.), An Artist’s Struggle, 3D animation

Meaghan Doherty (Enfield, Conn.), Viscid Xenogenics, 2D video game

Isaiah Edwards (New Haven, Conn.), BLACK SATURATION, short film

Nicole Ellis (Vernon, Conn.), I Try to MAGIC a Plant!!!, 2D animation

Mackenzie Fox (Stony Point, N.Y.), Through a Glass, 2D video game

Sophia Galante (New Haven, Conn.), Sleight of Hand, 2D animation

Alisia Gruendel (Branford, Conn.), Balter, 2D animatic

Katelyn Jepsen (Norwell, Mass.), Flecks, 3D modeling/2D animation

Cassidy Keller (Sandy Hook, Conn.), Where I Call Home, 2D animation and video

Jake Limone (Norwalk, Conn.), Abductee, narrative short film

Lynette Muse (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Oh,Chickens!, 3D animation

Akari Ohashi (Lexington, Mass.), out/o, 2D animation

Gillian Partyka (Summerville, S.C.), The Eastern Tower, 2D animation

Jakub Pirog (Stratford, Conn.), JR SPECS: The Come Up, short documentary film

Carlos Rivera (New London, Conn.), Mount Tolkien: “Out of Time,” 2D animation 

Michael Russell (Madison, Conn.), My 2020 Process Book, multimedia book

Dana Santillana (Waterford, Conn.), Spiraling, 3D animation

Josh Stanavage (Colchester, Conn.), Take a Walk, mobile website

Marcella Vertefeuille (Ashford, Conn.), Personality, 2D animation

Anthony Zor (Bethel, Conn.), Lost Souls, narrative short film

The University of Connecticut’s Department of Digital Media & Design creates future leaders in entertainment, design, business, and communications. Students can study animation, film/video production, game design, web/interactive media design, digital media business strategies, and digital humanities. Our commitment to experiential learning prepares our students to respond to real-world challenges, and we encourage students to find and express their voice, building from their unique background and perspective. We acknowledge that a diversity of thought and expression is needed in today’s society and see great promise in our DMD students’ abilities to make a difference in the world as future digital media content creators, distributors, and analyzers.

The University of Connecticut’s School of Fine Arts balances artistic and cultural legacies with the innovative approaches and techniques of contemporary art. In doing so, the School of Fine Arts serves students at UConn in both their educational and their professional development. The outstanding faculty from the four academic departments (Art & Art History, Digital Media & Design, Dramatic Arts, and Music) are committed to providing rigorous professional education and all offer undergraduate and graduate degrees. The academic programs are supported by specialized and uniquely focused showcases, stages, exhibition spaces and forums which include the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, The William Benton Museum of Art, Contemporary Art Galleries, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, and von der Mehden Recital Hall.

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If you would like more information about the 2021 BFA Exhibition, email Stacy Webb at digitalmedia@uconn.edu.

Download a .pdf of this press release.

The 2021 Digital Media & Design Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition showcases innovative work in digital media. 

The University of Connecticut’s Department of Digital Media & Design is delighted to announce the 2021 MFA Thesis Exhibition Turning Point, viewable online and in-person starting March 31, 2021. The in-person exhibition runs through April 9 at the William Benton Museum of Art at 245 Glenbrook Road, Storrs, CT. Museum hours are Wednesday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM and 1:00 to 4:00 PM on Saturdays. The online exhibition opens to the public March 31 at https://dmd.uconn.edu/2021mfashow/. A live virtual event featuring screenings and discussion with the exhibiting artists will be held Friday April 9th at 5pm EDT. All events are free and open to the public. 

Turning Point invites viewers to experience a varied range of digital media by graduating Digital Media & Design Master of Fine Arts students. The exhibition features 2D and 3D animations, UI/UX interactions and designs, digital games and virtual reality. Turning Point represents two years of research, creativity, development, experimentation and production.

Exhibiting artists: Emma Atkinson (Baldwinsville, NY, USA), when we were, Virtual Reality Video Game; Yucheng Hang (Yangzhou, China), CyberTown, Interactive Educational Platform; Hongju “Hannah” Lim (Hwajeong, South Korea), Ensemble, 3D Animation Short Film; Wenchao Lou (Shandong, Qingdao, China), Memory · Home · Food, 2D Cooking Game; Claudia Nunez (Lima, Peru), As You Wish, 2D Animation and Pitch Bible; Renoj Varghese (Orange, CT, USA), Microinteractions in Chatbots, Interaction Design. 

The Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media & Design within the School of Fine Arts at University of Connecticut (UConn) is a customized, two-year graduate program where students work closely with dedicated faculty in the development of their own independent creative practice. Situated within a top-25 public research university, UConn’s Digital Media & Design Department operates at the intersection of fine art, technology, science, and the humanities. The program is designed for applicants with a demonstrated background in digital media/design who want the opportunity to intensely pursue advanced education and research in their specific area of expertise or in an interdisciplinary capacity drawing from more than one area within the digital media space. Situated in the School of Fine Arts, DMD faculty and students have the opportunity to engage in collaborative projects with both industry partners and top researchers across the university. 

UConn’s School of Fine Arts balances artistic and cultural legacies with the innovative approaches and techniques of contemporary art. In doing so, the School of Fine Arts serves students at UConn in both their educational and their professional development. The outstanding faculty from the four academic departments (Art & Art History, Digital Media & Design, Dramatic Arts, and Music) are committed to providing rigorous professional education and all offer undergraduate and graduate degrees. The academic programs are supported by specialized and uniquely focused showcases, stages, exhibition spaces and forums which include the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, The William Benton Museum of Art, Contemporary Art Galleries, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, and von der Mehden Recital Hall.

A focus on topics ranging from lack of Black representation on writing staffs to the distorted perspectives of TV crime dramas.

 

 

UConn’s Digital Media & Design Department will host the inaugural event in its Diverse Perspectives in Digital Media & Design: 2021 Speaker Serieswith “Amplifying Black Voices in Hollywood” on Friday, Feb. 19 from 1 to 8 p.m., via Jorgensen Digital Stage.

The one-day summit will feature conversations with Black leaders from various sectors of the film industry, and will examine its changing landscape by exploring efforts to increase diversity in all aspects of Hollywood including screenwriting, development and production, producing and directing, and visual effects and post-production.

Participants will include:

• Romany Malco, actor/director of “Tijuana Jackson: Purpose Over Prison” on “Fighting for Equity in Hollywood.”
• Kristen Marston, culture and entertainment advocacy director at Color of Change Hollywood, on “How the TV Crime Genre Normalizes Injustice.”
• Alan Mayo, president of Orion Pictures, on “Authentic Storytelling at the Studio Level.”
• Numa Perrier, director of “Jezebel,” on “Creating Content for underrepresented Voices in Digital Media.”
• Chris White, visual effects supervisor at WETA Digital, on “The Value of Inclusion in Visual Effects.”

Last year, Color of Change Hollywood released its second major study on how the paucity of people of color writing scripts and in leadership roles in the film and television industries contributes to miseducation about the criminal justice system and makes racial injustice acceptable. The report, “Normalizing Injustice,” examined 26 different scripted series focused on crime from the 2017-2018 season broadcast on both networks and streaming platforms.

The 2020 report found more than 80% of the producers, known as showrunners, as well as at least 81% of writers were white, while only 9% were Black. In three of the series, all of the writers were white. The data was similar to the organization’s 2017 study of television and film writers, “Race in the Writer’s Room,” which examined all episodes from all 234 original scripted comedy and drama series on 18 broadcast, cable, and digital platforms from the 2016-2017 season. That study found two-thirds of shows had no Black writers and more than 90% of all shows had white showrunners.

“We are working in an industry that has not been built for Black people and people of color and so essentially it’s functioning as it was intended to function,” says Marston. “There’s a lot of people who are working in the industry who are continuing to do things the way that they’ve always done things because that’s what’s worked for them. Hopefully we’ll see a bit of change in this coming year, given everything that’s happened in the past year.”

Marston says events similar to the UConn summit can contribute to creating change because, even if people are not in the entertainment field, consumers hold “a significant amount of power,” and can use their knowledge about industry issues to hold industry leaders accountable to improve their practices.

“Normalizing Injustice” examined for the first time how crime shows can problematically affect viewers because more crime shows — more than 60% of prime time programs — were on the list of the Top 100 most watched shows than shows from any other genre, and had a higher total viewership than any other type of program. Among the concerns identified in the study, crime shows often:

• Make heroes of people who violate our rights
• Present the powerless as those who actually manipulate the system most
• Present momentary flash of remorse about killing or wrongly jailing as all the accountability that’s need
• Turn racism into a joke, a prompt for eye-rolling
• Frame objections to illegal and immoral behavior as laughable ignorance of the naïve who don’t know “how things really work on the streets.”

“We know that Americans’ perceptions of crime are very much at odds with the reality of crime in America,” the report says. “As just one example, while the crime rate has dropped precipitously over the last 20 years, the number of people who say that there is ‘more crime in the U.S. than a year ago’ has steadily risen.”

Marston says an example of the report resulting in change can already be seen in programs like “The Rookie,” whose creative team worked with Color of Change Hollywood to adjust its season.

“There have been a lot of creators who have really understood what we were trying to do,” she says. “We’re not trying to tell them how to do their work or tell them what stories to write. We’re just there to be a solution oriented partner along the way.”

Upcoming programs in the Diverse Perspectives in Digital Media & Design: 2021 Speaker Series will include “Bl(x)ck Rhizomes: A Digital Public History Praxis,” on Feb. 22; “Women in Animation” on Feb. 26, and “Representations of Religion in Film” on March 5 with other programs being scheduled.

“Amplifying Black Voices in Hollywood” is presented by UConn’s Department of Digital Media & Design, in partnership with Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts and the H. Fred Simons African American Cultural Center

This summit is free and open to the public, but RSVP is required. To register and for more event details, visit the DMD Diverse Perspectives site.

Article From UConn Today