Arts & Culture

Claudia Swan has been named the inaugural Mark Steinberg Weil Professor of Art History and Archaeology. A lecture and reception to celebrate her appointment were held Feb. 22 in the Kuehner Family Court in Anabeth and John Weil Hall.

The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will present “Torkwase Dyson: Bird and Lava” March 22 to July 10. Anchored by a newly acquired work, the display spans painting, drawing, sculpture and animation — along with architectural models relating to Dyson’s new commission for St. Louis’ citywide public art triennial Counterpublic.

Olivia Baba and Connor Seger, both seniors pursuing a bachelor’s degree in fashion design from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, each will receive awards as part of the 2023 Fashion Scholarship Fund competition.

In the years after World War II, a series of global shifts, including African decolonization and the U.S. civil rights movement, led artists to explore a new politics of form, synthesizing and integrating different visual and cultural traditions. This spring, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will present “African Modernism in America,” the first traveling survey to examine the diverse aesthetic strategies, and complex relationships, between African artists and American artists, scholars, patrons and cultural organizations.

Dana Ostrander has been appointed assistant curator of modern art at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis. She will begin March 13.

Kristina Grimm, BArch ’06, uses her architecture degree to cobble together a career at Reebok.

The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum has received a $10,000 Preservation Assistance Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

John Hendrix, a professor and founding chair of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts’ MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture program, was installed Jan. 26 as the Kenneth E. Hudson Professor of Art.

The writers and illustrators of many beloved picture books are from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.

What changes and trends could we see this year? WashU experts in areas from artificial intelligence to climate to fashion share their insights.